Have you had a tick bite? Here is IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

I am coming out of hibernation for this post because I believe it is very important to share the following information. 

Some physicians (ER, GPs) think that a ONE-TIME dose of antibiotics after a tick bite will prevent the disease.  This is FALSE, and do not allow a physician to tell you so.  It may kill off the Lyme bacteria (borrelia) in the "spirochete" form, but not the "cyst form" which can also get passed onto you by the tick.  The "cyst form" takes longer to kill.

According to ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society), the following is appropriate treatment:

• For a tick bite with no Lyme symptoms - 3 weeks of antibiotics (doxycycline for people over the age of 8, amoxicillin for children under 8)
• For a tick bite with symptoms, such as a rash - 6 weeks of antibiotics (doxycycline for people over the age of 8, amoxicillin for children under 8)

Look it up in the ILADS treatment document in the link above and take the document to your physician.  To help you advocate for yourself, I urge you to watch this brief video below (on Facebook) which will help you arm yourself with all of the information you need to talk to your doctor.  Click this link:
https://www.facebook.com/1987511621569943/videos/2041990019455436/

Also, be very careful HOW you remove an embedded tick.  Many physicians (ER, GPs) don't know how to properly remove it without squeezing its stomach, which will cause its stomach contents to enter your body!  Here is a video to show you a method you can use to ensure that this does not happen.  It is called the Straw and Knot Method, developed by a Canadian doctor, Ernie Murakami.  Advance to 2:06 in the video.  Basically, you position a straw over the embedded tick.  Tie a thread onto a straw like you were starting to tie a shoelace.  Slide the knotted thread down the straw, over the tick's body, as close to your skin as you can get.  Slowly tighten the knot around the tick's head.  This way, you are not squeezing the stomach.  Use gentle tension to pull the tick out.  You can also use fine-tipped tweezers to pull a tick out, but be careful to grasp ONLY the head and not the body/stomach of the tick.

Put the tick in a plastic bag or small jar and have your doctor send it away for testing.  Do NOT allow your doctor to tell you to "wait and see" if you get a rash or other symptoms!  It is best to treat prophylactically (preventatively).  Three weeks of antibiotics now could save you a lifetime of chronic illness if the tick was carrying Lyme.

Spring, a season of new life and new hope

Dear friends,

We seem to have finally entered spring here in Canada.  The sights, sounds, and smells of spring are so refreshing, aren't they?  Spring is that relief after enduring months of harsh conditions.  Don't get me wrong; I love aspects of winter, too, but after five months of cold, wind, ice, slush, and shovelling, spring allows us to just exhale and take in the emerging beauty around us.  It is splendid!

I hope and pray that you are on the path to wellness and that, like spring, you are able to look forward to a new season of hope in your life.  Healing from Lyme is truly like the winter of life; it is hard and harsh.  But as you begin to see some small improvements, you regain that hope of better health.  Those small improvements are like the spring of your life, renewing your spirit as you anticipate better things to come.  Press on, and do not give up!  Very little has been gained in life without perseverance.  That is my prayer for you - perseverance and hope.

Thank you to those who have read this blog over the years, and I truly hope it has been helpful to many who have stumbled upon it.  This is my farewell post, as I will no longer be publishing here on The Lyme Maze.  Six years has been long enough, and I really have nothing more to add.  However, I will leave the blog up for those who may wish to have access to the information.

I wish you all the best on your journey to health!  Never give up!

With love,

The Lyme Maze