Cyclists disease? A MUST READ!

I live in rural Dutchess County NY which has the highest rate of Lyme disease anywhere. My wife and
I are fastidious in checking ourselves and each other for deer ticks. Some of these ticks are tiny
(smaller than a poppy seed) and nearly impossible to see.

In the summer of '02 I noticed that my average speed was falling off and that my heart rate was not
accelerating normally on climbs. I was fatigued, had a stiff neck and frequent headaches. I
suspected Lyme disease but had no known tick penetrations and no tell-tale bullseye rash. To make a
long story short, my Lyme test was positive (fortunate, because sometimes this titer returns false
negatives) and I took oral antibiotics for three weeks. It took only 4-5 days to begin feeling
better and within a few weeks I was feeling and riding as before, my recovery complete.

I was extremely lucky. Had I allowed the disease to continue even a few weeks longer without
diagnosis and treatment it could have been serious, affecting the heart, brain, major joints, etc. I
know several people who face lifelong medical problems because of Lyme disease. That is not a club I
wish to join. NO ONE SHOULD TAKE CHANCES WITH THIS DISEASE.

The key is eradication or drastic reduction of the deer population on which the ticks feed and
through which they infect one another as they drop off one deer, attach to another deer, and feed
again. There are proven humane ways to do this (such as setting up feeding stations that dust the
deer with a contraceptive and tick-killing agent when they come to feed) but the New York state
legislature has been slow to act and, as a result, there are thousands of new Lyme cases reported
in our area each year making totally unnecessary demands on health services and putting the
population at risk.

Anyone who lives in an area where Lyme is present should pressure their local and state officials to
take necessary steps to stop it.

On Fri, 16 Jan 2004 12:43:01 +0100, Derk <[email hidden]> may

have said:

A very good website about Lyme is: lymealliance.orglymealliance.orgOpen ↗

A "cyclist's disease"? Certainly not; cycling is neither the cause of Lyme, nor is it even the
activity whose participants are most likely to be afflicted. While it is certainly true that Lyme
exists as a generalized hazard, it is not specific to any particular outdoor pursuit. It is also not
common; this is one of the reasons why it's often not diagnosed right away.

I, for one, will not be spending a lot of time worrying about it.

For those in teh US who are curious about the real level of risk, the CDC has a map showing the Lyme
incidence frequency here:

cdc.govlymeOpen ↗

That website also has a more realistic assessment of the need for concern, and advice about
prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

For the majority of the US, Lyme is either very rare or unknown. I have no data about the rest of
the world.

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On 16 Jan 2004 06:48:27 -0800, [email hidden] (Mike Yankee) may

have said:

Anyone who lives in an area where Lyme is present should pressure their local and state officials
to take necessary steps to stop it.

I would only amend "where Lyme is present" to "where Lyme is common, and the vectors are not being
adequately controlled"; those two go hand in hand, of course.

In places where Lyme is rare or unknown, measures are unlikely to be either needed or warranted.
Lyme disease is considered "present" in east Texas, for example, but the high rate of exposure still
produces only a handful of cases per year,

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Werehatrack said:

A "cyclist's disease"? Certainly not; cycling is neither the cause of Lyme,

Well, I wanted a title that would draw attention and I succeeded in that apparently.

Quoted message said:

nor is it even the activity whose participants are most likely to be afflicted.

Maybe not most likely, but mountainbikers spend a lot of time in the woods, as do people who
sppedcycle in areas with lots of trees. A flat tire underneath a tree will put you at risk.

Quoted message said:

It is also not common; this is one of the reasons why it's often not diagnosed right away.

Not as common as the flu, but common enough: in my family 4 different ersons got it. All of them on
different places in different countries.

Quoted message said:

I, for one, will not be spending a lot of time worrying about it.

That's your right. Neither did I until I got the disease.

Quoted message said:

For those in teh US who are curious about the real level of risk, the CDC has a map showing the
Lyme incidence frequency here:

Most people never get out of their cars and/or stay in cities. Those who DO get outside are at risk.
Here in Holland it is estimated that 1 tick out of every 3 ticks is infected.

Quoted message said:

For the majority of the US, Lyme is either very rare or unknown. I have no data about the rest of
the world.

So is AIDS to a lot of people, but I would still protect myself against if I would be
given a choice.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it all day, but it's something everybody who ever is outside
should know.

There are even documented cases of people getting Lyme on their roof terrace in the center of
Amsterdam. Not likely, but it happens.

Greets, Derk

RE/

Quoted message said:

Not as common as the flu, but common enough: in my family 4 different ersons got it. All of them on
different places in different countries.

Here in SouthEastern Pennsyslvania, I knew a guy who was into bird watching. He said that twelve
(12!) of his fellow birdwatchers currently had lyme disease. Dunno what the total number of this
guy's friends, but it can't be *that* many...

Also, working in my previous job, I saw three people come-and-go with the IV antibiotics on the
little wheeled stand...in less than a year.
--
PeteCresswell

Werehatrack <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I, for one, will not be spending a lot of time worrying about it.

For those in teh US who are curious about the real level of risk, the CDC has a map showing the
Lyme incidence frequency here:

cdc.govlymeOpen ↗

That website also has a more realistic assessment of the need for concern, and advice about
prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

For the majority of the US, Lyme is either very rare or unknown. I have no data about the rest of
the world.

It might surprise you to find out that the majority of Americans live in the shaded areas
on that map.

The CDC is notorious for its lack of concern about Lyme and for trivializing the nature of the
disease (in the opinion of many people who have or had it).

My view on Lyme disease is that you probably shouldn't make any assumptions about whether it is
easily diagnosed and cured or not.

The only assumption I would make, is that if you spend a lot of time outdoors on foot in one
of those shaded areas, and you act like it's not much of a threat, well, you're probably going
to get it.

JP

RE/

Quoted message said:

The only assumption I would make, is that if you spend a lot of time outdoors on foot in one
of those shaded areas, and you act like it's not much of a threat, well, you're probably going
to get it.

Last year I heard somebody on Public Radio who at least *sounded* like he knew what he was talking
about, say that ticks and soap don't get along at all well.

Having heard that, I've acquired the habit of getting into the shower, getting wet, turning off the
shower, and just soaping the heck out of myself - before turning the shower back on....

The actual-size pics of deer tick nymphs I've seen (the ones that carry Lyme...) lead me to believe
that it's all-but-impossible to find the little suckers on your skin before they do their deed.
--
PeteCresswell

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:49:38 GMT, "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> may have

Quoted message said:

The actual-size pics of deer tick nymphs I've seen (the ones that carry Lyme...) lead me to believe
that it's all-but-impossible to find the little suckers on your skin before they do their deed.

Obviously, the other thing that needs doing is some thinning of the deer herd. (Given the price of a
hunting license, the cost of access via a lease somewhere, the general unattractiveness of venison
as meat, and the amount of work involved in dressing out and transporting the carcass, I will
politely decline to assist.)

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RE/

Quoted message said:

Obviously, the other thing that needs doing is some thinning of the deer herd.

Where I live, deer seem to occupy a niche somewhere between wild animals and vermin.

To wit: they spread disease, damage property, eat crops, present a real hazard to night drivers -
and their population level is (greatly?) inflated by certain consequences of suburbanization.
--
PeteCresswell

"Werehatrack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
| On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:49:38 GMT, "(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> may have said:
|
| >The actual-size pics of deer tick nymphs I've seen (the ones that carry
Lyme...)
| >lead me to believe that it's all-but-impossible to find the little
suckers on
| >your skin before they do their deed.
|
| Obviously, the other thing that needs doing is some thinning of the deer herd. (Given the price of
| a hunting license, the cost of access via a lease somewhere, the general unattractiveness of
| venison as meat, and the amount of work involved in dressing out and transporting the carcass, I
| will politely decline to assist.)
|

Contrary to popular opinions derived from the name 'deer' tick, the primary host of this critter are
not deer...... From: aldf.comDeerTickEcology.aspOpen ↗ "...If the host is already infected
with the Lyme disease spirochete (a form of bacterium) from previous tick bites, the larva will
likely become infected as well. In this way, infected hosts in the wild (primarily white-footed
mice, which exist in large numbers in Lyme-endemic areas of the northeast and upper mid-west) serve
as spirochete reservoirs, infecting ticks that feed upon them. Other mammals and ground-feeding
birds may also serve as reservoirs...."

Life......is dangerous ED3

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 14:50:48 -0600, "Edward Dike, III"

edd(2+1) said:

Life......is dangerous

So much so, in fact, that history shows life to be lethal 100% of the time. That's even more
dangerous than dihydrogen monoxide!
--
Rick Onanian

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

Obviously, the other thing that needs doing is some thinning of the deer herd.

Where I live, deer seem to occupy a niche somewhere between wild animals and vermin.

To wit: they spread disease, damage property, eat crops, present a real hazard to night drivers -
and their population level is (greatly?) inflated by certain consequences of suburbanization.

Dear Pete,

Sort of like teen-agers?

Carl Fogel

Rick Onanian <[email hidden]> wrote:
: So much so, in fact, that history shows life to be lethal 100% of the time. That's even more
: dangerous than dihydrogen monoxide!

for humans it has proven only 50% fatal. seriously. they estimate only 13 billion humans have
ever lived. those are decent odds. and i don't believe data from the animal kingdom can be
extrapolated to us.
--
david reuteler [email hidden]

(Carl Fogel) said:

"(Pete Cresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

RE/

Quoted message said:

Obviously, the other thing that needs doing is some thinning of the deer herd.

Where I live, deer seem to occupy a niche somewhere between wild animals and vermin.

To wit: they spread disease, damage property, eat crops, present a real hazard to night drivers
- and their population level is (greatly?) inflated by certain consequences of suburbanization.

Dear Pete,

Sort of like teen-agers?

Carl Fogel

Tee hee. I always figured that Carl had an inner wiseass.

Even my teen-ager laughed when I showed that to him.

--
Ted Bennett Portland OR