Lyme cases on the rise

Pennsylvania had the most reported cases of Lyme disease in the US for 2009 (4950). There were 3818 reported cases in 2008 for Pennsylvania. For every case reported there may be as many as 10 cases that were not reported.

Ticks attach to warm moist places

The tick can attach almost anywhere but prefer warm, moist areas. Most commonly the groin, armpits, behind the knee, woman's underside of breast and neck(hairline).. Generally you don't feel the tick bite so it's important to check your body after being outside. Some experts think you can be infected almost immediately after the tick attaches to your skin while others think it takes 36 hours or more.

Pictures of tick and my stomach

These are pictures of the tick that bit me last week and my stomach...I took preventive antibiotics and monitoring the area.

Close encounter of the tick kind....

I was outside yesterday picking up branches and doing yard work for a few hours. Came inside and found an adult female blacklegged deer tick on my stomach... It was engorged and already started feeding on my blood. I removed it with tweezers, kept the tick and will update further. Going to take preventive antibiotics and monitor the area on my stomach...

Rash that occured a year later

This is a picture of a rash that developed almost a year later. This picture was taken in May of 09 and the rash was in the same spot as one of the inital rashes on my left leg. This rash vanished after a few days but I found it interesting the way it appeared and disappeared. The oval and rounded rashes I initially had were very similar to those on the CDC and Canadian Lyme sites and lasted for 4-6 weeks.

According to http://www.jemsekspecialty.com/ "A little recognized fact about the EM rash
is that it can recur, usually in the original site with or without abx therapy in ~ 5 -10% of patients."

Lyme is often not taken seriously

Seems like doctors would rather say you don't have Lyme even if you have it...The rash could be staring them in the face and they don't recognize it. Your test could be positive and they could tell you it's negative. They could also say you had Lyme but don't have it anymore. I've been told all those things. I definitely had an oval expanding rash on my chest and 2 rounded destictive Lyme rashes on my legs. I had a Positive IGM test from Quest labs on 3 occasions for the first 6 months...A big problem is the CDC/ASPHLD states the IGM should only be used during the first month. This is because IGM usually converts to IGG in about 2 months and IGM disappears in 6 months. This is not necessarily the case with Lyme... More IGM blots may be positive with an active, persistent or chronic infection. Everytime Borrelia reproduce it stimulates IGM and sometimes IGM is the only antibody detected. The ILADS position paper states that IGM is a useful predictor at ALL stages of disease...Lyme should be a clinical diagnosis and treated accordingly... Pamela Weintraub wrote a wonderful book "Cure Unknown inside the Lyme Epidemic." Lyme may have been overdiagnosed in the past but now I believe it's underdiagnosed. I have found that many doctors have an attitude about Lyme and don't take it seriously... This needs to change! Doctors need more education, Lyme needs to be treated ASAP and more research needs to be done for accurate testing and treatment so a cure can be found.

Early identification of Lyme rash

News anchor Donna Hamilton from WBALTV 11 Baltimore had a very similar oval rash in July of O9.... She was treated with 4 weeks of antibiotics and is fine. The sooner the rash is identified and treated the better. Unfortunately not all doctors know what the rash looks like and early identification is SO important... When a Lyme rash is present it MUST be treated right away! A delay in treatment can result in a persistent or chronic condition...