Lyme Disease Again!

Blog vol 5.44. Lyme Disease Again!

If you have been following us for some time, then you saw this coming. Every spring I go on a “rant” about Deer ticks and Lyme disease. I was hoping that with a Northern Ontario kind of winter (when you do not have to convert to Fahrenheit because Celsius and Fahrenheit are the same at -40 degrees), we would see reduced tick numbers. Who knew that ticks do not mind the cold. 

Why is an eye doctor so interested in Lyme disease? Chronic Lyme disease can cause inflammation to all your body tissues including the eye, with uveitis, optic neuritis, scleritis, conjunctivitis, and every “itis” you can think of that can affect the eye.   Symptoms vary from pain, soreness, redness, blurry vision, double vision, and reduced contrast sensitivity. The key is prevention.

The ticks are out there. I should know, I got one and it burrowed deep and was not noticed until its head was a few layers down into the adipose tissue. We tried to remove the tick with tweezers, but it was holding on fiercely and was buried deep so we only got part of it. It was also quite red around the site. We went to the doctor. The doctor made a small incision and cleaned out the area thoroughly, finishing with a single stitch, then had me take a prophylactic dose of antibiotic. I was given 2 X100 mg doxycycline capsules to prevent infection, but if the site turns to a bull’s eye, time for a full dose of an antibiotic like Azithromycin.

Catching a tick bite early is key, so checking for ticks is important. Hopefully you can catch it before it embeds and then you can check to see if it is a deer tick. Use alcohol wipes to sterilize the site and try to pull it straight out with tweezers. Let a professional remove it if you cannot get it all. The doctor I saw did feel that it was important to remove all the tick. Many of the sites online (even the government of Canada Lyme disease website) suggest leaving whatever parts of the tick you cannot pull out and letting the body work them out. This is not what I was told by the doctor. I would agree that it would seem best to get any potential for infection out of the body. 

At the same time at the after-hours clinic, another man came in with a tick embedded in his belly button, fun. So, they are out there. Be careful, no paranoia necessary, just check regularly, and if you are a tick’s lunch get care if necessary.

Now, back to hiking and putting together bird houses before the new migrant birds settle in.

‘til next week,

 

the good doctor