A few months ago I wrote a blog post entitled “The Lyme-Thyroid Connection”. It was a very detailed post, but one thing I didn’t reveal was the motivation behind it. The reason why I decided to write about Lyme disease was because the previous month I personally was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. Although I was thinking about revealing that I had Lyme disease in the previous blog post, I decided to hold off for a few reasons. One reason is because the blog post was long enough without my personal story! In addition, I figured I’d wait until I went through a few months of treatment (to be discussed below), as I didn’t want current and future patients to be concerned about my state of health. Before moving on, I do want to say that I currently feel great!
As most people reading this know, I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease. When I first found out I had hyperthyroidism I was shocked. Once I started developing symptoms related to Lyme disease I was also quite surprised. I was probably even more surprised with the chronic Lyme disease diagnosis, as overall I felt like I had been taking good care of my health. In 2016 I had shingles, and without question this was related to stress, as we sold our home and purchased a new one, which was a very stressful process, and then right after moving into our new home I broke my fifth metatarsal. While 2016 was very stressful, I can’t say that I had abnormally high stress levels in 2018. In addition, I do block out time for stress management on a daily basis.
You might wonder what having Lyme disease has to do with stress? After all, this is a condition that is due to getting bit by a tick, right? While it is true that the bacteria associated with Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) is commonly transmitted through the bite of a tick, this doesn’t mean that everyone who gets infected with Borrelia burgdorferi will present with the symptoms of Lyme disease. This is true of other types of infections as well, as the health of the host’s immune system plays a big role in the symptoms they will present with in any infection. What makes it even more puzzling is that most years I experience some type of temporary head cold, but this wasn’t the case in 2017 and the first half of 2018. I figured this was a sign that my immune system was in a good state of health. Apparently I was mistaken.
My Lyme Disease Story
I’d like to go ahead and share my “Lyme disease story”. In July of 2018 I visited Bear Mountain State Park in New York for a family reunion. Six days later I developed a mild cold, and I didn’t think much of it. In fact, that weekend I attended a 3 day nutritional conference, and although I wasn’t feeling 100%, I was able to stay focused and alert. A few days later I began feeling better. However, one week after developing the “cold-like” symptoms I began experiencing some neurological symptoms.
The very first neurological symptom I experienced was numbness on the left side of my face. Coincidentally, when I had attended the nutritional conference, a friend I hadn’t seen for a few years also attended, and he had numbness in his face as well. This was caused by Bell’s Palsy, which in most cases is caused by a viral infection. And so when I developed the facial numbness I was thinking that perhaps I also coincidentally had Bell’s Palsy. I was also concerned about the possibility of a stroke, and my wife encouraged me to call a medical doctor, which I did. He advised me to go to the ER, and I decided against this, mainly because I didn’t have the risk factors of a stroke, no family history, etc. I admit I was taking a risk, but I was pretty confident that the numbness I was experiencing wasn’t related to a stroke.
Anyway, in addition to the face numbness, I began experiencing some “electric shock” sensations in my hands and feet, and I realized that something was seriously wrong when one day I experienced weakness in my right leg. I should backtrack and let you know that when the leg weakness developed I had been taking some anti-viral herbs, as up until the leg weakness I was thinking that it might be some type of virus, perhaps even Epstein-Barr. When I started experiencing the leg weakness I did think of Lyme disease, but I also was concerned that it might be something else, such as multiple sclerosis. After all, I had Graves’ disease, and having one autoimmune condition increases the risk of developing another autoimmune condition in the future.
The leg weakness started on a Saturday, and on that Monday I scheduled an appointment with a local functional medicine practitioner (her name is Carrie) who has a lot of experience working with Lyme disease patients, and she also had personally dealt with chronic Lyme disease herself. Like me, she also went through the Institute for Functional Medicine certification. The problem was that I would have to wait a few days to see her, and while this wasn’t too long of a wait, I decided that I would keep my appointment with Carrie, but I saw another doctor on that Monday.
This turned out to be a waste of time, as not only didn’t he think I had Lyme disease (since I didn’t have classic Lyme disease symptoms, a bull’s-eye rash, etc.), but he wanted to refer me to a neurologist. To be honest, this wasn’t too surprising, and I should have known better. I was just impatient and was hoping to find answers sooner than later. I also wasn’t 100% certain I had Lyme disease, but if I did have it then I wanted to get this addressed as soon as possible, and so I chose not to see a neurologist. Keep in mind that if I did have Lyme disease I was suspecting that I might have “acute” Lyme disease, and not “chronic” Lyme.
Why Did I Suspect That I Had Lyme Disease?
I think it’s important to talk about the decision not to see a neurologist, as many people with Lyme disease had made this mistake initially. And in some cases it led to their condition becoming debilitating. This is the reason why I decided not to go to a neurologist, as while I wasn’t sure if I had Lyme disease, I figured that if I had multiple sclerosis or something else then it can wait a few weeks, but if I had acute Lyme disease this needed to be treated as soon as possible.
Not seeing a neurologist turned out to be a good decision in my case, as if I had chosen to see a neurologist first I not only would have had to wait at least a few weeks, but I probably would have spent thousands of dollars on unnecessary testing. In the blog post I wrote on Lyme disease in September I spoke about how Lyme disease can mimic multiple sclerosis, and so there is a chance that I might have been falsely diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or perhaps another condition. Another possibility is that after extensive testing by the neurologist everything would have come back negative, and I would have been back to square one.
Of course I’m not criticizing those with chronic Lyme disease who initially chose to see a neurologist first. They were just following the recommendations of their doctor. It admittedly can be a tough decision to make, as if someone is experiencing neurological symptoms it of course is understandable why they would choose to see a neurologist sooner than later. But since I was familiar with Lyme disease I went with my gut instinct and decided not to see a neurologist. So I’m not trying to discourage anyone from seeing a neurologist, but if there is even a small possibility that your symptoms might be related to Lyme disease then it’s important to look into this, and not to delay for too long.
My Appointment With The Lyme Disease Specialist
I saw the functional medicine practitioner on a Thursday morning, and my wife accompanied me. The appointment lasted well over an hour, as it included a consultation and exam. I also ended up getting some blood work. At the time Carrie also thought I had ACUTE Lyme disease, and I had to decide whether or not to take antibiotics. Just a reminder that prior to the appointment I was taking some antimicrobial herbs, and I got a little more aggressive when my leg weakness developed. Overall I was taking the herbs for about 2 weeks, and they didn’t seem to be helping with the neurological symptoms. And to be honest, I came to the appointment knowing that there was a good chance that antibiotics would be recommended, and I made the decision to take them…specifically Doxycycline.
So I took Doxycycline while waiting for the results of the tests. I’m sure some people will frown upon my decision to take antibiotics, and I admit it wasn’t an easy decision. I will say that I’ve mentioned in the past how taking antibiotics might be a good idea for ACUTE Lyme disease, and since I thought my Lyme disease was acute I figured the “benefit” of eradicating the infection and preventing the development of chronic Lyme disease outweighed the risks of the antibiotics disrupting my gut microbiome. The truth is that I was afraid of developing chronic Lyme disease after working with some patients who had it and seeing how debilitating it could be.
Two weeks after starting the Doxycycline I had another consultation with Carrie, and this is when I found out I didn’t have acute Lyme disease, but CHRONIC Lyme disease! Although my practice focuses on thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions, I’ve had patients who also had chronic Lyme disease, and some of them had been on antibiotics for years! I knew I wasn’t going to follow this route, as I was upset enough that I took the Doxycycline for 2 weeks.
Herbs, Antibiotics, UV Light, and Ozone Therapy
After finding out I had chronic Lyme disease, Carrie told me there were a few different treatment options. I can take an herbal/homeopathic approach, I can take antibiotics for a few months, or I can receive UV light and ozone therapy. I asked her what treatment she recommended, knowing that there was no way I was going to take antibiotics on a long term basis. She recommended UV light and ozone, and so this is what I decided to do.
Although I heard some great things about ozone, I also had heard stories of people with chronic Lyme disease who felt great after a few months of treatment with ozone, only to have their symptoms return. I decided to go this route anyway, understanding that at the same time I would have to work on further improving my immune system health. Of course I thought my immune system was in a good state of health, as while I did deal with shingles in 2016, overall I’ve been healthy, and I have been in remission from Graves’ disease since 2009.
You might argue that getting Lyme disease wasn’t under my control, as I was bit by a tick. While this might be true, the fact is that I had chronic Lyme for a period of time, yet for some reason didn’t experience symptoms until a later date. I discussed this earlier when I spoke about how the host’s immune system plays a big role n the development of symptoms.
How Do I Currently Feel?
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I currently feel great! However, I must admit that I never felt terrible to begin with, which is why the medical doctor who wanted to refer me to a neurologist didn’t think it was Lyme disease. Throughout this process I have never felt fatigued, which is very common with Lyme disease. And while I had some “electric shock” sensations in my hands and feet, this was intermittent, whereas many people with chronic Lyme disease have severe pain. Even the numbness in my face was pretty mild. I can’t say the same about the weakness in my right leg, which is what prompted me to schedule the appointment with Carrie. Fortunately I only experienced the weakness in my leg a few times, and as of writing this post I haven’t had this symptom since September (knock on wood!).
Overall I can’t complain, as while I wish I didn’t have Lyme disease, I’m very grateful that my symptoms haven’t been severe thus far. Plus, similarly to when I was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, I feel that being diagnosed with Lyme disease will force me to learn more about this condition. While I think my focus will always be to help those with Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s, I’m confident that my experience will benefit those with thyroid and autoimmune thyroid conditions who also have Lyme disease. What’s scary is that there is a good chance that some of my current patients have chronic Lyme disease and don’t know it, just as was the case with me.
How Did I Develop Chronic Lyme Disease?
You might wonder how I developed Lyme disease in the first place? I have no idea, as I don’t recall ever getting bit by a tick or having a bull’s-eye rash. It’s also important to know that there is evidence of Lyme disease being transmitted by fleas and biting flies as well. Either way, apparently I had gotten bit by a tick, flea, or biting fly in the past, and what I think happened is that when I went to Bear Mountain State Park this summer I got another tick bite. That evening my dog was all over me, and so it’s very possible that there was a tick on him and he passed it on to me.
Anyway, my theory is that I somehow got infected in the past, but my immune system kept the infection in check until getting bit by a tick when visiting Bear Mountain. Of course there is no way to prove this, as I didn’t have the classic “bull’s-eye” rash, but it makes sense since my symptoms started approximately one week after visiting Bear Mountain. Plus, as I mentioned in the previous blog post I wrote on Lyme disease, many people with Lyme disease never present with a bull’s-eye rash.
Some people reading this know my staff person Kate, and when I suspected I had Lyme disease her initial reaction was “no way!” Her husband gets exposed to ticks frequently when he’s working, while I’m in an office setting most of the time. But it’s just another lesson that anyone can get Lyme disease. We do have two dogs (we have cats too but they stay indoors), and so besides potentially getting exposed this past summer in New York, it’s also possible that over the last few years I got exposed to one or more ticks. Or perhaps the first exposure was through a flea or biting fly.
I Also Tested Positive For Bartonella
Most people with Lyme disease also have one or more coinfections. This was the case with me, as I tested positive for Bartonella. Bartonella is a type of gram-negative bacteria, and while it can be transmitted through the bite of a tick, it also can be transmitted through cat scratches, and thus is sometimes referred to as “cat scratch disease”. I do have three cats, and so I suppose it’s possible that it was transmitted this way, but as I just mentioned, it also can be transmitted through the bite of a tick. For the Bartonella I was advised to take a homeopathic formula for 2 months.
Concern With A Graves’ Disease Relapse
When I was officially diagnosed with Lyme disease, one of my main concerns was that it would potentially re-trigger my Graves’ disease condition. And while I didn’t feel any overt hyperthyroid symptoms, I did order a thyroid panel with antibodies shortly after being diagnosed with Lyme disease, and I’m thankful that everything looked fine. Of course this doesn’t mean that I’m in the clear yet, as it probably would be a good idea to do a thyroid panel with antibodies at least one or two more times in the near future, just to be on the safe side.
What Would I Have Done Differently?
I don’t really have any regrets so far, although if I knew that I had chronic Lyme disease I wouldn’t have taken the antibiotics and I instead would have started with UV light/ozone therapy right away. Sometimes I do wonder if I should have taken a “Lyme-focused” herbal approach instead of the UV light/ozone therapy. Although I did take some herbs when I first started experiencing symptoms, they were more specific for viruses, although I also added an herbal antimicrobial called Biocidin, which in some cases can help with chronic Lyme.
My Current And Future Treatment Approach
While I’m currently receiving UV light/ozone treatment every other week, I also started taking some herbs that are recommended by the herbalist Stephen Buhner in his excellent book “Healing Lyme”. Since the Doxycycline no doubt disrupted my microbiome, further compromising my immune system, I’ve also been working on restoring my microbiome health and doing things to promote gut healing. And of course I’m making sure to eat well, manage stress, get plenty of sleep, minimize exposure to environmental toxins, etc. I thought I was doing a good job in these areas before, but I’m doing an even better job now.
Advice For Others With Chronic Lyme Disease
As for what advice I have for others with chronic Lyme disease, I’ll just remind you that while addressing the infection is important, it’s even more important to focus on improving your immune system health. And while taking antibiotics sometimes is necessary, especially when someone has acute Lyme disease, if you have chronic Lyme disease you need to strongly consider the pros and cons of long-term antibiotic use. I felt bad enough taking the Doxycycline when I thought my Lyme disease was acute, but there are some people who are on antibiotics for months or years.
Without question antibiotics can be a blessing when it comes to acute infections, and I’m not just talking about Lyme disease, but other types of infections that can be serious, and in some cases even life-threatening. On the other hand, we can’t ignore the impact that antibiotics have on the good bacteria of the gut. Even taking antibiotics for one or two weeks can significantly disrupt the microbiome, let alone taking them for many months or years.
So for those reading this who currently have chronic Lyme disease, if you aren’t taking antibiotics that’s wonderful! Try everything you can to avoid taking them in the future. If you took antibiotics like me, even for a short period of time, then hopefully you took time to restore your microbiome health, which doesn’t just mean taking high potency probiotics for a few weeks (although taking high potency probiotics is also a good idea). Perhaps restoring the microbiome is a topic I will discuss in a future blog post in 2019.
For those who currently have chronic Lyme disease and have been taking antibiotics for a few months or years, I hope that one of your goals in the near future is to devise a plan to wean off of the antibiotics. This very well might mean working with a natural healthcare practitioner who focuses on Lyme disease. I’ll add that I have worked with a few patients who were seeing some alternative-minded medical doctors who focused on Lyme disease, yet still took antibiotics for months or years. If this describes you then it might be time to switch to a different practitioner.
Should EVERYONE Get Tested For Lyme Disease?
I have no idea how long I was dealing with chronic Lyme disease, as it could have been a few months, or a few years. Either way, based on my experience, you might wonder if everyone should be tested for Lyme disease. First of all, I would read my blog post from September, as I talk about testing, including possible false negatives. In other words, a negative ELISA and/or Western Blot won’t always rule out Lyme disease. Some labs are better than others, as many practitioners use IGeneX, which is a lab I considered using, but Carrie recommended Medical Diagnostic Laboratories.
Sometimes I do wonder if it would have made a difference if I knew I had chronic Lyme disease sooner. For example, while I was already living a pretty healthy lifestyle, if I knew I had Lyme disease even a few months sooner perhaps I would have started taking the herbs recommended by Stephen Buhner, which might have prevented the onset of symptoms. Of course there is no way of knowing this for certain, but I’m bringing this up because while everyone reading this should already be living a healthy lifestyle, some people aren’t, and if you were to find out you had Lyme disease ahead of time you might be more strict with your diet, make sure you’re getting enough sleep, blocking out time for stress management, etc. Once again, I realize that some people are already doing this, but many people aren’t.
At the same time I don’t want everyone reading this to become paranoid and think that they have Lyme disease. The truth is that we all have microbes in us that can be potentially pathogenic. For example, most adults have Epstein-Barr in their body, and while in many people it is inactive, if you don’t take care of your health it can reactivate and cause a lot of problems. As I mentioned earlier, Lyme disease wasn’t the only pathogen I’ve dealt with recently, as in 2016 I had shingles, which no doubt was a consequence of extreme stress, and I discussed this in a blog post I wrote entitled “Can Shingles Trigger Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s?”.
What Can You Do To Prevent Yourself From Getting Lyme Disease?
In order to prevent yourself from getting Lyme disease, you obviously want to try everything you can to minimize your exposure to ticks. Of course this is easier said than done, although when hiking you can try to avoid walking across grassy fields, wear long pants and socks, inspect your clothes and skin for ticks, etc. Just a reminder that your dogs and cats can pass ticks onto you, and they can also be infected by ticks.
Oil of lemon eucalyptus can also be used as a tick repellent (1). So can chemical repellents containing DEET, but I’d stick with the essential oils! Stephen Buhner also has formulated this tick repellent, and he says that the primary herb for prevention is astragalus, and to take a minimum of 1,000 mg per day if you live in a Lyme endemic area. I will say that there is some controversy over using astragalus in those with autoimmune conditions such as Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s.
If you have already been bit by a tick and discover it while it’s still attached, use a tick removal device to release it from your skin. According to Stephen Buhner, applying Andrographis tincture as soon as the tick is removed can be effective. As a result, it might be a good idea to have some Andrographis tincture handy.
Even if you don’t have Lyme disease I hope you found this post to be interesting and informative. If you have any questions or comments based on my “Lyme disease story” (or your “Lyme disease story”) please post them in the comments section below.
There are other non-invasive ways to control Lyme disease. You are welcome to get in touch with me. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks Pedro. I might email you after the holidays. I know one non-invasive treatment method some people have had success with is using a rife machine. What’s tough about Lyme disease is that it seems like different people respond to different treatments, whether it’s antibiotics, herbs, ozone therapy, rife machine, etc.
Sorry to hear you have Lyme. It’s horrible. I too would be very interested to know about other ways to treat chronic Lyme. I started symptoms in April (neurological) but I think I was bitten in October i.e. 6 months before. I tried cefuroxime and doxycycline for 2.5 months but it left me with severe leaky gut and a suck euthyroid so I’ve felt pretty bad. I’m now on some herbals but can’t get rid of the tingling symptoms, lack of energy , poor sleep and low mood. Any ideas on other treatments ? I use magnesium zinc B complex selenium vit D and fish oils. Thank you v much.
I’m sorry that you’ve dealt with some pretty bad symptoms. As I mentioned in the post, I have tried UV light and ozone therapy, and while they might help with your symptoms, just remember that you also need to improve the health of your immune system, and it will of course take some time to do this since you were on the antibiotics for a few months. Also keep in mind that not all herbs are the same, and so if you haven’t done so already you might want to consider reading Stephen Buhner’s book “Healing Lyme” and following some of the recommendations he gives.
I have chronic Lyme. I’ve been doing a lot of investigating on treatment. One thing you didn’t mention was that lyme is now thought to be transmitted also by mosquitoes and that it can be a sexually transmitted disease and that babies can be born with lyme from their mothers.
I also think a very good lab for testing is Armin in Germany. I had all my testing done at the lab you mentioned, medical Diagnostics.
Lastly I think the article should mention if you remove a tick that it needs to be sent for testing because then you will know for sure if that tick have Lyme.
You are very blessed to have not very many symptoms presenting. For me I have other viruses such as EBV and hhv-6 anaplasma pneumonia… more. Very complicated to treat. I have not had any antibiotic treatment. I have been using a biophoton treatment and herbals. My energy after 2 years has finally come up a little bit. My sleep has improved. I am going to focus now as well on the Buhner protocol. Blessings on your journey
Verena, thank you for your input. Yes, there is some speculation about Lyme being transmitted by mosquitoes, although I’m not certain if this has been proven yet. And you’re correct about it being transmitted sexually. Good point about sending in the tick for testing (if you remove it). I’ve read about this as well, although I’m not sure if all labs will evaluate the tick? I agree that I’m blessed not to have severe symptoms. I do have EBV as well, as most adults will test positive for this. And thanks for letting me know about the biphoton treatment you have received, as I’m glad your energy has started to increase and your sleep has improved.
Hi there. I am sorry to hear that you have this added health concern if Lyme’s disease. However recently I read an article about stevia extract being very effective for Lyme’s disease. I know how well researched you are. So just in case you did not know this already. I thought you might want to check it out. As regards the anti biotics, sometimes it’s necessary. Very often when the natural stuff does not cut it on its own or the medication does not cut it on its own, the two together are excellent and address the problem. You kept an open mind and I think it was a good judgment call. Take care. Happy holidays. Dawn (Spain)
Thank you Dawn. I am familiar with the study, and will include a link to it below. Besides it being an “in vitro” study, I’m not sure if stevia alone would be sufficient to eradicate Borrelia Burgdorferi. But I could be wrong, and perhaps there will be more future studies demonstrating this.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681354/
Another thing I came across was sporebiotics. Not even antibiotics can stand up to these guys. They are recommended for Lymes. Take care and happy holidays.
Dawn, I’ve actually been taking spore-based probiotics since being diagnosed with Lyme disease. Like stevia, I don’t think that taking these alone are sufficient for overcoming Lyme, although perhaps they can be a piece of the puzzle.
Great to hear you are doing well! Just curious about the broken 5th metatarsal…did you have trouble healing that? I’ve been dealing with this for the past 6 months, has rebroken. Did you attribute your problem with that to anything else going on for you? I do have Hashimotos….thanks, keep up the healing!
Sue, this was the second time I broke my 5th metatarsal, although the first time was on the other foot! It actually healed without a problem, and it feels pretty good these days. In my case it was definitely caused by trauma, as I mentioned in this post how I moved in 2016, and while we did hire movers, one week after moving into our new home myself and two others were carrying a small sofa I just purchased up a few stairs in front of the house, and I missed a step and fell down! I knew it was broken right away! I’m sorry that you have been dealing with it for so long. Besides making sure you’re eating well, make sure you have healthy vitamin D levels, and while I’m not a huge fan of supplementing with calcium on a regular basis, calcium, vitamin D3, magnesium, vitamin K2, and boron can help with healing. Cold laser therapy might also be beneficial in your situation. Best of luck!
Thanks for the tips!
Hello. I have two questions:
1. How do you know the difference between chronic and acute Lyme? Is it in the blood work or based on how long you have had symptoms? What if you didn’t realize you were having symptoms and can’t pinpoint a time when they started?
2. I am curious what the significance of not getting a head cold for a couple of years was. I have always said my superpower was not getting sick, though actually since 2005 I have gotten sick once every six years. I was sick rather frequently before this.
Yes, the blood work will differentiate between acute and chronic Lyme, as my IgM markers were negative, but my IgG markers were positive, which indicate a chronic infection. As for not having a head cold for a couple of years, I was just bringing it up because normally I would get one or two per year, and it had been awhile since I last had one, and so I thought that my immune system was in a good state of health.
Dr. Osansky have you considered using CBD Oil? Dr. Philip Blair on you tube has some very good videos on its use. Also the scientist Dr. Judy Mikovits has several videos and also recommends it for Lyme, especially chronic lyme.
Terry, if I were experiencing pain due to Lyme I definitely would have considered CBD oil…thank you for bringing this up. I know CBD oil also can help with reducing inflammation, and so perhaps I can benefit from taking it anyway, although I’ve been doing a lot of other things to reduce inflammation (i.e. vitamin D, fish oils, curcumin, resveratrol).
Something has changed which is causing people’s immune systems to tank. Vaccines is one of those more direct causes, but the planet is polluted in so many ways now, with herbicides, pesticides, GMO’s and so much more.
Attempting to stay removed from as much pollution as possible is a grueling job. Not sure there is anyplace to run and hide anymore.
Suki, I agree that living in a toxic world doesn’t help. Even before dealing with chronic Lyme disease I was pretty aggressive with detoxification, as besides eating mostly organic food and drinking purified water, I have air purification systems in the home and office, I do a 3-week liver detox a few times per year, do infrared sauna a few times per week, etc. But I agree that it’s impossible to avoid all environmental chemicals, and I know one area I can improve in is trying to minimize my exposure to electronic pollution.
A couple of points. We live on the north California coast in a rural area where there are a lot of deer ticks and western black-legged ticks. Our long-haired dog is always bringing them inside with him. We treat him with a tick medication (afoxolaner–NexGard) that kills them after they attach. This helps us since we can’t possibly find all the ticks that hitch a ride on him, no matter how closely we check him. We take the following steps when we need to work outside in the meadows: stuff our socks inside our pants cuffs (or put the velcro ankle straps on that cyclists use to keep their pants legs from catching in the bike chain) and when we are finished working we take everything off and launder it every time. We check ourselves at the end of the day. On the occasions when we find a tick freshly attached, we dab it with tea tree oil on a Q-tip. This makes it let go and it’s easier to pull it off and not leave body parts embedded. We have been told by the local medical authorities that a tick must be attached for 24 hours before it can transmit Lyme disease. Nonetheless, if we find a tick that is attached, we do take the double dose of doxycyline that we keep on hand.
Thanks for sharing this Laura!
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