[jacquesm]

Lyme is pretty heavy. Three of my family members have it in various stages, one of them really serious. They live in rural Poland where in the forests it is more or less a given that you will contract Lyme at some point in your life. For foresters it is a better-than-even chance that they contract the disease by the time they are 30 even if they are careful, all it takes is one tick that you didn't spot and you get bitten by ticks all the time there.

Lyme disease does not 'make you stupid', but it can make you very ill. One of the possible symptoms is depression, memory loss is another so the symptoms the author describes are very much in the realm of the possible.

If you're ever bitten by a tick and you see a bulls-eye pattern around the bite get yourself to a doctor and make sure you are prescribed anti-biotics right away, do not wait (for instance until your holiday is over). I can't emphasize this enough. I don't like anti-biotics for many reasons when they are used without a good reason but Lyme disease is no picnic and the earlier you deal with it the better your chances of complete recovery. Wait too long and you're in for a world of trouble, in case you think I'm exaggerating please read the wikipedia page on Lyme disease or have a chat with my brother in law whose life is pretty much determined by Lyme in a very advanced stage.

[tszyn]

A friend of mine recently got a rash (I don't think it was a classic bullseye pattern) and some fatigue. She didn't notice a tick. Went to a doctor, suggested that it might be Lyme disease -- doctor told her if she'd had a tick, she would have noticed it, so it must be allergy. A month later she was in the hospital with a confirmed Lyme diagnosis.

If I get an unexplained rash with flu-like symptoms, even if I don't see a tick, I'm taking antibiotics just in case. Better safe than sorry.

[jacquesm]

> Better safe than sorry

Yes, that's the right attitude to take with this disease. The main criterium is that you've been in or are in a region where ticks are found, combined with warm/hot weather.

Areas to avoid: long grass, shrub and forests.

[DennisP]

Also, if you're in one of those areas, check yourself thoroughly for those tiny deer ticks every twelve hours. If you find one, pull it off without squeezing its abdomen. That'll greatly reduce the chance of transmittal.

The problem is seeing the little buggers.

[JeffL]

You can get a cheap little plastic thing called a "Tick Twister" at the pet store, and it is awesome. I've had to remove plenty of ticks from my dog, and a few from people and this tool is invaluable.

[kiisupai]

Good advice. I was bitten by a tick three summers ago and received my antibiotics a little too late. As a result I am still suffering from lingering after effects, the most prominent of which would be persistent "brain fog" and a general feeling of mental fatigue. And I am one of the lucky ones as it could've ended a lot worse than that.

[300bps]

My 4 year old son had Lyme Disease a few months ago. Playing around outside my in-laws house for a couple days, my wife found the tick during his shower. The tick must've been on him for a while because you have about a 0% chance of getting Lyme Disease unless the ticket has been attached for over 36 hours (see http://www.aldf.com/pdf/postersmall.pdf). We removed the tick and an expanding rash appeared on his back over the next few days. Could see it plain as day, grew to about 4 inches in diameter. Took him to urgent care (it was a weekend) and instantly diagnosed with Lyme. Important Note: Since the Lyme Disease test is an antibody test, it won't show positive for about 30 days after you're infected. A bulls eye rash over a certain diameter is clinically sufficient to diagnose Lyme. Another fun fact: once you test positive for Lyme, you will test positive for the rest of your life because your body retains the antibodies even though a previous infection is not protective of future infections.

He was on three weeks of antibiotics and the rash s-l-o-w-l-y disappeared over that time. He has no obvious ill effects thus far.