We (a few of my Passaic Valley High School Class of '60 friends/spouses/significant others ... yes, we still hang with our high school buddies 47 years later, we are TIGHT) are going to Nantucket in mid-September as guests of one of our classmates.
I've seen a few posts that indicate Nantucket is tick & Lyme heaven and I'm VERY concerned.
How bad is it? Do we need to bath in DEET from head to toe multiple times per day?
Advice please ... Thanks,
-------------------- Lou B Posts: 2200 | From Mount Hope, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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UGH! That is scary! Someone will have the scoop for you soon! I panic when I have to go somewhere outdoors and don't know the environment I'll be in.
A fellow Lymie told me to bath with Lye soap for several days before I will be in an outdoor environment. I don't know if it really worked or not, because it turned out that I never had to step foot on grass or soil that day!! [yea! ]
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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charlie
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posted
It's bad enough that babesia is sometimes referred to as 'Nantucket Fever'
If it's at somebody's house I'd try to get them to have the yard sprayed in advance...I'm sure there are companies there that do that.
Charlie
Posts: 2804 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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Our hostess says well all be staying in her very nice house for the week.
I'm more concerned, as were into fitness, what the risks are as we bike, walk, run around the island. Is Nantucket Island really as bad as rumor has it?
This will be our first visit to Nantucket and our hostess is NOT Lyme literate ... such as, "I didn't know there was a Lyme problem on Nantucket"! She also didn't think there were any significant problems here in northern NJ, where we all have our year round homes ... Northern NJ is a tick endemic area ... I'm surprised to hear that!!!
-------------------- Lou B Posts: 2200 | From Mount Hope, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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charlie
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I guess spraying your clothes with permanone and using deet is all you can do then...I'm sure others will come along with more suggestions...I'd be scared though...
Posts: 2804 | From Texas | Registered: Oct 2000
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I am not familiar with the geography of that area but I have also heard it is a haven for infected ticks.
My advice is that if you plan to be outdoors at all, you definitely need to have a repellent arsenal. Repellants can be effective at reducing bites from ticks and mosquitoes (also a concern) but they are not 100% fool proof. Ticks are much more difficult to repel than mosquitoes.
When thinking about a repellent, consider a combination of things, including where you are, how long you will be outside, etc.
Repellents are not without risk of health effects , especially if they are applied in large amounts or improperly.
DEET comes in many different concentrations, with percentages as low as 5% up to nearly 90. The rule of thumb is the higher the concentration the higher the protection.
Using anything higher than 50% has shown to cause skin reactions, eye irritation, and even some reports of nervous system problems. In other words, be cautious with very high concentrations! Wash your hands after applying so you won't ingest if you eat.
** Very important - Wear light colored clothing so it is easier to spot crawling ticks. If possible wear long sleeved shirts, pants, and tuck pants in socks if going walking near tall brush or trees. Ticks are active at any time of the day.
If you are going to be outside for a long period of time, you need more protection. You can then use a controlled release DEET repellent on skin with permethrin treatment on the clothing. Products containing permethrin are NOT for the skin. It actually kills ticks that come into contact with it. Great to spray on the shoes. Supposedly it can be effective on clothes for up to two weeks if not washed, but you better be washing those clothes before two weeks! EEK.
I should add that there are botanical products that are supposed to repell mosquitoes but I read they are NOT as effective as the others listed above for ticks. These are oil of geranium, lemongrass, citronella, etc.
**** Do frequent full body tick checks. Once a day is not enough when you are in hyper endemic areas. (They can be fun if you check with a partner!) A shower immediately after being outdoors is a must.
That's all for now.
Posts: 339 | From nowhere | Registered: May 2007
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Aniek
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Well, I went to Nantucket for a week after graduating grad school and had no problems. We didn't hike, but did walk around the island on roads/sidewalks and to the beach.
You can get the repellant that you put on your clothes ahead of time. I've heard that is the best. Plus, for a week, why not use Deet?
And just make sure you do lots of tick checks. If you find a tick, get on preventive abx ASAP.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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We have visited Nantucket many times. All my ancestors on my mother's side are buried there!
There is a large deer population there which means lots of ticks. You will probably be golfing, Lou, so make sure you use the spray. The good stuff works well, and you should be fine!
You will love the island...it is a wondrous place!
-------------------- nan Posts: 2135 | From Tick Country | Registered: Oct 2000
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Nantucket and Martha's vineyard have very high incidences of babesia
Posts: 561 | From eastcoast | Registered: Aug 2006
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bejoy
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posted
I take lots and lots of garlic, and the mosquitos won't bite me when they chew on everybody else. I wonder if that works with ticks as well.
If you take garlic with green stuff like chlorella chlorophyll or parsley, you don't get the odor.
Worth a try, maybe, if you are going to be in such a beautifully endemic area.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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merrygirl
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posted
I live in MA and Nantucket and Marthas Vineyard have the highest number of reported Lyme in my state. ( I am pretty sure) They also had some reports of EEE so please be careful!
Have fun- Melissa
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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Thanks for the responses. I have 1 more question ... what's EEE?
We will wear repellents. Hell, we're in NJ and we have our fair share of ticks, Lyme and other TBD's and always wear repellents when we're doing outdoor stuff. I had heard that Nantucket was a LOT worse that most places in NJ.
I always wear it when I'm golfing and when I hit that occasional errant shot that lands in the deep stuff, the ball stays there and I just drop a new ball. Think about it ... the ball costs maybe 50 cents but if I get Lyme it's going to cost a lot more and, worse, I lose my health!
-------------------- Lou B Posts: 2200 | From Mount Hope, New Jersey, USA | Registered: Oct 2000
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Vermont_Lymie
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My guess would be Eastern Equine Encephalitis ?
Or, EEE(K)!
Enjoy and take all precautions. Lots of lyme and babesia on nantucket, but you know the drill.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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merrygirl
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Yes sorry Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
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CaliforniaLyme
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!*))!I hope you guys have a wonderful time*)!!!
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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Definitely take precautions as Nantucket is lyme central. Someone who works in my opthamologist's office vacationed there and told me lyme warning signs were all over the place. This was several years ago.
Surprised that your hostess would not know this. Maybe they took the signs down because it affected tourism?
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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TerryK
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My husband's father had an art studio there and they lived there every summer. This was years ago but hubby said it was FULL of ticks. Don't know how many are infected though.
My husband's brother got a case of bells palsy after a particularly stressful time and I sure wonder if he doesn't have a case of lyme disease that is under control most of the time. He's had cancer several times so he obviously has some immune system issues. Hubby has health problems and has had cancer too. hmmmm.....
Please be careful!!!
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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Foggy
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The tall grass on the sandy beach roads is notorious for Ticks. Be careful if you go for a stroll, even at the beach.
Posts: 2451 | From Lyme Central | Registered: Aug 2001
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A woman from New Hanpshire posted a while back that grapefruit oil extract stopped ticks on her dog, herself and in her house.
Also, TKO Orange is a tick(and bug) killer. Biodegradable, for 24 hours. I think it could make camping doable if sprayed on the immediate campsite and on campgear. A couple drops in water for a spray. It bothers my skin, so I sprayed it on my clothes when I went hiking in scary Muir Woods recently.
Posts: 13171 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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oxygenbabe
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Have a great vacation and reunion! Lots of bugspray, white socks over khaki pants, don't go in obvious endemic areas or roll on grass with shaggy dogs , and get in the shower with your wife in the evening, soap each other up, and then do a thorough tick check when you get out. Beyond that, life usually brings you the unexpected, not the things you prepare for, so I bet you'll both be fine.
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
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I think I was infected in Nantucket with the lovely triple crown or lyme, babesia, and ehrlichia.
We stayed in a beach shack though way out of town. There was no electricity and mice in the place. I have to say it was beautiful, romantic, and fun but I think that trip may have changed my life forever.
I had double vision while I was there but thought it was just due to migraine that I already suffered from...
Anyway, I do love Nantucket - although I have not been back.
You have wisdom and awareness on your side so just take precautions. Personally if I were to go again I would stay in town in a very posh hotel ;0)
Hope you have fun!!!!
-------------------- �Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.� - Ezre Taft Benson Posts: 655 | From NC, Exit 88 on the Deer SuperHighway | Registered: Dec 2004
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bejoy
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I heard a spot on the radio this morning about a network called Plum TV on Nantucket in other wealthy resort towns.
Their audience is generally people who make over 600,000. a year. Interesting how many of those folks may have lyme since Nantucket is such a tick populated area.
I wonder if Plum TV might want to do a broadcast to reach some of wealthy lyme afflicted of Nantucket. I can imagine that many locals might need the info to get their health back.
Once they get the help they need, they might also have the influence and resources to help change the state of lyme awareness and treatment.
Might be an interesting opportunity, Lou.
-------------------- bejoy!
"Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts: 1918 | From Alive and Well! | Registered: Feb 2007
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TerryK
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A shower immediately after being outdoors is a must.
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