Tick Bite Prevention Week

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Eammno
Posts: 193
Joined: 20 Oct 2011, 11:11am

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week

Post by Eammno »

cycloret wrote: ticks seems a very distant threat. Hence the reason I didn't buy a tick twister last year.

If they cost about £1.50p for small and large including P&P, I might not be so cynical.


I used to think this till last year, when we picked our ticks up. There's more about nowadays.

I see your point about the price of the remover, but I got mine for £4, not really a significant sum...
I'd say it's worth it, so would you when you find you've picked a tick up!
saddie
Posts: 14
Joined: 20 Feb 2012, 12:25pm

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week

Post by saddie »

cycloret wrote:Whilst I'll acknowledge that for those who are bitten by a tick and contract Lyme disease, the effects can potentially be very serious but as I've never knowingly acted as host or has any family member, ticks seems a very distant threat. Hence the reason I didn't buy a tick twister last year. We have no pets or horses though a neighbour's cat visits our garden and occasionally do foxes.

No one acts as a host knowingly, and chances are you could have been bitten and you never ever knew. They can be so small they are nearly impossible to see. No one can say for sure they have NEVER been bitten. Where ever wild life is there are ticks, so by having foxes in your garden chances are you will have ticks somewhere in it. A tick detaches and falls off when finished feeding, they don't know where they are when this happens. They go off and change to the next stage of their life cycle, then look for their next host. There have been ticks found in the centre of cities, and the number of Urban Lyme cases is on the increase.

My husband got bitten many times over the years, and he started getting ill...it took 10 years for him to find out he had Lyme Disease,(it was a volunteer from BADA-UK who gave him the knowledge he needed to realise what he had) he went through living hell over those years. He will never be that very fit man, who mountain biked/hill walked/ice climbed etc. He was a fully operational Fire Fighter, but now he has a desk job. Our Chairperson is a Zoologist and got bitten goodness knows how many times in her career. She is now paralysed from the waist down, blind in one eye, partially sighted in the other and has heart issues. A few things they both have in common is they removed ticks in a way we now know to be incorrect, they both took a very long time to get diagnosed, and both have very different lives now. Also they didn't make the connection to ticks and Lyme. I am not telling you this to scare you, but to show you that maybe you should be viewing ticks as more than a distant threat! Also that knowledge is power. If Lyme is caught in the early stages, it is easily treated with a course of anti biotics. There is no need for people to go through what others have. That is why we give our time to do what we do


The website gives the impression that you'll be covered in ticks after every a walk in the garden or field and then afterwards you need to inspect your partner's skin everywhere and anywhere the sun doesn't reach. :lol:

Our website is there to raise awareness, as ticks are growing in numbers people do need to be aware of them. As for checking your partner....which part of that is such a bad thing.... :wink: Have to say we have never had someone comment on our site like that. Remember it is a site purely about tick awareness. :)

I've read in the past that the New Forest was a risk area but I suppose with the widespread increase in deer population, people are becoming at a greater risk. Though we go out walking regularly the risk from ticks feels remote. It's a bit like the risk of being run over by a vehicle, catastrophic if it happens but remote nonetheless. One could say that all the alarm serves the purpose of selling O'Tom tick twisters. If they cost about £1.50p for small and large including P&P, I might not be so cynical.


There are various hot spots for ticks over the country, and there are many reasons as to why tick numbers are on the increase. If you go to our other website it gives you all the information to answer these questions. http://www.bada-uk.org
Not sure why you are cynical about tick tools? We sell the O'Tom tick twister for £4.99 including p&p which is about the price of a pint, but it has a lifetime guarantee... Any profit there is goes to us raising more awareness. BUT trust me if we could we would give them away, but we have to buy them in, and don't have any funding to give them away as we are a self funded charity....We would love to know that all households had them, so that they have them if needed. I am pretty sure there are items you have bought, to have in case certain situations arise, we all have...a puncture repair kit for your bike is something you don't know if or when you may need it, but chances are you have one of them..just like the 3 sheds of "man stuff" my hubby has for various reasons :? ......I really hope you can view ticks differently? We don't expect you to be constantly worrying about them, but just remember about them when appropriate. :)
saddie
Posts: 14
Joined: 20 Feb 2012, 12:25pm

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week

Post by saddie »

Malaconotus wrote:I got lyme disease from a tick bite while out cycling a couple of years ago. I caught it early and the symptoms were pretty benign, so I was very lucky. It can turn very nasty.

I carry one of these all summer now... http://www.ticktwister.co.uk/tick-remov ... -grip.html They work really well.


Is there any chance you would be prepared to tell us your Lyme Story? We are desperate for new stories. We try to get press for TBPW but because we don't have any new stories this won't happen this year. Please have a wee think :) Cheers

Lisa
saddie
Posts: 14
Joined: 20 Feb 2012, 12:25pm

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week

Post by saddie »

The Mechanic wrote:I contracted Lymes last year whilst on the Way of the roses ride. It was not pleasent and I was on antibiotics for weeks. I had at least a dozen ticks on my after a detour through a cow field. I now carry a Tick Card. You can get them on line or from Cotswold Outdoor.

http://www.tickremoval.co.uk/tick_card.html


Hi, any chance you might share your Lyme story with us? We are desperate for new stories, as we have to keep using the old ones. With our TBPW we need new stories to give the press. It is one great way for spreading awareness. cheers

Lisa
alexsbruce
Posts: 1
Joined: 28 Mar 2012, 9:48am

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week - Your help needed

Post by alexsbruce »

If you live and/or work in Scotland, a Scottish life sciences company is looking for your help with the completion of a major new study about ticks and Lyme disease.

Members of the public in Scotland are being encouraged to take five minutes to complete a short online survey asking them some straightforward questions about their own experience of ticks and Lyme disease.

Lyme borreliosis is a tick-borne illness which, without prompt treatment, can cause debilitating long-term human health problems including nervous damage and psychological alterations. Ticks are prevalent in Scotland and most commonly found in wooded or bushy areas or amongst heather and bracken. They attach themselves to the skin of a host and feed on its blood. Ticks infected with Lyme borreliosis can transmit the disease to their host during the feeding process.

The company is keen to hear from people who spend lengthy periods of time outdoors for work or leisure and are therefore at higher risk of exposure to tick bites and Lyme disease. Cyclists obviously count as one of these higher risk categories.

The company is exploring the development of an innovative device for the removal of ticks from humans and pets, combined with a laboratory service for the detection of Lyme disease in ticks collected and immobilised using this device. The current study, funded by the UK technology strategy board, is designed to assess the potential market for such a product and service. But it is also expected to generate useful data about general awareness of ticks and Lyme disease in Scotland.

Over the coming months, it also plans to undertake more detailed interviews and focus groups and would be particularly interested to hear from anyone willing to participate in this more detailed survey work later this year.

If you live and/or work in Scotland, would like to find out more about this project, and to complete the ticks and Lyme disease survey online, please visit: xerolyme.wordpress.com.

[ Multiple references to the company name removed by Graham ]
voiturebalai
Posts: 12
Joined: 3 Sep 2010, 9:33am

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week

Post by voiturebalai »

Anyone travelling to France might like to know that those tick removers can be bought in just about any pharmacy. Same shape, just without the fancy grip. They come in a small plastic bag and you get 3 sizes, for about 3 euros (roughly - I bought some for an Australian friend last year who does a lot of fishing; I can't remember the exact cost, but he was surprised they were so cheap). If they try to sell you a more expensive, different version - there is one around - just go to the next pharmacist.

They work very well - you twist them around the tick and pull the tick away cleanly. As people have said, never clean the tick or surrounding area with alcohol or the tick regurgitates.

Our dog gets them occasionally, but we treat her regularly with Frontline Combo (the drops for the back of the neck version); it works, as we usually find dead ones on her.

I don't think anyone wants to know where on my body I found the one tick I had. Let's just say I discovered it while showering, and was so creeped out my wife had to remove it for me...
alimck
Posts: 32
Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 10:08pm

Re: Tick Bite Prevention Week

Post by alimck »

I've had ticks and chemists often do a little plastic thing with a forked 'foot' on the end. The trick is to twist sharply. It does work. I'll check out the tick card too though.
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