Lyme Disease--the real risk?

[Guest Chris Juricich]

My loving wife and I are having a dispute about the risks of lyme disease here in Northern California. I hike often in hiking sandals, shorts, and t-shirt and hat. Of course there is occasional bushwhacking.

 

And lyme disease apparently exists. She's insisting on one of two conditions to prevail before I enter the 'wilds' again--

 

1) wear appropriate long pants and long shirts

 

or...

 

2) get more life insurance.

 

Either will satisfy her. She says if I get sick from lyme disease (I realize it won't kill me, but...) and die, so be it. At least you'll have died doing something you enjoy!

 

But really-- what are my chances of picking up this disease in northern CA anyway? 1/1000? 1/500,000? I have no idea.

[Guest DaveA]

ot, just like the flu shots.

 

Anyhow, as I said, deer ticks carrying lyme disease are prevelent(relative to other areas) where I live, but I only know one person personally to contract it(mother in law). I know of others, but not personally.

 

I would research the population of deer ticks and lyme disease in your area to see how at risk you are. Regardless of the presence of lyme disease, there are other diseases transmitted by ticks and here we have had a mini outbreak of some disease I can't remember the name of which was transmitted via mosquitoes.

 

I would encourage you to wear long pants tucked into socks when bushwhacking and consider deet applied to clothing. There are some really cool, lightweight pants designed for hiking that sport all sorts of pockets and zip off legs (covert to shorts) that would offer you reasonable protection(from the waist down) and not make you look like a nerd :-)

[Guest brokenwing]

per the Lyme Disease Foundation:

quote:

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LD accounts for 90% of vector-borne infections in the U.S. From 1980 to 1998 about 112,000 cases have been reported from 49 states.

Montana is the only state having no federally reported cases of Lyme disease. Those patients who have acquired the infection in their state are not yet being reported past the state level.

 

Due to underreporting, the disease case count is likely to be 13 - 15 times higher. However, those are the cases that fit the government narrow case reporting criteria. The true number of cases may be significantly higher. One study estimates that there may be close to 1.5 - 2 million cases of Lyme disease.

 

Evidence of infection has been found on all continents - from positive cultures, to positive antibody tests with clinical signs, to infected ticks on birds.

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http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

[Guest Markwell]

That is! Per my wife, I'm doing all my caching in Montana!

[Guest Markwell]

That is! Per my wife, I'm doing all my caching in Montana!

[Guest Lightning1996YCJP]

A good friend of mine contracted Lyme disease in central Calif (not sure exactly where) and it was a nightmare for her. Definately not a diesase to be messed with, but with proper precautions it can be avoided. Your wife is wise to be concerned and the advice in the previous post is good. I'm an RN, by the way, as is my friend who got it!