So I probably panic too much, but as I talked to my girlfriend on the phone tonight she mentioned that she got bitten by a tick. Now here in the UK ticks are irritating, but Jenn is playing on a girlscout camp in New York State, and in America ticks apparently carry Lyme Disease. Now I thought that Lyme was a type of tree, but apparently it also is the name of an illness that is really horrible .
Now I get to sit here thousands of miles away worrying and reading on the internet about the symptoms of the damn thing.
Damn.
I feel so useless because there is nothing I can do.
I guess this kind of thing is normal for those people who live in countries with unsafe wildlife, (round here you only have to worry about the people) but excuse me while I go and quietly work myself into a panic in a corner now.
As if I didn’t have enought to worry about she also told me about the rattlesnakes thet were around the camp, and how if a bat gets into the cabin they have to be treated for rabies. This does not help me to not worry.
On Preview this post seems so mundane and pointless to everyone else that I wonder why I am going to post it, but despite the risk to the hamsters, this seems like as good a place as any to randomly babble.
For one thing I’m fairly certain only one of the several species of tick likely to have bitten her in that area is a common carrier ( Ixodes scapularis in this case ). For another not all of the individuals in that species are going to be a infected ( maybe 15-50% depending on the county ). For a fourth they generally have to be attached for some time for proper transmission ( like up to 36 hours ). Fifth, doctors in the U.S. are now very cognisant of the possibility of Lyme’s Disease and when caught early it is generally pretty treatable with antibiotics.
Tick bites are pretty common in NY and there have been some 45,000 cases of Lyme’s Disease reported in the state. But that was from 1986-2004. Given how common tick bites are - especially in a densely populated state like NY - the threat is real, but not overwhelming.
And again I’ll emphasize that it is readily treatable early on.
I spent much of Oct-Nov of 2002 covered in ticks. It really sucked. I felt like a crack addict, only the bugs crawling on me were REAL. Very few of them actually bore in though. Most of them were babies. They hardly even visible but I could feel them! :eek:
I do have a scar on me thigh still from where one dug a hole in it.
. . . No Lyme disease though. I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you. It sucks being so far away from those you love. But you worrying about this is on par with her worrying that you’ll be in a horrific auto accident.
Oh dear - and trying not to worry is a bit like trying to get to sleep isn’t it? Does not quite work.
One thing occurs to me - at an organised girl scout camp, I shoudl imagine there will bew coomeone aruond with some First Aid/medical knowledge, AND somebody who would be able to drive her to hopsital if she did have a difference of opinion with a rattlesnake. I mean tghis is less worrying than if she were, for isntance, out in the middle of nowhere with a friend.
We are quite lucky here, I suppose, not to have much in the way of scary dangerous wildlife. Heck, I shoudl feel guilty for beign scared even of wasps!
Well, that will teach me to preview. What a mess. Sorry - excuse is am wearing out of date presciption sunglasses cos proper glass are broken AND a light bulb died in my lving room. Must try harder.
It’s not something to be too concerned about. Lyme disease is easily cured and only causes serious problems if ignored for a very long time. I don’t believe there’s ever been a fatal case.
It will usually show up as a red patch near the bite. Symptoms are like the flu. Just keep an eye out for these (and see a doctor if they show up), and things should be OK.
Thanks for the sympathy everyone . Lo0gically I know it is nothing to worry about, but it doesn’t help much when you’re trying to get to sleep and you start thinking bad thoughts .
Oh, and Celyn, I am terrified of wasps (evil stinging viscious evil things) as well, maybe we should form a club
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. Lo0gically I know it is nothing to worry about, but it doesn’t help much when you’re trying to get to sleep and you start thinking bad thoughts 