Seriously, what are you guys wearing in the woods?
[ 05-23-2010, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: canbravelyme ]
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Last time I wore shorts and flip-flops. Totally stupid of me but I didn't even think about it until it was too late.
Next time I decide to go to the park or hiking in the woods, I will wear some yoga pants, socks, and running shoes. I would tuck the bottom of my pants into my socks.
Is it important to wear long sleeve shirts or are short sleeves OK?
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Sammy - I'm thinking full Tyvek suit, duct taped shut around the neck and up and down the zipper.
Then again, Lyme is everywhere, and one must make peace with how one is going to go about living one's life. That's why I'm wondering what peace in practical terms people here are coming to when it comes to living in endemic areas.
It's said all light clothing for easy spotting of ticks, soaked in Permethrin. Pants tucked into socks. I would wear long sleeves.
Posted by massman (Member # 18116) on :
Gore-Tex jacket, chest high teflon waders, cooking gloves, motorcycle helmut wyth velcro attachments to jacket.
That is about it Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- I've not tested it but it seems very likely that ticks may get stuck in the softer side of velcro. That could be helpful: velcro bands at wrists, ankles, neck, perhaps. Velcro hats, maybe?
Anyone want to test this the next time a live specimen is around ? -
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
I hate to say it, but going in the woods is asking for it. Unless you have on those clothes that Wild Condor had a link to that totally keep out ALL biting insects.
If you do go in the woods without that, you do need to wear long pants, long shirt, clothes treated ahead of time with permithrin, a hat, shirt tucked in, pants tucked into socks. And bug repellant on skin.
And do a FULL tick check immediately upon coming back. And put clothes in the dryer.
Franky, I feel it's just not worth it. I went for a walk and a hike last year (VERY short walk and hike), and got 2 ticks on me. I didn't discover the first tick
until late at night, and it was fully embedded. It caused a horrific relapse, in spite of adding doxy, and in spite of already being on
IV rocephin already. We realized it was a reinfection of Babesia. No way was it worth it. The tick was in my hair at the base of
my skull. If I hadn't felt it when doing a tick check, I wouldn't have known it was there. Be careful! We can't afford more bites.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
I want to answer this seriously since I believe it was asked seriously.
For the rest of my life, I won't go in the woods unless my life depends on it.
I had to give up a lot of things since getting rid of lyme disease. That is one of them. Also, picking berries along side the road. Also bird feeders in the yard.
My lyme doc told me to sell my house and move since there are so many ticks where I live (I back to a woods).
Those of us who attract ticks have got to be vigilant the rest of our lives (it's our pheromones that we make that attract them). Same with children who get lyme. They will get it again if lifestyle changes are not made.
I was depressed at first about having to stop doing certain things for the rest of my life. But, now I don't think about it much.
It has been 5 years since I completed my lyme treatment and I am still symptom-free, enjoying my life. It is the same life I had before lyme disease. And, I went undiagnosed for 10 years.
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Who recalls the name of, or the link to, the clothes Wild Condor suggested?
Posted by stork (Member # 24167) on :
this is what I do:
I stay on the cleared paths in parks. I avoid all trails that entail brushing up against anything. I am sure to wear a winter hat covering ears and all my head/hair, light colored loose fitting columbia (or similar) pants tucked into light colored long hiking socks with boots or sneakers. long sleeve shirt tucked into the long pants.
when you get home, immediately throw everything into the dryer on high. inspect yourself all over using both hands and multiple mirrors. shower for 10-15 minutes, full body scrub.
isn't foolproof, but nothing is. I don't do chemicals because I am generally opposed, but you probably should.
Posted by hcconn22 (Member # 5263) on :
I totally agree with TF. I love hiking, the woods, etc., but not enough to go through more of this h***.
There are natural repellants with essential oils that you can use, too. Even DEET doesn't keep the ticks off. I was covered with
DEET when I got a tick on me. And Dr. Sapi of U of New Haven has found, also, DEET doesn't keep the ticks off. It may help some, however.
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
I'm a tick magnet. I have chronically high
chloride levels they must love. Give me a suit or
I'm not going in.
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Thank you for the links!
Has anyone tried these? Has Wild Condor?
Best,
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
You all offer good information. It will make me more conscious of what I wear in the future.
Now I'm wondering, what do you all do to protect yourself on a daily basis?
Do you avoid walking in your own yards? What about walking on sidewalks in the neighborhood or local parks? Is this risky?
I love being outside. As I get well again I would like to spend more time doing outdoor activities. I guess I really need to do some more learning so that I don't get reinfected.
Posted by zil (Member # 12048) on :
I live in a National Park area and see white tail deer a lot just from my door. Also have a lot of squirrels, rabbits, occasionally see a racoon. Around these parts people say Avon Skin so Soft works to keep ticks off you. (I have nothing to do with Avon). I am real paranoid about being out and do check myself if I am. I make sure my dog is well treated for the pestilence and check him often.
Posted by Sick Tick (Member # 23003) on :
This post is very timely for me......
I have a property with lots of woods and therefore deer and ticks. I avoided that property for nearly a year, other than 2 very short visits when it was so cold there were little to no ticks around. I just got back from my first real visit since getting ill, and stayed out of the woods. I went just to the edge of them though, long enough to look at the creek, and sure enough, 4 ticks crawling up the leg of my pants! I do not know that I will ever be able to relax and enjoy that property again, and we had planned to move there in 8 years.
I will NOT go in those woods again unless it is winter, and when I do, I will be wearing the tick clothes (they sell some at some of the outdoor stores that that have repellent already in them), and a mosquito hat! But....as posted above, we need to be able to enjoy our outdoors at our homes, and ticks are eerywhere...we take risks driving, etc. and have to do as you stated and weigh the risks....and keep on living in this world of ours.
I am really struggling with this right now....how do I tell my husband that I don't think I can move there now, and do I really want to give up on this dream when I could easily stay away from the woods? But then why have them? And what about my husband....I know he will not stay out of the woods, and I don't want him getting sick.
I got home a few hours ago, and all I have done is sift through everything I had down there, looking for ticks, and thinking about how horrible I would feel if I brought a tick home and one of my dogs got ill.
This property meant so much to me at one point.....now I am afraid of it. And yet, ticks are everywhere, and so is danger.....
Any thoughts are appreciated...
Posted by XxDarkEuphoriaxX (Member # 21420) on :
My family owns acres of farmland and some of it is woods. That is where I plan on building my house in the next 2 years. It is literally right smack in the woods. I have found lone star ticks, dog ticks, and deer ticks on me. Is that going to stop me from building in the woods? No. I love nature. Ticks aren't going to stop me from building in the woods. Nor poison ivy or mosquitos or deer fly's.
I walk around the woods all the time in jeans, shorts. In the summer, spring, fall. I find ticks on me. I take them off. They don't stop me from doing what I like to do.
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Hi DarkEuphoria,
I don't know what your symptoms are, but I know a few of the other respondents were affected very seriously. Once that happens one is giving up a lot more than the privilege of going into the woods or living in the country - wheelchair, bed-bound, or housebound. This is why you're hearing responses like, "It's just not worth the risk".
I don't know what the solution is.
Maybe being on continuous antibiotics during the summer months? Anyone doing this and just living with picking them off?
I can tell you my instinct, even if on antibiotics, would be to minimize my exposure to ticks, period: likely meaning bug resistant clothing on top of antibiotics.
Best wishes,
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Wouldn't be caught dead in the woods!! I avoid walking on grass.
OK.. call me paranoid, but I was sick LONG ENOUGH. Not willing to go back there again.
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
TuTu: I admit I also avoid walking on grass.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Might as well! Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
I don't see how you could use abx just to keep from getting TBI's, except if you had a new bite. There are SO MANY TBI's to target! Doxy alone doesn't do it. You'd need a raft of different abx.
They are finding more and more pathogens that the ticks carry. Dr. Eva Sapi at the U of New Haven has found, in addition to Borreiia,
Babesia, Bartonella (many species of each), Mycoplasma, filarial worms, and I forget what all else. And, it seems there is more all the time. It's imperative to avoid tick bites---unless you don't mind being deathly ill! Once you've been this sick . . .
Posted by kitty9309 (Member # 19945) on :
Spray clothes and shoes with a permethrin spray. One brand is called Repel.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Rumigirl: It's imperative to avoid tick bites---unless you don't mind being deathly ill! Once you've been this sick . . .
Yep.
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
Hi all,
Here is what I do.
Prevention:
Spray all clothes with Permethrin (DEET does not work well on ticks) let the Permethrin treated clothes fully dry before wearing them.
If you cant tolerate the permethrin, you can try Natrapel, citronella like herbal insect prevention.
Check yourself constantly and stay on trails and out of tall grass or underbrush and leaf litter, dont let trees/plants brush up against you.
I usually stick to watersports, or very well worn paths when hiking, just to risky to go in the woods in most places.
Be careful at the beach too, sand fleas can infect you as well.
Treat your yard by installing a fence and getting Damminix tick tubes. Call in the tick experts, and keep your pets protected! Dont let pets on your furniture without checking them!
Hope this helps! Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Thank you, Wild Condor Posted by XxDarkEuphoriaxX (Member # 21420) on :
well whatta you know I found a little one in me today :-p
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
I put this info in a thread called Tick Bite Prevention, hopefully the moderators will sticky it. Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Hiya,
To shift this thread slightly to the left, what does everyone think of taking antibiotics / herbs during the summer, once one is sufficiently recovered / in remission to be exposing ourselves to tick endemic areas, as we cannot always be aware of a bite?
Which antibiotics? Herbs?
Best wishes,
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
It makes sense, however with all the different germs and infections that can be transmitted in one tick bite you would have to be on a ton of meds, and just for prevention I can't imagine doing that.
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Obviously, there is no magic bullet.
I'm skeptical that protective clothing will protect one completely.
We know doxy early on covers many of the vectors.
What about Andrographis and / or (an)other(s) of the Buhner Herbs?
Posted by BackinStOlaf (Member # 23725) on :
I won't go in the woods ever again. I live in NYC and am not outdoorsy at all. The one time I decide to go in the woods, I get Lyme disease. Never again.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Thank you WildCondor, I need specific instructions like that. Much easier for me to follow and make a plan of my own.
Posted by WildCondor (Member # 434) on :
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