Paging Dr Hive: Tick/Lyme Disease People, Please Advise

[mom31257]

After my personal experience with a tick bite, I would suggest being tested as a precaution. 

I was bitten by a tick and didn't develop symptoms of any kind. A few months later I had some neurological symptoms develop and was tested. I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever active in my body. I took the antibiotic, and they monitored my blood work for several months. I was told spring and early summer are the most common times of year for ticks to spread disease. 

[mmasc]

Poor guy. 😢 He needs this. And like others have said also, long pants and *light* colors (socks, pants, etc). 
 

[Acadie]

One summer gathering with my extended family my sister yelled across a field to her daughter, "Don't walk in the tick grass!" 

So we all turned to my niece, and asked what "tick grass" was.

All grass, she said, rolling her eyes.

Totally agree that rolling down grassy hills most likely means a ton of exposure to ticks, and same for bushwhacking. Climbing trees not so much.

Coming from New England with several family members and their dogs who have been pretty debilitated with Lyme, I'd really try to discourage rolling around in grass or underbrush. I know it's hard with adult children or teens, especially adventurous types. But there are lots of adventures to be had with rocks, trails, beaches... 

 

[ktgrok]

17 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

My kids. The thought of a parasite attached to their body sucking their blood and potentially giving them a disease this very minute = instant panic. 
 

It’s wild. They do tons of crazy stuff, but ticks, leeches, and other parasites are a hard no-go.

Parasites of any kind freak me out. After one particularly memorable parasite "lunch and learn" at the vet clinic I worked at I was so freaked out I immediately looked up the dosage for humans of the wormer we had in stock and took some. THEN was freaked out that dead worms might come out my butt. I was a mess. I'm not much better with ticks. I have been known to lecture the ticks about daring to touch my beloved pets. 

[Indigo Blue]

Another one?? Oh dear. I’m so glad he got all of it out! They must be pretty bad up there. 

[Spy Car]

11 hours ago, CTVKath said:

Wow!!!!!!!!!!! That's an amazing climb! Decades ago I could have climbed up but there's no way I'd have climbed down. They would have had to use a helicopter to get me off the top.

LOL. I know what you mean.

In my youth, I did rock-climbing and mountaineering certifications with the Sierra Club and did some low-level technical climbing. But we were always tied into ropes and harnesses and other such safety gear..

I never did anything like this redwood climbing tree. Evidently there are a fair number of different such trees to climb.

The boy is strong and very lean and tall, so he's built for the job. 

I had suggested yoga. Or perhaps sailing?

You get what you get.

Bill

 

 

[Arcadia]

From UCSC Health service (need to run dryer at high heat for an hour)  https://healthcenter.ucsc.edu/forms/student-handbook/HC-271-Ticks-and-Lyme-disease-brochure.pdf

 

“UCSC CAMPUS NATURAL RESERVE

Amphibians and Reptiles

This table lists the amphibians and reptiles that have been identified on UCSC Campus.”

https://ucsccampusreserve.ucsc.edu/maps-habitats-organisms-stewardship/amphibians-and-reptiles-of-ucsc.html

[ScoutTN]

1 minute ago, Spy Car said:

You get what you get.

Bill

 

 

So true! I have a boy who LOVES football and lacrosse. Nothing gentle and safe for this kid. They come hard-wired in many ways…

[Spy Car]

9 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

Another one?? Oh dear. I’m so glad he got all of it out! They must be pretty bad up there. 

This has been a highly unusual weather year here in CA. Lot's of rain. Santa Cruz being among the particularly well-watered areas.

Life is bursting forth everywhere. I assume the ticks are reproducing at record numbers, but that's only a hunch.

Thank you, I'm glad he got it out as well.

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

2 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

From UCSC Health service (need to run dryer at high heat for an hour)  https://healthcenter.ucsc.edu/forms/student-handbook/HC-271-Ticks-and-Lyme-disease-brochure.pdf

 

“UCSC CAMPUS NATURAL RESERVE

Amphibians and Reptiles

This table lists the amphibians and reptiles that have been identified on UCSC Campus.”

https://ucsccampusreserve.ucsc.edu/maps-habitats-organisms-stewardship/amphibians-and-reptiles-of-ucsc.html

Thank you. I will pass this along.

Bill

[*****]

What?! Crazy!! Tell him the 1 way to avoid ticks is to stay out of the woods.  Maybe that'll help keep him out of those trees

[Spy Car]

1 minute ago, ScoutTN said:

So true! I have a boy who LOVES football and lacrosse. Nothing gentle and safe for this kid. They come hard-wired in many ways…

Mine played lacrosse, water polo, and a bit of hockey. And love to skate (and dangerously). Hard wired for danger. I think that like many people of his age with ADHD that the "danger" helps focus (and calm) his mind.

I was a football player and while I loved the game, I steered him away from that sport. It was better, in any case, as he is too lightly built (but still quite wiry-strong) for football. I wanted to save his brain, but he found other dangerous alternatives.

What can you do? 

I actually suggested to him that if he did not wish to go to college (he did) that the local DWP here in LA pays spectacularly well. Aside from the lack of academic stimulation, climbing poles during storms with power lines down (and still hot) was work I could see him doing and enjoying.

But ticks? Ticks are a problem. Life is funny.

Bill

 

[ScoutTN]

Ticks are Evil…

[kathyl]

We lived in areas infested with ticks for decades - NC, VA, ID, NH.  Although I only saw the ticks in southern ID when we were anywhere near water.  Then, they were everywhere.  Along with the rattlesnakes ...

I know you said you didn't want to use Deet, but the best way I found to deal with them was to spray parts of my kids' clothes with Repel.  I bought the 40% (?) stuff.  The lower percentages didn't seem to work as well or last as long.  And ages ago I think it was a different brand name that I don't remember at the moment.  But still 40% Deet.

We would go outside, and I would have them cover their faces with a washcloth or something, and I would spray their shoes and socks and to the knees of their long pants because the ticks were usually on the ground or low weeds.  And ticks seem to crawl upwards.  So, the idea was to catch them before they ever began crawling up to dig into the skin.  That seemed to work pretty well.

I also did the Tick Checks as soon as they came into the house.  And in the worst part of tick season, I had them change ALL their clothes and put clean ones on.  And I washed the sprayed clothes immediately because I have seen ticks crawling off clothes and into the house before. It was more work for me, but a lot less painful than watching my kids suffer through various tick diseases.  (As far as I know, none of them ever caught any of the tick diseases.)  I also had ds' hair cut short so I could see any ticks.

Also, is he around any dogs or cats or other animals at school or where he lives there?  The ticks could be coming off the animals.  My chihuahuas used to sleep in the bed with us and sometimes I would wake up at night to find a tick crawling in the bed.  Creepy.

I hope he finds something that works for him. 🙂

 

 

 

[Junie]

@Spy Car I think there's a reason that God gave me girls...

My one boy played baseball and soccer -- fairly safe considering other options.  We did have to handle a couple of concussions.

The girls are into painting, sewing, crochet, knitting, and puzzles.  So much less stressful than climbing redwoods.

[Indigo Blue]

@Spy Cardoes he like to skateboard at the skate park at Venice beach? 
 

We live near a small town that has its own little skateboard park. Nothing big time like Venice beach, lol. 
 

He reminds me of our neighbor boys who are now grown and moved to Michigan. They used to do flips off the storage building roof and land on the trampoline which had no net. Used to make me so nervous to watch them. They would do just about anything. I miss them. So long ago.