peglu Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Tick warning! Hey all. Long time, no see. I just spent a week in Tennesse with my DD. He was in the ICU with fevers, chills, and very abnormal lab work. Thought he had a very bad case of the flu. Ends up he has LYMES DISEASE! He was sooo sick. He is well now and is at home, but it was all very scary as he is 80 years old. Being a nurse practitioner, you would think that I would have suspected this, but we just don't see it in Michigan. He gets tick bites all the time because he does all of the yard work for everyone in the neighborhood. My folks live in a very rural woody area of TN. They have been there for 15 years, and never had a problem. So, just a warning. Use your bug spray with DEET. Lyme disease really does exist out there. Peggy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stagecl Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I just pulled a tick off of me last week, the second for the year, so I am well aware of Lymes disease. I also live in a wooded area here. Pesky little bugs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 UGH! they are terrible in Tennessee right now. We have sprayed the yard, sprayed the dogs, kept the yard mowed short; but there are still ticks everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Peggy, Good to have you back! So glad this all turned out well for you DD. Lymes Disease is nasty. My mother has had it. We have a lot of it here in NY and as a matter of fact our darling Bonnie lives in the Nations worst place for it! At least she used to, which is where my mother used to live. It really can cause so many problems! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April W Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I live 'in the sticks' too. I always find it amazing that a tick can get under the tightest area of clothing you wear, such as the top of socks or the elastic on your underthings. Do they just like the snug fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillFrazior Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Ticks are plentiful here in Texas too....Nasty little creatures!! We are constantly doing Tick checks. YUK!! So glad your DD is home and feeling better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg_marsh Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Peggy - glad you are back and ok - sorry about your dad but glad all is well there......... those little buggers are really nasty!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lym95 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Margie and I live way out in the woods and we have to do frequent tick checks. The ticks are no fun but the checks can be... mrmargie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeAnn Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Originally posted by lym95 Margie and I live way out in the woods and we have to do frequent tick checks. The ticks are no fun but the checks can be... mrmargie LOL! We too have ticks but the more worrisome are the deer ticks which are so tiny. I had to do a tick check on DH after he found a really little one (size of a pin head). he was standing there buck nekid and it should have been more fun than it was!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenslug Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 WATCH OUT - I had Lyme's Disease a couple of years ago. Had many symptoms and just thought it was my age and other things going on. Finally a bull's eye appeared and that gave me a clue as my grandson had had this disease. My grandson lives in town, but they have a lot of trees in their yard and many deer. I live in a small town, spend a lot of time gardening, and the deer loved our yard. We keep our veggie garden surrounded with electric fence to keep the deer out. Deer ticks are almost invisible and you can get one without even noticing. The other thing is: a lot of doctors are unfamiliar with Lyme's disease. My Dr. had never had a case before and was not inclined to think that was my problem until the research and tests confirmed it. Take care. Mariln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 Brad, are you sure your last name isn't Paisley? Have you heard that song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lym95 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I'm not quite in the same category as Mr. Paisley, however, I do sing that song when Margie and I come in from the bee yard or from walks in the woods... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankiequilter Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I live in the boonies, too, and am currently taking antibiotics for a tick bite. I've had quite a few bites and haven't thought much of them. Had a bite on the back of my neck and after a couple of weeks had headaches and aching muscles so went to the Dr. for the antibiotics. The bullseye doesn't always appear so better to be safe than risk lymes or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The same antibiotic can be used for either. And if you do take antibiotics it is a good idea to eat yogurt and/or lactobacillus (sp?) to keep the good little bacteria going in your tummy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 When my cousin was a small boy (he's like 45 years old now) he got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, which is transmitted via ticks. Good thing they caught this and treated it in time. Lyme disease is scary, too. Be careful!! We don't get ticks in Alaska. We also don't have snakes or lizards. But them pesky skeeters. Yeah, these buggers make up for all the things we don't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingjoyful51 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 I bought a skeeter trap when I was in Anchorage. folks here in Ohio didn't believe the skeeters were that big. Bought the quilt block pattern for Alaska's official bug, it was a skeeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 LOL! Those skeeter traps are pretty funny, eh? People believe you, too (ha!) Now, just so y'all don't freak out here with wild imagination of gigantic mosquitos. Really they are the same normal size but they are just a wee bit hungrier and a wee bit more agressive than the normal skeeters. Maybe it's cuz they have just a few short months to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy2018 Posted June 8, 2009 Report Share Posted June 8, 2009 When my sons were 2 and 4 we lived in CT, right outside of Lyme, CT (hence the name of the disease!!) Didn't notice anything while bathing, but both got it. One had the bullseye, but only after about 2 mo. of symptoms...the other didn't have any sign. One had a terrible case that ended up at the Yale MD clinics where they were researching it, the other recovered quickly. The tick that causes it does so fast, is so small, the detection is useless. Monitor your health. As a side note, I mowed over an acre of grass with a 21 inch mower, about 7 hours per week (walking behind) down to a swampy area where the deer lived, and never got it, and my two daughters who were older and played outside, never got it.... Very strange disease. The doctors told us any unresolved aches, flu like, joint pain can be indicators, but it mimics lots of symptoms, especially in different age groups. Be careful we need to quilt!!!! Stay healthy, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Hey Shana...I heard they are the state "bird." LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted June 9, 2009 Report Share Posted June 9, 2009 Shana, they are giant and they are hungry and they are plentiful up there. When we went on our crusie we took an excursion to the Yukon. We were thinging of a lovely day petting the dogs and such. We spent our day swatting bird-sized mosquitos! Actually, we thought that might be as big of a "must-see" in Alaska as the dogs were. The only other place I have ever seen the number of bugs was in the delta in Mississippi but you have us beaten by a long shot in size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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