Archive for the ‘Testing’ Category

How to Tell If a Tick Head is Still in Your Skin

https://www.self.com/story/tick-head-in-skin

Here’s How to Tell If a Tick Head Is Still in Your Skin, According to Doctors

And how to safely remove all of it ASAP.

By Kathryn Watson

Medically reviewed by Samantha G. Stoler, MD

digital collage showing closeup of legs and a line drawing of a tick
If a tick head is still in your skin, you’ll want to remove it carefully.Photo by Karyme França from Pexels / Tick drawing by Hein Nouwens via Getty Images / Design by Amanda K Bailey

You’re out hiking, breathing in the fresh air, taking in the sounds of nature—ticks are the furthest thing from your mind. That is until you see a brown tick butt sticking out from your skin. Maybe you immediately rip it off, only to wonder, How can I tell if a tick head is still in my skin?

If this is you, don’t panic. We‘ve got answers ahead. But first, let’s talk about ticks. We’re seeing an uptick in these tiny, insect-like parasites that feed off people and warm-blooded animals due to the growing populations of two of their favorite hosts: deer and mice. That may be good for ticks—they definitely have their place in a healthy, natural ecosystem—but that healthy place is not on your body. After all, ticks can transmit pathogens when they latch onto you. Over the past ten years, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, there has been a surge in Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, many of which can cause severe complications if they aren’t diagnosed and treated.  (See link for article)

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SUMMARY:

  • An attached tick typically stays put for anywhere from 3 days to two weeks. The longer it is attached, the greater your risk for infection, so getting it off safely and promptly is important.
  • While the article recommends the CDC’s method of using tweezers for tick removal, I recommend a special tick removal device.  Go here for a review of products. Some can even be put on your key-chain which is handy in a pinch.
  • It’s important to NOT squeeze the tick or crush it as the fluids could transmit infection.
  • Some states offer free tick testing.  You can save the tick and have it tested for pathogens.  Wisconsin does not have such a service, which is really unfortunate, but tick testing is not without error.
  • Dermatologists recommend using a magnifying glass to make sure you haven’t left any body parts.  If the skin is firm, red, irritated, and has a lump, the tick may be embedded deeper.  You may need a dermagologist to surgically remove it with a punch biopsy tool.
  • The dermatologist states that “most tick bite end up being harmless.”  Where he derives this is beyond me.  Take each and every tick bite as seriously as a heart attack.  This crud can derail your life.
  • He also states you don’t need to call your doctor right away.  I COMPLETELY DISAGREE.  Call!  Immediately!  Get on prophylactic antibiotics/antimicrobials asap.  The risk of a life-debilitating illness just isn’t worth it.  Do NOT take the “wait and see approach.”
  • I highly recommend the article: Help! I Got Bit By a Tick!  What Do I do?
  • For prevention:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/12/tick-prevention-2019/
  • Excellent Resource on steps to take if you are bitten by a tick:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/21/help-i-got-bit-by-a-tick-what-do-i-do/

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Testing, Ticks, Treatment

West Virginia Governor Contracts Lyme Disease

https://governor.wv.gov/News/press-releases/2022/Pages/Governor-Justice-Doctors-confirm-Lyme-disease-diagnosis

Gov. Justice: Doctors confirm Lyme disease diagnosis

6/1/2022

CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice today announced that, after receiving the results of his bloodwork, his doctors have confirmed a diagnosis of Lyme disease.

Gov. Justice will remain on antibiotics for several weeks to continue fighting the infection.

“I’m feeling better every day,” Gov. Justice said. “I always want to first thank God above for all of our blessings. Additionally, I thank my doctors for all they’ve done, and I appreciate all the West Virginians who have expressed their wishes for my speedy recovery.

“I remind all West Virginians, when you go outdoors, monitor yourself for ticks and use insect repellent to stay safe.”

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Testing

Interview About Lyme Disease on TNT Radio

I was recently interviewed on May 31, 2022 by Michael Parker on Deprogram, a TNT Radio news talk show. The topic was Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.

It was about a 40 minute interview and only covered the basics of testing, the polarization in the medical community, and the plight of patients.

Interview here (Scroll to 4:45 to bypass other news):

For more:

Category:

Activism, Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, Testing, Ticks, Treatment

Tick Bites & Coinfections

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/dear-lyme-warrior-help-tick-bites-and-co-infections

Dear Lyme Warrior…Help! Tick Bites and Co-Infections

by Jennifer Crystal on May 27, 2022

<span id="hs_cos_wrapper_name" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field hs_cos_wrapper_type_text" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="meta_field" data-hs-cos-type="text" >Dear Lyme Warrior…Help! Tick Bites and Co-Infections</span>
Every few months, Jennifer Crystal devotes a column to answering your questions. Do you have a question for Jennifer? If so, email her at lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com.
Now that tick season is upon us, friends ask me what to do when they find an embedded tick. What should I tell them?

While this question seems like it should have a simple answer, people probably get conflicting information from the internet and even from physicians about what they should do if they find a tick. This is because there is debate about how long a tick needs to be attached to a human or pet in order to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The old standard of 36-48 hours doesn’t necessarily apply anymore, now that we know that ticks can transmit bacteria faster if they were already partially fed before biting you, and that some tick-borne diseases can be transmitted much faster than Lyme disease—Powassan virus in as little as 15 minutes.

There are two general rules of thumb that I always tell people: the first is that the longer a tick is attached, the greater chance it has of transmitting pathogens. And unless you see the tick bite you, you can’t really know how long it’s been attached. If you notice it after a long day of hiking, you don’t know if it bit you early in the morning, or just as you were leaving. What if you don’t notice it until the next day, after you’ve done some gardening and walked through the grass? If a tick is engorged, you know it has been feeding, but it can be hard to pinpoint exactly where and when it became attached to you, which makes the certain-number-of-hours recommendation moot.

This leads to my second rule of thumb: with Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, it is always better to be safe than sorry. I tell people that if they find a tick, they should call their doctor and get right on antibiotics. Even if those antibiotics end up being prophylactic, it is safer than the alternative—finding out weeks, months or years later that they’re sick with Lyme and possibly with co-infections, too—and then needing far more extensive treatment than the initial antibiotic course. Waiting for test results (often faulty, especially early in infection), waiting for a rash (which doesn’t appear in up to 30% of people with Lyme), or waiting for other symptoms (different for everyone), is a dangerous approach to Lyme disease. (For more information, see my blog post “The Danger of ‘Waiting and Seeing’ with Lyme Disease”).

The next question is, how long a course of prophylactic antibiotics should you take? The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) recommendation of a single dose of prophylactic doxycycline is based on one study that showed good efficacy in preventing Lyme rash, but as we’ve established, not everyone with Lyme disease gets a rash. The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) recommends a 10-20 day course of antibiotics. For me personally, I’d rather have the coverage of a full treatment course that is used for actual Lyme infection, rather than take my chances that a single dose will keep me safe. Each person needs to make their own decision with their doctor, but it’s important that decision be an informed one!

Do other tick-borne diseases have the same treatment as Lyme disease?

This is a great follow-up question to the first, because some people might think, “Well, if I’m taking antibiotics for Lyme disease, then I’ve got other tick-borne diseases covered.” That’s true for some co-infections, but not for all, so this, too, is dangerous thinking. Some co-infections like anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis are treated with the same antibiotic as Lyme disease, but the length of treatment might be different. Other tick-borne diseases like babesiosis, which is a parasite that infects the red blood cells, require completely different treatment. And still another co-infection, bartonellosis, needs more urgent research for better treatments (learn more about GLA’s Bartonella Discovery Program here). I always tell people, “If you’re being treated for Lyme disease and don’t know you have babesiosis, you’re only fighting half the battle.” If you find a tick attached to you, it’s imperative that you talk to your doctor about other tick-borne diseases, not just Lyme, and know the signs of them (see “Common Tick-Borne Diseases”).

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The Bartonella Discovery Program:

GLA is currently fundraising for The Bartonella Discovery Program, a research project bringing together some of the top researchers world-wide who are experts on Bartonellosis. These researchers will learn more about the bacteria and which treatments are most likely to cure patients like Beth, who are suffering from Bartonellosis.

None of the work GLA has accomplished would be possible without your support. To learn more and fund this project, click on top link.

Writer

Jennifer Crystal

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her work has appeared in local and national publications including Harvard Health Publishing and The Boston Globe. As a GLA columnist for over six years, her work on GLA.org has received mention in publications such as The New Yorker, weatherchannel.com, CQ Researcher, and ProHealth.com. Jennifer is a patient advocate who has dealt with chronic illness, including Lyme and other tick-borne infections. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her via email below.

Email: lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com

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**COMMENT**

Before you take the 10-20 days of doxy too literally, please read this excerpt from the ILADS website:

Treatment Guidelines

  • The optimal treatment regimen for the management of known tick bites, EM rashes and persistent disease has not yet been determined. Accordingly, it is too early to standardize restrictive protocols. However, ILADS does make recommendations for each of these clinical situations

    • ILADS recommends against the use of a single 200 mg dose of doxycycline for the prevention of Lyme disease. Not only is it unlikely to be highly efficacious, in the human trial failed therapy led to a seronegative disease state.

    • Based on animal studies, ILADS recommends that known blacklegged tick bites be treated with 20 days of doxycycline (barring any contraindications).

    • Given the low success rates in trials treating EM rashes for 20 or fewer days, ILADS recommends that patients receive 4-6 weeks of doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime. A minimum of 21 days of azithromycin is also acceptable, especially in Europe. All patients should be reassessed at the end of their initial therapy and, when necessary, antibiotic therapy should be extended.

    • ILADS recommends that patients with persistent symptoms and signs of Lyme disease be evaluated for other potential causes before instituting additional antibiotic therapy.

    • ILADS recommends antibiotic retreatment when a chronic Lyme infection is judged to be a possible cause of the ongoing manifestations and the patient has an impaired quality of life.

So, there’s a lot of clinical judgement needed here and nothing is straight forward.  Each patient is unique and needs to be treated accordingly.  And please remember, none of this covers coinfections, which often require completely different medications for differing lengths of time and are just as severe if not worse than Lyme disease.

For more on treatments:

Category:

Lyme, Testing, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment

Changes to CDC’s Lyme Case Definition Add Complexity, Case Undercounting

https://invisible.international/changes-to-cdcs-lyme-case-definition-add-complexity-case-undercounting/

Changes to CDC’s Lyme case definition add complexity, case undercounting

Kris Newby on May 24, 2022

In January 2022, the U.S. Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) published a revision to its 2017 Lyme disease case definition. This definition will soon be integrated into the physician reporting form that is used by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to classify, count, and track Lyme disease cases consistently across the country.

The annual Lyme disease case count is an important metric for allocating government research dollars and staff resources. With about 476,000 new cases a year and growing, the CDC’s previous case definition and reporting requirement was already burdensome for both physicians and local health departments. (In 2016, Massachusetts modified the CDC reporting criteria because of this. In 2008, New Jersey wrote about the burdens of the surveillance criteria here.) Unfortunately, the 2022 revision and the public health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic may only make this situation worse. (See link for article & references)

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SUMMARY:

  • The 2 biggest changes are the inclusion of Borrelia mayonii in the Lyme case count, and the option to use a cheaper, simpler test in the 2nd part of the standard 2-tiered testing.
  • The problems are with these changes are:
    • There are no FDA-approved Bm tests and traditional testing only picks up about half of all cases.
    • Replacing the Western blot with antibody EIA tests, while cheaper and easier to interpret, eliminates useful clinical data that can shed light on late-stage disease. The revision only uses the IgG or “late stage” EIA test which doesn’t acknowledge the dormant and relapsing nature of Lyme.
    • The EIA tests must be FDA approved which will discourage accurate, validated testing done at smaller specialty labs.  These smaller CIA-certified labs are what LLMDs use, but are shunned by mainstream medicine due to this “FDA-approved” issue.
  • Leading to further under-reporting is utilizing CDC data that is more than a year old as well as utilizing a “reporting decision trees” for low and high incidence cases areas and other complicated matrices when Lyme has been detected in ALL 50 states and the District of Columbia and the fact people can get infected while traveling.
  • The positive changes include:
    • Inclusion of symptoms other than Lyme arthritis such as neurological symptons.
    • Highlighting the fact surveillance case definitions are not to be used for making clinical diagnoses or treatment decisions.
  • Overall, the CSTE & CDC have added burdensome complexity and have ignored new sources of data and analytical tools to make case counting more accurate.
Newby feels that the CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative, a disease tracking system, is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I disagree, here’s why:
  • This multi-year, billion-plus dollar effort to ‘modernize’ core data and surveillance infrastructure will effectively monopolize/centralize data giving the corrupt and inept CDC far too much power.  They have clearly demonstrated their inability to effectively deal with a ‘pandemic’ and have numerous conflicts of interest.  The agency, along with the FDA & NIAD should be completely disbanded.  We need to learn from COVID and stop history from repeating itself.
  • The following excerpt from the CDC website is telling: “CDC is connecting with partners from across public health and the private sector – including in healthcare, research, and academia — to make sure we get this right.”
  • Lyme/MSIDS patients and advocates daily feel the results of centralized/controlled medicine as it severely limits and hampers our ability to get diagnosed and treated.  The similarities between the handling of Lyme and COVID can not be overstated.
    • Politicization of disease puts undue pressure on physicians, making them afraid to treat patients. Doctors would prefer to diagnose you with anything but Lyme/MSIDS – it’s safer.
    • This fact is clearly seen by the formation of ILADS which is comprised of health professionals whom disagree with how Lyme/MSIDS is handled and have chosen to break off and form their own group with their own education and training to train physicians and to give patients a better way.
    • Yet, Lyme patients and advocates continue to want to crawl in bed, support, and even fund science with the very enemy that is suppressing true science and patient help.
Please see my comments after this article for more on this matter.
It defies all logic and reason, but this is the current state of affairs unless we wake up and smell the coffee.

Category:

Activism, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Lyme, Testing