A little warning about tics

[Peck1524]

Just wanted to share my recent run in with a little nasty tic that really ruined my week. The saturday before last (4/23) I headed out in the pouring rain for my second day of Turkey hunting in Western Maryland. If you all remember my story I came close but never closed the deal    Headed home and took a quick one hour nap before showering and then off to my Mother-In-Laws for a small Easter lunch. While in the shower I found a small deer tic attached to the inner side of my left calf, right above my sock line. Like I've done dozens of times before I simply pulled him out cleanly with a pair of tweezers and taped him to an index card just in case. I woke up this past Thursday morning feeling really lethargic and in a pool of sweat. I thought my wife had turned the heat up in the middle of the night I was sweating so bad. By the time I got to work I was feeling like crap. Ended up leaving work at lunch with a low grade fever and slept the rest of the day away. By Friday morning my fever was over 100 and I was experience chills, cold sweats and general flu-like symptoms. I normally wouldn't go to the doctor for such a thing but had remembered my tic bite and figured I should go request some antibiotics just in case. I saw the PA who, at my request went ahead and put me on some antibiotics. I had a small rash on my back at this time but she said it only looked like a skin infection and the antibiotics would take care of it. Friday night was hell!! I went to bed with nothing on and a fan blowing on me and ended up with a sweatshirt, sweatpants and two blankets and still couldn't stop my teath chattering and my body shaking uncontrollably. My temperature climbed to 103 on Saturday and I literally felt like I was dying. My fever finally broke Saturday night but it took me two more days before I felt back to normal. I had lost 7 lbs. in 5 days. By monday I had the classic bullseye rash so I decided to see my doc since I suspected lyme to see if my treatment would change. He confirmed I contracted the bacteria from the tic that causes lyme disease and ordered me 30 days worth of antibiotics which will take care of the bacteria and prevent any long term problems. I'm thankfull I decided to go to the doctors early or I could have ended up with chronic lyme disease and the symptoms that go along. I feel 100% back to normal and am ready to hit the woods again this Saturday, with a couple cans of OFF this time!!!

This was my rash on Monday. It had grown probably 4x the size it was on Friday.

[Spellnj3]

WOW!!   Glad your feeling better, thanks for the warning, a lot of guys will try and sleep it off and never go to the doctor.   Good information to know, thank you!

[Hognutz]

Great little warning, Peckster.. Good luck with the antibiotics..Godspeed, my brother..Mike

[salt-hay]

Funny the rash showed up on your back. Usually it is endemic to the bite area. Perhaps you had another tick that you never saw........?  Glad you caught it in time, Lyme's is nothing to mess with. 

You may also want to treat your clothes with a Permethrin spray. Where I hunt is crawling with deer tick and the Permethrin spray really keeps them at bay.

[bowhunter84]

glad you caught it in time. i HATE ticks!!!!!!

[gobbler74]

Good info...been there. I don't know why but seems like ticks are getting worse by population where I hunt..

[Stoner]

The ticks are bad this year. We ran into them in Tennessee. Every time I shower I found more, next shower is going to be with my dogs flea and tick soap.

[Basser69]

Good info and heads up. This year I started using permethrin (thanks to info on OG) and mixing 1 oz. of it with 15 oz. of water in a spray bottle. I sprayed all my turkey hunting clothes down with it, let them dry and did not find the first tick on me all season. It is some great stuff. Check into it and I think your future problem might be solved.

[woodwzrd]

Definitely a good thing you caught it early. My wife wasn't so lucky. She got Lyme's and it went undiagnosed for almost a year and now has spent the last 2 years fighting chronic Lyme's. it is a long slow road to get rid of it if it is not treated properly right from the start. I pray for you that the meds do their job and get it all out of your system.

[BradW]

Thanks for the heads up and reminder, thankfully you are feeling back to normal, most of us avoid doctors like the plague. Glad you didn't.

[Gobble!]

glad your feeling better
many pets and people here is western md have been getting lymes disease from ticks in the past few years.

[RustySap]

glad you are feeling better and thanks for the info.

[Snoody Bastid]

Glad to see your feeling better. The woods where I hunt are loaded with ticks (deer & wood). Since I've been using Sawyers pump spray, I haven't had one on me. Stay healthy..

[strutnva]

nice to know, thanks

[flintlock]

Wow, glad you went to the doc when you did!