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Harford Tick Talk: Lyme Aid

We may not be able to predict how well the corn or soy bean crops will do this year, or if there will be enough crabs to cover everyone's picnic tables, but we do know one thing for sure. Ticks are plentiful and people residing in or traveling through Harford County will need to be very attentive to the situation. Maryland residents have already reported having multiple tick bites and the numbers of ticks detected across the state have increased significantly compared to the past two years.

Tick borne diseases such as Lyme, Babesiosis, Bartonella, and Ehrlichiosis
cases are on the rise in both humans and animals. The death of two Maryland Lyme disease patients so far this year and the increase in the numbers of ticks has prompted local support groups to push even harder to educate the public and physicians so that Lyme disease may be prevented if
possible and/or diagnosed and treated properly to prevent complications.

Harford County Lyme Disease Support Group leader, Jean F. Galbreath, has worked for the past ten years as a volunteer to provide education and support for those who are ill. Her goal is to prevent others from suffering from the devastating affects of the diseases that she and her family and many residents in the county have experienced.

The May meeting of the Harford County
Lyme Disease Support Group was a huge success and focused on preventing
and treating Lyme disease in children since they are at a high risk of developing the disease.

Mrs. Galbreath encourages residents in the local towns and rural areas of Harford County to continue to do regular tick checks and educate themselves about tick borne diseases. The following information may help prevent Lyme disease from affecting you or your family.

1. Less than 50 percent of people with Lyme disease recall a tick bite. The "typical rash" associated with Lyme appears in less than 50 percent of patients who are exposed to the infection. The world's leading pediatrician, who has treated over 7,000 children with Lyme and other tick borne
infections, reports that less than 7 percent of the children with Lyme disease had an EM rash. If a rash is noticed by local physicians, it is often misdiagnosed as ringworm, a spider bite, or other unrelated condition.

2. Early and aggressive treatment provides the best opportunity to prevent Lyme disease from becoming chronic and/or disabling.

According to the leading physicians in the country who specialize in tick borne diseases, the best way to prevent Lyme disease in children is to treat tick attachments in an endemic area (such as Harford County and surrounding areas) with a
minimum of a 30 day course of antibiotics.

3. The standard testing procedures for Lyme disease misses up to 90 percent of those who are infected. The CDC states Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis and negative tests are not to be used to rule out the infection. If a person is tested, treatment should not be delayed while waiting for results.

4. Tick borne coinfections such as Bartonella, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, and
Mycoplasma fermentans have been found in many Lyme disease patients and pets. These additional infections require varying treatment protocols. Forty percent of over 7,000 children tested for Lyme disease were infected with one or more of these coinfections. Ticks only need to be attached for a short time before infections can be transmitted.

5. The later stages of Lyme disease are often being misdiagnosed as Parkinson's Disease, MS, Lou Gehrigs (ALS), fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lupus, Alzheimer's, Attention Deficit Disorder, depression, panic disorders, mononucleosis, thyroid problems, arthritis, and a host of other conditions. Over 300 known strains of Borrelia (Lyme disease) are being missed by standard blood tests that are designed to detect only one strain of
the Borrelia spirochete.

In children, persisting Lyme symptoms indicate a persisting Borrelia infection and NOT "Post-Lyme-Syndrome", not fibromyalgia, not MS, not CFS, not a psychiatric disorder and NOT another diagnosis.

For more information on prevention and reducing tick populations in your
area, please contact the Lyme Disease Association's toll free number at
1-888-366-6611 or the Harford County Lyme Disease Support Group, Inc at
410-838-LYME (5963) - email- [email protected]

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Let them know your opinion!

The Aegis, Bel Air, Maryland

The executive editor, Ted Hendricks, can be reached by phone at (410) 838-4551, by mail c/o The Aegis, 10 Hays St., Bel Air, Md. 21014 or by e-mail at:

[email protected]

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If you get the choice to sit it out or dance...

To answer your question... and I am not sure exactly what to say.. but no, I have heard nothing since the original notices went out. I still think about the families daily though.. and send prayers their way.

Mamma Lyme was the one who alerted me to one of the patients deaths.. so perhaps she may have more details?

Lymemomtoo..

I am thinking about you.

Thanks for doing that when your hands are more than full. I hope it helps the folks in that area... I really do.

Hang in there! Prayers are sent your way daily.

Hey Barrie..

Yes.. the Harford County Group deserves a thumbs up for all the hard work they do trying to educate folks up your way. They are dedicated and never quit! I am pleased to know they were able to help your little one.

It is so distressing to hear about you getting ticks off the kids. Good that you do.. but bad that the tick situation there is so awful!!

I would LOVE it if you took that article to the duck who was so ignornat! I'd hand deliver it myself if it weren't so far to drive! These ducks need a good swift kick in the pants to wake them up so more people won't suffer.

I am not a doctor.. nor a writer. I had NO knowledge about Lyme years ago. And I have a LOT of neuro and cognative damage I deal with on a daily basis hindering my thinking and activities. BUT...

If I can learn about Lyme.. those butt heads with their fancy pants and bow ties should be able to also. I mean HEY... It IS their JOB!

You said.. "My only hope is that the doctors here read this and do something about it."

My only pleasure from spending time writing this stuff is that I imagine the ducks.. sitting there sipping their morning coffee, reading their papers.. and suddenly they see the article.

I picture them suddenly learching forward.. spitting their mouthful of coffee across the table.. and sitting their in shock while trying to read it.

And then I picture them running to their offices and calling all their patients and saying hurry hurry.. come in now... and then they are helping them ALL.

Hey.. I can DREAM, can't I?

Anyhow.. please do share it with anyone and everyone. The more the merrier.

I have actually been told of patients hand carrying some of these articles into their doctors offices to MAKE them do something to help them. And it worked!

By the way... do you need any handouts to give the children or parents?

There is a wonderful brouchure.. The ABC's of Lyme Disease.. that is written for parents about children and Lyme.

Another good one is the Lyme-R-Primer. Both are put out by the Lyme Disease Association.

If you would like some.. please let Jean know.. or myself. I will be happy to share with you... and so will she.

She may also have some of the excellent books by Doug Fearn... called "The Basics".

If you could pass them out to the kids with tick bites to take home.. it would be great!

The PA support groups share that book with others.. and it is PERFECT!

Anyhow.. let us know if we can help.

And thanks for helping the kids!

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If you get the choice to sit it out or dance...

So keep spreading the word!