+Melrose Plant Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 I also have nothing but bad things to report from Iowa as well. Ticks have been particularaly bad this year, especially in about April. They've leveled off a bit, but their mating cycle will cause them to start ramping up again soon. I went caching in Northeastern Missouri last Monday, and I came up with two ticks and the dog came up with five. Luckily, I thought to Frontline the dog two days before, so the ones I didn't find during inspection met a horrible and deserved death. Not so good for me. I found one crawling on me, no problem. The other one bit me underneath of my underwear waistband, and I missed it for 24 hours. I'm not worried about Lyme disease (not a deer tick), but MAN did that thing itch for several days. I almost had to go commando at work. It's looking much better now. Balboagirl herself actually found the tick, and I have to thank her for that. However, ticks really give her the heebie-jeebies, and things that were started came to a DEAD STOP right then and there, if you take my meaning. By the way, in Florida, where both my parents are from, they call chiggers "red bugs." That's what I've always called them. Quote Link to comment
+AuntieWeasel Posted July 14, 2004 Share Posted July 14, 2004 I'm not worried about Lyme disease (not a deer tick) How do you tell it's a deer tick by looking? That would be handy to know! Condolences on...that other thing. Quote Link to comment
+clearpath Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 By the way, in Florida, where both my parents are from, they call chiggers "red bugs." That's what I've always called them. Hey bud, careful what you call 'red'. BWAAAHAAAAAHAAAA Quote Link to comment
+norbu Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Hmmm...I lived in Panama as a little kid, and got bit by ticks a lot then, supposedly. They don't like me now much, nor do mosquitos. They tested me once for Lyme's in the late 80s as I had a lot of joint issues. My test was inconclusive, which the Dr. told me at the time meant I had some antibodies to Lymes or one of the related ickies (like RMSF). I haven't really thought about it much, but recently, I have a lot of this symptom 23.Neck creeks and cracks, neck stiffness, neck pain so who knows? weird. I hope KA is fine. Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 I'm not worried about Lyme disease (not a deer tick) How do you tell it's a deer tick by looking? That would be handy to know! Condolences on...that other thing. Look for the antlers. Quote Link to comment
+Stunod Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 I'm not worried about Lyme disease (not a deer tick) How do you tell it's a deer tick by looking? That would be handy to know! Condolences on...that other thing. Look for the antlers. I thought it was "one is $1.50...the other is under a buck"? Quote Link to comment
+Tprints Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 (edited) Just thought I'd add to this discussion as I came down with Lyme Disease last year. I noticed a red rash near my arm pit but it wasn't the bullseye. Never saw the tick at all. Later I began to have alot of joint pain. First in my elbow then in other areas including my jaw. It seems that the pain would stop in one area but move to another place on my body. Finally it moved to my pinky which made it difficult to do my job. I own my own screen printing business and it became real difficult to pull my squeegees to print tees. This all happened in just a couple weeks. At that point I went in to see my Doctor and told him I may have Lyme Disease and he said not likely. Guess what, I was right. He put me on anti-biotics and the very next day I felt fine. Stayed on the meds for about another month and I've been caching ever since. One weird thing is that many people feel real tired with Lyme Disease but I didn't. I just had the joint pain and seemed to have a slight fever. In fact, while I had the pain I found a 20-step cache that took me 14 hours and 10 miles of hiking over 2 days to find. Just shows that the symptoms vary widely and if you suspect any problem at all, have it checked out! Edited July 15, 2004 by Tprints Quote Link to comment
+Bjorn74 Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 For everyone who is awaiting the results of the contest tonight, it's gone into extra innings and we may not have a conclusive decision until Late November. I've called for a recount of Mr. 0's Chiggers. Larry may have won the popular vote, but since he's unaffiliated with a party, he doesn't get to win. Quote Link to comment
+Melrose Plant Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 I'm not worried about Lyme disease (not a deer tick) How do you tell it's a deer tick by looking? That would be handy to know! Condolences on...that other thing. Evidently, if one can tell a deer tick by sight, I am not the one to do it. The day I wrote that, I was already having symptoms of Lyme disease. I figured all that sleep deprivation was just catching up with me. I went to bed at about 7 o'clock. After just barely being able to make it through work the next day, I went to the doctor. She thought it was probably Lyme disease. I am now on powerful anti-biotics for three weeks. I had severe muscle fatigue and some achiness, especially at the site of the bite. There was no Bulls-eye rash. I managed not to miss any work, but I honestly don't know how I made through those couple of days (I have a fairly physically demanding job). Now, after two days on the anti-biotics, I am finally feeling somewhat normal, though I'm writing this at 8 p.m. my local time from the laptop in bed, and I plan to crash soon after a somewhat normal day. I guess I was overconfident in my ability to identify tick species at 11:30 at night when I wanted to get rid of the thing in a hurry. Let's be careful out there. Quote Link to comment
+Moore9KSUcats Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 We've been fortunate in not finding many ticks here in central Texas (around Austin), but the chiggers the last few hunts have been ferocious! They haven't bothered me, but the hubby has had many chigger bites from his knees to his ankles. So, the last time out (July 5), he put plenty of DEET from his knees on down.... so where was he itching after that???? From his knees to his crotch! (Ok, he is the one that suggested that I post it....) I don't really get bothered that much by mosquito bites, either... they do bite, but don't usually itch. Yes, we are using insect repellant when we go out now, but with it being 102 today (heat index of 112) it is getting just too DARN HOT to do much other than park-n-grabs.. wouldn't mind some cooler weather for a few days here..... Quote Link to comment
+Sparky-Watts Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 For everyone who is awaiting the results of the contest tonight, it's gone into extra innings and we may not have a conclusive decision until Late November. I've called for a recount of Mr. 0's Chiggers. Larry may have won the popular vote, but since he's unaffiliated with a party, he doesn't get to win. More hanging chads? Quote Link to comment
+GentleWhisper Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Hate to bump the topic, but I wanted to add a photo of a bulls eye rash I found on my daughter last night. [Might be handy for someone searching the forums for info later.] I took her to the dr. and she's on amoxicillin for two weeks. I started another topic before finding this one: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=ST&f=6&t=76032 Quote Link to comment
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