So scare of ticks in upstate NY

kermit

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:06 pm

We've just made an offer on a house upstate (bc we desperately need out of the city on long shabbos)

Now, my mother in law is freaking out about the ticks and lyme disease and its honestly starting to freak me out too!!

the home has a huge yard and the lady who owns it said they sometimes see deer in the yard.

My husband said we will put up a strong fence and also hire someone to spray it heavily -- is that enough?

How rampant are ticks and tick bites? how risky is it?

am I being an idiot going to the counrty and putting my son at risk?

is it a sakana? is it dangerous?

amother

Topaz

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:08 pm

No! You just take them out with tweezers if you get one, and even if you don't get any, check for Lyme disease at every well visit.

Don't go in long grass, especially without full coverage on legs. Check yourself and kids every evening after playing in grass.

That's all!

amother

Slateblue

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:09 pm

This is no reason to panic. Here in Monsey, we live with deer year round. It's nothing to panic about!
I have many deer in my yard and lawn on a daily basis, year round, and none of us ever got a tick, bh hashem should help further. It's important to keep the grass mowed short at all times.

pecan

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:10 pm

High fence plus spray several times a year and spray your kids clothes as well.
Plus daily checks.
Lyme is very difficult to get rid of. Best cure is prevention

NotInNJMommy

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:12 pm

Get used to doing routine tick checks at the end of the day when kids have been playing outside. Learn how to remove them and save them to have them checked by the dr. It doesn't happen regularly, but it can happen enough that it's just a good habit to get used to doing for anyone spending time in the region of endemic Lyme--especially because you don't have to be in the deep woods if you are in that region.

Java

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:15 pm

Please relax
It's really not a big deal
I have deer in my yard constantly
Just make sure to check the kids over well at bath time and have them wear long pants whenever possible
Keep the grass short and don't allow them to play in areas with high grass
That's it.

kermit

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:28 pm

THank you all Crying

How common is it to find a tick attached?

My cousins daughter has lyme disease from going to overnight camp and hasn't been well for 2 years

Java

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:30 pm

kermit wrote:

THank you all Crying

How common is it to find a tick attached?

My cousins daughter has lyme disease from going to overnight camp and hasn't been well for 2 years

My daughter ran around outside all last summer and I never found a tick once
And we have deer literally everywhere
Lyme disease is scary but uncommon. Just look out for the ticks and know how to deal with them and you'll be fine.

pecan

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:36 pm

Unfortunately, Java, either your kids are very young or you are unaware that many health issues can be tied to lyme.
Just about every family I know that has gone upstate has been impacted by lyme. They don't necessarily put the 2 issues together. A 25 year old with arthritis, for example. A 10 year old with heart issues, etc.
It's one of the fastest growing threats here today as per news articles

NotInNJMommy

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:38 pm

While it is much more likely to happen in some regions, it doesn't mean it happens frequently--but given the risks it's worthwhile to be conscientious. When a potential Lyme case is caught early, the prognosis is quite good, and in parts of NYS where Lyme is endemic, medical professionals are much more aware of it, how to check for it, and how to treat it. Antibiotics prophylaxis is not uncommon when a feeding tick and/or bulls eye rash is found, and it's not pleasant (pretty rough on the tummy) , but if one knows what to watch for and how to get the right attention on possible concerns, then in the still unlikely event of a tick bite/Lyme diagnosis, it doesn't have to be a crisis. I know a handful of folks in my city who were diagnosed with Lyme in the last 15 years and treated in a timely way without incident. I had a bullseye rash on my ankle about 10 years ago, took antibiotics prophylaxis for the course (maybe 7-10 days?) and never had any issues BH.

amother

Snowdrop

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:53 pm

Be prepared, not scared.

Have a tick kit ready with everything you need to remove the tick, save it in case you want to send off for testing, and early treatment for the bite to prevent infections. We treat bites with a paste made of bentonite clay and andrographis. We also use ledum homeopathic and andrographis orally for 30 days. Apis homeopathic if a rash or irritation develops.

Ticks can be sent to tickreport.com for testing.

Use wondercide tick repellant and Thiamine patches.

Drinking cistus tea daily can help prevent bites and can help prevent an infection from developing in the event you are bitten.

Highstrung

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:55 pm

Our family gets ticks often and one of my children was sick with Lyme Disease and it was easily treated with anti biotics. We train ourselves to do full body checks every day and hope for the best. But we don’t think about it or have anxiety over it. DH will be spraying something since the deer have been literally sleeping in my yard lately and we are noticing lots of ticks.
It’s important to remove the ticks and know how to.

amother

Vermilion

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:59 pm

I think the threat is real. (Spoken as someone with two kids with chronic lyme.disease from ticks the size of a freckle or smaller). You can miss it entirely or not even look on urself or hubby in hard to reach places. (The one I found was on my sons private place...it took three days for.me to realize it wasn't a freckle and take off a moving tick.)
And teenagers are lax about checking themselves once or twice a day as are adults.
If u insist on living there, spray your yard, cut grass short, spray your kids daily with anti tick spray and every person (from babies to adults) needs head to toe search every 24 hours.

kermit

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 8:59 pm

thank you all for this information and resources!!

I'm going to youtube a ton on how to check for and remove ticks

Basically, it's like strep in terms of risk? Ie treat when there's infection, don't leave untreated or it becomes bad?

amother

Topaz

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 9:03 pm

kermit wrote:

It's not like strep because most ticks don't have Lyme, but on the other hand if you don't treat a Lyme infection when there is one, it won't just go away.

You can do a blood test on everyone to catch possible Lyme after the summer, a month or two is enough to catch it in time and treat.

kermit

Thu, Apr 27 2023, 9:10 pm

amother Vermilion wrote:

I hope it's ok to ask -- after you found the tick that was on your son for 3 days and went for treatment, the treatment still didn't prevent the chronic lyme infection?