Finishing up my 2 weeks of antibiotics for this awful sickness. Party chief calls today and said he's got a 103 fever. Told him to get to the doc and get started on some meds. Doc told me it is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, until proven otherwise. She didn't do any bloodwork, so I won't know for sure, but my PC's doc did draw blood. Antibiotic treatment really helped, but after two weeks, I still feel weak. Will be interested to see an official diagnosis, since his symptoms are the same as mine were.
Beware out there. The ticks this year are worse than I have ever seen. I think last years mild winter has a lot to do with it.
I got a fine tick, July 4th, and got tick fever. Chills, sweat, messed up equilibrium, and all. I am just finishing my antibiotics. The ticks are bad. The really suck too.
N
Just about every field person I know out here in NY has had (has) Lyme Disease. It's brutal. My father in-law was in a coma for 3 weeks with Ehrlichiosis and now there is a new one floating around.
My current record while working in Westchester County was 65ish in a day on me. About a dozen full bites. My partner was in the 50's.
It's brutal out there...be careful.
Wow. Sorry to hear about that. Sure hope everyone will be fine. I've never seen nor know of anyone with that experience. Here in North Florida ticks are a way of life. Just pulled off 2 embedded ticks from last Thursday "outing". PC removed 10 crawling on his body Thursday too. Did not realize that about Tenn.
ibenhavin
> The ticks are bad. They really suck too.
>
> N
Okay, it's no laughing matter....but that was pretty funny.
Good article from Theresa on her experiences with Lyme Disease in this recent edition of California Surveyor: http://www.californiasurveyors.org/calsurveyor/CalSurv169.pdf
Had to look that one up...
"Ehrlichiosis is a tickborne[1] bacterial infection,[2] caused by bacteria of the family Anaplasmataceae, genera Ehrlichia and Anaplasma. These obligate intracellular bacteria infect and kill white blood cells.
The average reported annual incidence is 0.7 cases per million population.[3]"
Sounds like a fairly rare infliction. I'm assuming the coma was induced?
Yep induced after his system went septic. I know 5 or 6 people that have had it...not good...
.7 out of 1 million people get this disease and you know 5 or 6 people that have had it?! Were they all in your geographical area? Were they all involved in surveying?
Less than 1 in a million is pretty far out odds.
The 0.7 / 1 million rate appears to be from 2000 just after cases had begun being reported to the CDC. The CDC says yearly incidence is now around 2.5 / 1 million and peaked at 3.4 in 2008. Incidence is eastern US, extending to Texas and states north of Texas, plus a few in California.
Here is an article posted today about ticks.
Thanks Ric for that article.
Items of interest, that stuck in my head:
If your doc is not concerned, and you have signs that you have it, GET ANOTHER DOC fast.
Lymes Disease can mimic MANY other problems. Left undetected, it can devastate you.
Not from the article, have somebody else help you, when you are doing the fever, chills, and spooky stuff. I accidentally took 2 pills (antibiotics) when I was supposed to only take 1. (I was supposed to take 2 of one, and 1 of the other, and separated by an hr.)
Don't be too messed up, to get somebody to set out your pills, Somebody with a clear head.
Nate
Y'all be careful with that tick stuff. If it is misdiagnosed it can kill you.
Also, once I had to get on strong antibiotics and after I finished the 10-day dose of them, I was sick and had no energy. Went on for a couple months, going back to Dr. and he said I'd get over it. Turned out that all I needed was to replenish the good bacteria with a probiotic. So if you don't get over your tiredness, be sure to take probiotic. I havent had to take antibiotics since then, but if I do, I will take probiotic with my antibiotics.
Wife has me lined up wit a course of probiotics. I hope it makes me bionic! 🙂
N
What you need to do is brew yourself up some "Punkey Dope". Courtesy of Frank Bates - 1914
Just beware the Oil of Pennyroyal is highly poisonous to humans and insects alike. Just what you want to be rubbing all over yourself.
