Am considering relocating - my options are wide open. How do I find out what my risks are? Official reporting does not seem to be reliable.
Is this even the right way to ask to the question? Is living in town in general better than in the country regardless of location?
Are there any reliable statistics on this?
Posted by GiGi (Member # 259) on :
I think that possibly Antarctica might still be safe - I am not sure about the inside of the bunkers there.
That's what the CDC told my husband in 1996 when I was bit. Antarctica is the only place where Lyme has not shown up.
I think our best bet is to clean up our planet, starting with cleaning up our own body, our water, our food.
I really would like to know the answer to your question.
Keep searching.
Posted by janinco (Member # 6278) on :
If you'd asked me a couple of years ago, I would have recommended Colorado. Even though we have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever ticks, I've spent hundreds of hours hiking and have never seen a tick.
However, as sick as I was with lyme from tick bites in the Ozarks, I was knocked even flatter by West Nile Virus that I got here in Colorado. Maybe I was more susceptible to encephalitis because I'd had it before.
But overall, Colorado has very few bugs. One of the reasons I moved here was because I was so allergic to pesticides and everyone was constantly spraying in Missouri. I have been much healthier overall.
Jan
Posted by snowboarder (Member # 6346) on :
quote:Originally posted by shelley: The safest place I can think of is on a saiboat on the ocean!
I don't think living in town is any safer. They have to clear the land to build neighborhoods etc. and unless they burn the land first I doubt this gets rid of any ticks. In fact you may have more of a problem because the ticks have to find new hosts as opposed to the animals that formely lived in the woods!
I was just visiting a friend in Miami Florida and I saw way more ticks just outside his back door than I do out here in the woods in SC.
I guess it depends on where you're looking though, but I wouldn't rely on statistics, nor just by asking people that live in the particular state or place you're inquiring about.
For example my friends roomate thought their ticks were fleas!
Posted by James H (Member # 6380) on :
Did any of you watch the movie 'The Aviator', about Howard Hughes?
One could stand naked in a dark room, eat only pastuerized food, and use a kleenex whenever you have to touch something.
In the end he eventually died anyway, despite these precautions. He missed flying alot of really cool airplanes, too.
Posted by hiker53 (Member # 6046) on :
Central Illinois (just kidding). Afterall, my duck said there was no lyme in Illinois.
Posted by DolphinLady (Member # 6275) on :
Then the question to ask is perhaps who are the best people to talk to in any given area, local llmds, vets, lyme support group leaders?
Or maybe we can assume there are no safe areas in the world. So the question now becomes, how do we best protect ourselves. Wear protective clothing all the time, spray ourselves whenever we go out, treat our yards, check our pets. Stay on concrete away from trees and shrubs.
We're not only talking about protecting ourselves but also our families, friends, pets.
I think the boat idea is the best one yet, except you do have to go on land occasionally to restock supplies, or maybe to just feel terra firma every once in a while. Lots of mosquitoes usually around boat harbors, not to mention sand fleas and no-see-ums if you swim in. (I think I got lyme from sand fleas, but can't prove it. My llmd, top well known name, doesn't doubt it, but says there are no studies to prove it yet.)
I encourage you to brainstorm with me here. I think this is important for all of us. No suggestion is too silly, just try to be practical and state the pros and cons for all our benefit.
After all we've gone through I think we all should be better prepared at avoiding reinfections or new infections.
I thank you.
Posted by robi (Member # 5547) on :
I lived in ALbuquequeNM for 18 years........camped and hiked alot. Never saw a tick never bit by a tick.
Moved to VA a year and a half ago and was bit in MD doing a 5K run through a neighborhood.
So, I think New Mexico is pretty safe. Maybe not 100% but a heck of a lot safer than the East or West coast.
Has anyone on Lymenet been infected in NM? I havent heard of one yet.
robi
Posted by ElizabethP (Member # 6819) on :
DolphinLady
Am considering relocating - my options are wide open. How do I find out what my risks are? Official reporting does not seem to be reliable. Is this even the right way to ask to the question? Is living in town in general better than in the country regardless of location?
Are there any reliable statistics on this?
I'VE BEEN WONDERING THE SAME THING! I'd love to know.
Posted by Aries327 (Member # 3757) on :
montana has the western fence lizard to eat ticks sounds like a safe bet to me but your trading ticks for mounten lions and rattlesnakes and more so think about what else is there befor you jump
Posted by snowboarder (Member # 6346) on :
I agree with Janinco Colorado is pretty good but I know there are ticks in the mountains.
I was bitten when I was 12 but not sure if I actually got lyme from that bite. Another possibility was when I lived in Houston and Northern California.
If you ask a doc here or people in this state they don't think lyme exists here (we know thats not true).
What about Alaska? I've been there in June and remember it being very cool and I don't remember getting bitten by anything.
Another considration is economy and what you do for a living.
Posted by tjtighe (Member # 4057) on :
I was in the same position 7 months ago. I know ticks are everywhere and I finally found out I have lyme, babs, erlichea, staph neg coag over a year ago. I spent a lot of time doing research into areas that were near docs I thought I would feel safe with. Went to B.C., N. Carolina, and PA. Decided PA was the place to be. Right doc, wrong place. Am moving 6 hours away to be in a better atmosphere in a city where the medical help is great. Will keep the doc in PA. Takes a lot of research and just plan on maybe making a mistake. The answer is to travel light, so a move is not a big problem. Hope this helps.
tj
Posted by James H (Member # 6380) on :
I would suggest skipping Texas, unless the desert western areas appeal to you and you like solitude.
The greener areas have bugs that probably don't even have names yet.
Great Question!! As a geologist, I have lived all across the US and in many different countries.
From what I have seen, the deserts are the best, although I've seen some monster ticks in the Gobi! But there are the tradeoffs, like scorpions and snakes. But over all, deserts with the least vegetation are the best.
GiGi is right, the artic regions might be the actual safest on the planet. Have been to Antartica also...no ticks!
What about Greenland or Iceland?
Honduras is bad, in one area ticks were falling from the foliage, and were so numerous..it sounded like rain!
Personally, I would just live where you want and be careful. During tick season, stay away from brush and and tall grass. Use a tick/insect repellent when you need to venture into the hinterland.
Take care, Ernie
Posted by caveman (Member # 35894) on :
Another geologist here. I was also thinking of Iceland. But WildCondor has the best idea, Hawaii.
As for Colorado, my local dentist here in VA told me he had a cousin who got LD there from a tick, and he went deaf, blind, and died, fairly quickly.
I admit I'm terrified about going out in my yard and woods at my home since I got LD. I have gotten 3 deer ticks on me since the one that infected me with LD and rocky mtn. spotted fever a year and a half ago. I had some blood work done recently to see if I had picked up any additional co-infections. Apparently not.
Caveman
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Posted by twoangie (Member # 1636) on :
Ernie,
The problem is, it's ALWAYS tick season for one species of tick or another. For some foolish reason I had thought it was only in the spring that the nymphs and larva were going about. However, I read a study on the ticks in leaf litter and discovered that depending on the species of tick, those little guys can out even during the fall and winter when I thought it was safer to go about because the ticks were all grown then and easier to find. Wrong! I really hate I read that study because it totally destroyed my false optimism that there was a 'safe' time of year that I would be able to go and do things outdoors if I wanted. Bummer.
Oh, and others were talking about which places were safest to live...tough question. Even if you do find some place that is a nice climate and safe from ticks you still encounter so many other blood sucking, disease transferring bugs. I think that deeper in the south (Mexico? South America?) there is a Chagas bug (spelled something like that) which is extremely dangerous and feeds on you at night while you are sleeping then slips away.
Also, certain species of stink bugs are predatory and will feed on human blood. There was some program on the Nature channel a long time ago that told the story of a man in CA who almost died from an allergic reaction to their bites. He didn't even know he was being bitten on a regular basis by the bugs until he became so ill. I can't fully remember the story but I think it was something like the bugs had set up housekeeping in his couch and had their meals delivered whenever he would lay down on the couch. A bug can't ask for much more than that!
I don't mind BIG ticks as much as I do these teeny tiny ones. If it has some size then I have a chance of seeing it and protecting myself. It's these dot sized wonders that scare me. I pretty much feel the same about snakes and wild cats - at least I have a chance to SEE them so, if nothing else, I know what got me!
It would be a total violation of the life cycle if we didn't provide a meal for one creature or another...
Oh, and then there are the vampire bats...brrrr. Makes me cringe to even think about a secret visit from one of those!
Angie
Posted by Paisley (Member # 6502) on :
Arizona ...if your interested in more info on this suggestion let me know!
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
I got lymes in austin tx. Try new mexico. Its nice.
Posted by 2bostons (Member # 6249) on :
I am considering relocating too.. I currently live in central New Jersey..many, many ticks live here too..
I will most likely be moving to upstate NY..around the Albany region...
does anybody know what the tick situation is like in that area??
Unfortunately, I am extremely paranoid right now...
If the news is bad, please break it too me gently..
Thanks Cathy
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
from someone who contracted Colorado Tick fever, Lyme, and Bartonella while playing in my own yard...
CO really isn't all that safe either
------------------ C O L O R A D O * S U P P O R T * S Y S T E M [email protected]
Posted by Areneli (Member # 6740) on :
You know that in other areas that are ticks free might be high risk of some other diseases. Risk of Lyme is still small. There is only 2000000 Lyme patients in the US with diagnosed and undiagnozed cases (I think it is a resonable estimation) so only 1 person per 1000 approximately got it. There are bad diseases that are a lot more common.
Posted by artbyjessie2 on :
The problem with your theory is if you relocate to a place w/no ticks, and no Lyme - if you relapse or otherwise don't feel well - WHO are you going to see?
In this area (NY, Ducthess county) there are lots of ticks but there is also lots of information and local GPs and specialists are more likely to diagnose & treat Lyme.
Having access to a good LLMD and medical care is worth considering!
Posted by Corgilla (Member # 4066) on :
Hi,
I've thought about this too.
Except...
There's also the fact that if you move somewhere that is close to Lyme-free and you have Lyme, you then become a vector for spreading Lyme in that area.
That's not very nice.
Corgilla
Posted by Areneli (Member # 6740) on :
Just check your body frequently for presence of ticks and you should be fine.
Ticks are mainly infected by mice and birds and not people. Actually among people it is still very rare disease even considering the fact that there are many sick people without proper diagnosis.
