Hello. Watch out for Ticks!

[lil'freetime]

Just wanted to get into the forum to say hello. I'll start by letting you all know that my wife is right, hate to admit it, but I am obsessed with the outdoors. lil'freetime seemed appropriate enough for username. Parenting, working, coaching, umping, softball, and active union membership obligations leave little time for fair chase pursuits for fish and game. Turkey hunts in the A.M. then to work by 7, then the same for stripers, largemouth/smallies. Afterwork, and weekend mornings or afternoons for deer (coaching kids).

Big fish topwater gets me going. Stipers during the herring run( The Mack, Lamprey, Exeter, Androscoggin), then the ME. coast in the wash of the rock with poppers. Pike on the Sudbury River, smallies in the Sebago area, and largies ripping spinnerbaits or buzzers. Smash! I love it!

Archery deer, and gobblers seasons torque me up too!

My 6 year old son finally came out turkey hunting this spring, and will deer hunt this coming fall. He is good in the blind. Sits still, doesn't talk to much, and gets excited when the bird are gobbling.Which leads me to this next subject. LYMES DISEASE!

I was rececently diagnosed with it. if it is from work( I work outdoors) or play. I always take the necessary precaution when hunting. Tuck my pants inside my socks( I wear leafy camo over BDUs), then undress in the garage, and leave clothing outdoors overnight if no rain is coming.I then check myself over good when I shower. I found 2 imbedded one afternoon when I got home from work( hip and lower back). They were large ones so I did not think I was in trouble. The next week I had a scheduled PCP appointment, and showed my DR. As a precaution, he drew blood for a test, and started with and antibiotic. A week later it was a positive return. I am waitng to see a disease specialist next week. My warning to everyone, even if it is a large tick, GET TESTED!!! It has not been fun! I'm always tired, low energy, and sore. And to boot, I got the vaccination about 10 years ago. It does not work!!!

Sorry to end on a sour note, but if you get sick, no more hunting, fishing, or active sports for a while.

Hope everyone is having fur with the striper run! Be safe, respect each other, and have fun.

[Coalman]

You found the right site for those passions.

Lyme is a definitely and outdoors-man's scorn, but it is curable.

Welcome to MM.

[Brandon-K]

Welcome to the site!

I was tested for Lyme disease last week, fortunately the test came back negative.

[Roccus]

welcome to the site... anything that sucks blood is NFG in my book... be it a Mosquito, tick or lamprey eel!

[DBunker]

Welcome.

As I understand it Lyme diagnose is not 100%. There are many false results and that is why the protocol is to treat with antibiotics if a tick has been found feeding. There also is much variability in treatment results, with some cases being chronic. I was diagnosed with it about a year ago and they guess it is cleared out of my system or at least suppressed to low levels. I had heard that the vaccine was recalled several years ago.

One bit of info to pass along - There is an email urban legend that has been swirling around now for a couple of years that suggests using a cotton ball and some soap to remove a tick. This does not work and actually can aggravate the tick which may increase the chance of it regurgitating its gut contents into you. The best method of removal is grip with tweezers as close the the skin as possible and pull directing out. Even if the mouthparts remain in the skin, they pose little risk of infecting you with Lyme.



Read More UNH Cooperative Extension News: Tick alert: Lyme disease up 43 percent in 2007


At least lampreys don't spread disease.