copying story here and breaking up for us neuros including comments so far:) betty
Sylvia Perez and Christine Tressel
July 2, 2009 (WLS) -- When it comes to summer pests, mosquitoes are not alone.
Ticks are on the move in Illinois. And everyone's urged to take precautions.
Lyme disease is not something most people associate with Illinois. But cases of this tick-spread illness are increasing and you might be surprised to learn where they are showing up. Health experts say there's no need to panic but we need to be aware.
A couple years ago, Morgan Trajkovich would not have thought twice about being able to participate in cheerleading or tumbling.
Then something happened. he young tumbler and cheerleader started getting strange pains in her joints. She was exhausted and plagued with headaches.
"One day I was walking to class and I just started screaming cause my hip hurt so bad," said Morgan Trajkovich.
Getting around became excruciating. Cheerleading was out.
After an exhaustive search for a cause, the Trajkovichs started to suspect their teenage daughter had Lyme disease. They think she might have gotten it in her own backyard in Naperville.
"It's been close to two years since I first discovered the bite on her leg. We had no idea what bite her but it was this big around," said Gloria Trajkovich, mother.
But as the Trajkovichs discovered, Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose because test results can be unreliable and they say local doctors were skeptical.
"You live in Illinois, Naperville. There's no way your daughter has Lyme disease," said Nick Trajkovich, father.
But Lyme disease is on the move in Illinois. And while the number of cases is considered by experts to be low they are growing.
"We've seen an increase in Lyme over the past decade from about 10 to 15 cases a year to over 100," said Dr. Craig Conover, Ill. Dept. Public Health.
A bite from an infected deer tick can pass the illness on to humans. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, these ticks are now showing up in counties such as Lake, Cook, DuPage and Will.
"You just take the drag along the rail edge and the questing ticks will brad a hold of it," said Dr. Conover.
Jeff Nelson, a physician and biology professor at North Park University, combs local wooded areas when a case of Lyme disease or a bite is reported.
Watch an extended interview with Dr. Nelson
Deer ticks are really quite small - about the size of a gnat or a poppy seed which makes them tough to find.
But Dr. Nelson says not everyone who gets bitten will get Lyme disease.
It can take from 24 to 36 hours for the bug to transmit the disease so removing the tick promptly is a must.
He also warns patients with vague or unexplained symptoms against rushing out for a Lyme test.
"If everyone with joint complaints or neurologic kind of illness goes to get a lyme test many will be falsely positive and then they are sent on a pathway that delays other diagnosis," said Dr. Nelson.
The Trajkovichs say a doctor on the east coast diagnosed Morgan with Lyme disease.
She's now taking antibiotics and a medication commonly used to treat arthritis and lupus.
They're staying positive but know it will take time for Morgan to heal. The family hopes sharing their story will help others.
"You need to know it is here so watch out," said Morgan Trajkovich.
Health experts say the growing Lyme disease problem should be an alert to Illinois doctors to start looking for it.
Signs of illness include a bulls eye like rash, though some people may never develop one, fever, chills, body aches, headache and fatigue.
Obviously, most people are going to enjoy the outdoors this summer. To be safe experts recommend light colored clothing, Deet bug spray and frequent body checks for ticks.
How to protect yourself against Lyme disease:
- walk in the middle of trails - wear light colored clothing - wear a hat and long sleeved clothing - wear bug repellent with DEET - check for ticks immediately after being outside - remove tick carefully with tweezers. Save tick in jar so it can be analyzed by lab - consult doctor
Dr. Jeff Nelson Infectious Disease Specialist Biology Professor North Park University Phone: (773) 244-5658 [email protected]
Dr. Craig Conover Medical Director Office of Health Protection Division of Infectious Diseases Illinois Department of Public Health 122 S. Michigan Chicago, Il 312-814-4846 www.idph.state.il.us
Gundersen Foundation www.gundluth.org Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation Microbiology Research Laboratory Health Science Center, Room 5032 1300 Badger Street La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone (608) 775-3743 Fax (608) 775-6602 Pager 2210
(Copyright �2009 WLS-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
******************* comments:
1 laurenegler 7/2/09 11:41 PM EDT
Unfortunately Lyme Disease is much more prevalent in Chicagoland than reported. So are the co-infections that can go along with Lyme.
Under our Skin is a great movie (www.underourskin.com). shedding the truth on Lyme and what happens when people DO wait too long for a test because Dr.'s aren't looking for it and misdiagnose pat...
2 dpuscheck 7/2/09 11:53 PM EDT
I contracted Lyme Disease in June of 1999 - in DuPage County - at Girl Sount Camp -
It took me over 3 years to find a Doctor who knew anything about Lyme Disease and treat me (I was on various antibiotics for 2 years!)
The Doctors here all said they knew all about Lyme disease and I couldn't possibly have it (even with the bulls eye rash, extreme joint pain and fatigue) because it "didn't exist" where I had been.
I even had a 'positive' test (I was told it was 'negative'), about 1 1/2 years after my original test of ...
Please don't think this is a rare disease, it is not!!
Unfortunately most of us that are doing better have to travel out of state to see Dr.'s that know about Lyme.
IP: Logged |
bettyg
Unregistered
posted
be sure to listen to the 17+ minute video of INFECTIOUS dr. jeff ...; one seen without long-sleeve shirt, gloves, & hat covereing him while he is DRAGGING woods for ticks!! ///////////////////////////////////////////////////
here's what i attempted to send, but without! it wouldn't accept my name/password although i'm signed up there ... i give up on it but will post this here.
HOPE ILLINOIS FOLKS use some of my things there as THEIR comments please!!
give ILADS LYME GUIDELINES link .... thanks! ******************************************************
Christine & Sylvia,
Well done on your live broadcast/ story!
Dr. Jeff should have been wearing a LONG*sleeved shirt, hat covering neck, and gloves to avoid ticks getting on him from his dragging! NOT a good example used.
Bulls-eye rashes mean you HAVE LYME disease. Question is, do you have CO-INFECTIONS too the ticks are carrying?
bartonella, babsiosa, erlichia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever which can kill!! or others?
I've talked daily to Illinois members who are trying to find CHRONIC LYME LITERATE MDS, LLMDS, to treat them for long-term antibiotics! I help the find llmds.
IDSA, infectious disease society aka infectious drs. treat only from ONE PILL to 3 wks. max and "you are cured"!
They do NOT believe in CHRONIC lyme! They call it post-lyme!
Ticks can be on you for 30 MINUTES not 24-36 hours for spirochete to start affecting your systems.
WRONG; you CAN become chronic if you are ONLY treated from day 1 for at least 3 months; 2 months longer showing NO SYMPTOMS before stopping your antibiotics!
See the CDC's lyme statistics below for all 50 states; last 2 years are NOT accurate although more cases of lyme have been diagnosed!!
1980 - Jan. 2008 ...all 50 states broken down by years!
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic