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IdyllwildArcher's Link
I know several Bowsiters have had Lyme's Disease, but I'm wondering if anyone's heard of anyone with Babesiosis?
I do not know anyone who has had it. But the only thing in the woods that scares the hell outta me is ticks. Nothing else puts fear into me except the thought of being bit by one. They can transmit over a dozen other illnesses to humans if they are infected. Gotta use permithrin, Rhino Skin, and inspect yourself diligently after every time afield. They are nasty, vile creatures.
I have not felt the best the last week or two.. Going to the Doc this week. I've pulled a least 5 ticks so far this spring out of me. I've been tired and achy.. So we will see??
I don't think it's Babesiosis, now really those symptoms. Last Saturday I pulled I think 6 ticks off me turkey hunting and it was only 6:30 am. I go in the woods I find at least 1 tick on me someplace. I don't know how animals can live with all the ticks.
hard to read that story, just tragic
my tick disease hasnt killed me but has basically ruined my deep love for hunting and processing the pristine meat....just plain sucks
tuck ur shirts & pants, avoid the brush busting when possible, never go casual in camp with shorts & open shoes
permethrin, thermacells, hot shower nightly if possible
gotta avoid those bastards at any cost
I was diagnosed with babesiosis last summer. I was prescribed both a liquid and a pill medication. The chalky, yellow liquid was $1200 for a small bottle. Luckily, my insurance covered it. I was told by the doctor and the pharmacist that is not usually the case. My doctor told me to take the liquid only for the first two days and then start taking the pills. He said the medication would most likely make me sick and that way he would know if it was the liquid or the pill doing it. It didn't make me sick and after a few weeks I went back in for another blood test and got a clean bill of health.
BTW, I'm in Hunterdon County New Jersey, right across the Delaware River from Bucks County Pa.
Hank Parker"s son got it years ago. I saw a show about it. It progressed in him to the point of dialysis about twice a week. I think it is one of those things you have for life.
I got bit in Nov 2019 and spent a week in the hospital. I had Anaplasmosis. Had never heard of it prior but it's a bacteria that's transmitted by ticks. I normally use Sawyers on my clothing but I slacked off a bit once it got cold out. Not anymore.
Anyone familiar with Wim Hoff? Anyhow his breathing and cold treatment coupled with some long term water fasting has shown to help folks with lyme's disease. The whole gist is to trigger your bodies immune system and help it heal itself. None of it costs you a dime to try. Just a little discipline. I have done the combination for a couple of months now on an unrelated health issue. I had a high PA test. Doc asked me to re-test a month later so I decided to try the Wim Hoff breathing and cold showers + some water fasting. When I tested a month later my numbers were cut in half. Baffled the Doc a bit. Numbers bounce but not like what mine did. I go in again for another test in 6 months. I figure that I would keep the experiment going. I have shared this with a few friends and they have tried it. Two had arthritis really bad and within a 10 day period have lost most of the pain in their hands and fingers. Wim Hoff. Give it a look. It only cost you time.
We had a case in our CCU about 4 years ago.
Lyme disease was discovered in Lyme, CT around 40 years ago. The NorthEast has been dealing with tick borne diseases for a long time. Babesiosis is just one form. My sister is allergic to meat since contracting the disease. Standard treatment does not always work and tick disease specialists try different cures for difficult cases.
PS: False negative tests are common. If symptoms persist get tested again and again.
Does any other “older” Bowsite agree that ticks were not like this when we were younger? Never even had to think about them.
SteveB I grew up in Mass. and was a 'woods rat' as a kid. Always in the woods, swamps, around the ponds etc. Never saw a tick until I was 18 and living in Florida. Now, I have to dig a few out'a my hide every year. And yes, I do the perthrin-treated clothing.
I'll be in the woods again this week, setting up the club 3d course. One of my helpers is a tick magnet, I keep telling him to add more garlic to his diet ;-)
Check out Elimatick clothing works great!
Two of my friends nearly died last summer from a mutation of Colorado Tick Fever. Both really fit and healthy before being bitten. The one who kept the tick was diagnosed quickly and out of the hospital in a week. The other one didnt keep his tick for testing, and it took the CDC a month to figure out what he had. He spent three weeks in ICU, lost 40 pounds, and still has issues almost a year later.
If you get one embedded, keep it until you know you're symptom free.
Dang Lou, I have never even seen a tick in Colorado. Grouse hunting in Lincoln Cty, WI left me and my dog covered in dozens of deer ticks. It took all week to get them off the dog, only to dive back into the ticks the next weekend!
The basic Thermacell unit used by treestand hunters does nothing for ticks. Thermacell does make a "tube" you put in your backyard to control ticks but I don't know how well it works.
I stick with permethrin on clothes and DEET or picardin on skin but the little beasts can find any unprotected spot to latch on.
Just ordered more permethrin.....
I've treated quite a few cases of babesia. It's similar to malaria. Too many cases of Lyme and anaplasmosis to count. Alpha gal from the lone star tick causes allergy to meat. Have seen 2. Steve B, agree wasn't like this growing up. I think the ticks may have escaped from a lab in Wuhan....
Just ordered more permethrin.....
Tragic story and a great post. We need to be our own advocate on outdoor related issues. The wife's mission was accomplished tremendously by you posting the link here.
And people insist we’ve been here for millions of years. SMH at that one.
Anyways, I was diagnosed with Lymes disease over 20 years ago. It was a rough ride that I’m not sure I’ve ever got over. There’s been other health scares since then so it makes it hard to determine or declare with 100% certainty that was the culprit. However, my oncologists seemed to think there was a definite correlation.
Anyways, ticks are no joke. Do everything you can to prevent the suckers from getting on you. Then treat it like you were exposed to AIDS if they do. This is no joke. It’s a life changer to come down with any tick borne illness. Your health will suffer greatly. I’ve never felt so bad or been so sick as I was with Lymes disease. This sounds worse due to the likelihood of not getting proper diagnosis and treatment.
hrace, good stuff...bout 11 yrs late tho..hope some others get to try it
lost arra, every situation different, but I've witnessed ticks move away from thermacell output..didn't kill them like permethrin but they moved on, much like deet..just a deterrent but far better than "nothing"
simple mechanical techniques like tucking shirt into waistband and pants into boots are a start, daily soap & shower or at least a thorough inspection are also way better than "nothing"...helps for chiggars too
crazy how the smallest creature can beat us at the game if we dont do quick & simple prep
Can you get sick or lymes if they are just attached and not buried into skin? Been wondering that. I pick off at least 20 every year, but they are not buried into skin.
Permethrin, you gotta use it. Spray down your clothes and boots days ahead. Let it dry and ticks will not bother you. Just returned from a Wy prairie dog shoot. Was in grassy areas for several days. Same last fall on a Ks dove shoot, was in lots of grass and tall weeds. Had zero issues on both trips, and have had same results many years. A friend used no protection on last Sept dove shoot and was covered in ticks.
There is a company called Insect Shield that you can send your clothes to and they will professionally impregnate your clothes to repel ticks. They guarantee it for 70 washings. I do not spray my clothing with permithrin, I pour it out and soak my clothes in it, then hang dry outside. And to answer a question above, I never saw a tick until about 25 years ago. Was always in the woods, the fields, harvesting fruit, alfalfa hay, corn, and working on a dairy farm. all of a sudden, their population exploded in NYS/
Grunter, to answer your question, when I got sick with Anaplasmosis I never had a tick buried in me. I never felt a bite but I picked 5 or 6 off my clothes after a morning hunt. One was in my hairline but not latched on. Week later I was in the hospital. Lucky I had a doc who nailed it down right away. They thought I had spinal meningitis initially. I was fortunate that Anaplasmosis can be treated with no lasting effects. Be careful out there.
A chemical that was brutal on ticks was DDT, along with Coppertex. They only had to walk on it or contact it. It is even more effective now because insects have lost any immunity to it. I grew up on blueberry barrens and when it was banned, there was a lot of it hanging around, some of it still locked up in barns or sheds. I sucked in so much of that stuff dusting blueberries and corn fields with huge power dusters that I am pretty much tick proof. They walk on me but never imbed. My brother and I used to be covered after a night of dusting.
I've had hundreds of ticks on me in my lifetime. I got Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever when I was 12 and ended up in the hospital for several days after being sick a week. Had a black lab die from erlichiosis, and a hound that had temporary bilateral rear leg paralysis from ticks. I stay outta the woods this late in the season and I keep my dogs in the yard.
I did see lots of ticks back in my younger days ( circa 1940's 1950's) but not so much in the Rockies on deer and elk in September compared to other places if I remember correctly. Anybody have feelings about the tick numbers currently regarding them in Colorado and Wyoming high country come September ? Good info in this thread.........Thanks, Badbull
Like many here I hate ticks. They don’t seem to bother me though.
I'd never heard of it. I had a couple ticks attached to me after an early scouting trip in March in southern Iowa. Got my clothes treated with permethrin after that and never saw one for the entire turkey and mushroom season. Worked great at repelling turkeys, too! :-(
Lawdy, I had forgotten that DDT was in common use 'back when'. Maybe that was why we didn't see many ticks back then. But another thing is, populations of birds are lower, so is there less predation on ticks?
A former grad student my brother taught is working on doctoral research concerning the huge increase of breast cancer following the ban of DDT. Colleagues of his are also working on a tobacco plant that has a substance in it that can be used to produce artificial human blood that can be given to anyone regardless of blood type or Rh factor. There is some neat research going on now. My brother is working on an apples that can be grown in the far North. I have one of his experimental varieties growing in my back yard.