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What do you guys use for tick repellent?
I thought I would share the below....
Last year there seemed to be a spike in the amount of deer ticks around. I
found them crawling on me and even in my vehicle. Last year I had
contracted Lyme and didn't know I had it. Never found a tick embedded on me or a
bite mark. The worst part of it, the symptoms kicked in while I was fishing
Block Island. Cold sweats, head aches, fatigue, etc.... I thought i had
food poisoning or a stomach bug. Like and idiot, my plan was to fish through
it. As my trip was ending, my left foot started to swell up like a balloon.
Instead of driving home, I drove straight to my doctor. Nearly immediately
they identified it as Lyme.
I could have easily been picked up anywhere, but I sort of suspect
that I picked it up two weeks earlier when I was also
fishing Block Island. I remember doing a little bit of bushwacking thorough
the brush to get to a spot. The Doctor estimated the stage I was in
correlated with that earlier trip.
I was lucky. I went to the doctor early. It is documented that lyme can
lead to some really nasty stuff...nerve damage, and even death.
Prior to my incident with it I had done quite a bit of research and
knew about the disease and symptoms. I thought I knew what to
look for, but when I actually came down with it....I didn't identify it.
It could be that I was in denial, or not thinking clearly. Part of it, was
that I didn't have a mark on me. No bulls eye. no Rash...
Be careful out there, and if there is any doubt....get your blood tested for lyme.
The fact that this other Powassan thing is out there just makes matters worse and more critical in my eyes.
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