BUGS

[Oleozz]

I also have Lyme disease, had it for years before I was diagnosed by a Lyme disease expert, he gave me the Bowen Research Lab test and was positive. He had me on antibiotics, I was supposed to take them for at least a year but I only lasted four months, the antibiotics seemed to have more side effects than the Lyme. The disease, as John47 has stated, is at an epidemic level and most docs don't want to acknowledge it. Funny thing about the sodium comment, I hardly ever use salt and haven't for years.

 

[Coyote]

I HAVE used one of those little battery powered things you pin to your shirt. I didn't get bitten....they just hover a few inches away and don't land....better than getting bit but very obnoxious too!

 

[Iowachild]

We have deer ticks which give you Lyme disease which makes you sick forever. If you get it really bad you need IV antibiotics and the insurance co start balking.

Been there, done that! Although my insurance coverage at the time was great. Good thing too because the IV regime ran close to $300.00 per day for six weeks.

 

[John47]

Been there, done that! Although my insurance coverage at the time was great. Good thing too because the IV regime ran close to $300.00 per day for six weeks.

Thats exactly the point, $300 a day plus other costs! I presume you were caught early??

I treated myself as I have no insurance and I mistrust the medical profession too, plus I didn't want drugs of any sort. But most of all I have had it too long for antibiotics to do anything now. When I thought back, I'd had various symptoms of Lyme going back to the mid 90's. Most recurred yearly around early summer time, lasted a few weeks then subsided. It wasn't until mid September last year that all the same symptoms came to me in one go and several times more vicious!
How can any Doctor come to a reasonable conclusion when you go to him with what looks like RSI in the hands and wrists, then some weeks later, knee problems, full well knowing from what I tell him that I had a major knee injury at work in my teens?
All look like normal aging problems.
Then your OK for months! Thats how Lyme works at first!

 

[greenedeere]

I too have the disease, was not treated for it properly when it first started.I had the tick in hand stuck to a piece of tape, bullseye and the sickness that follows. The MD knew more than CDC, an outdoor magazine and my research. Second MD took no chances, sent in all kinds of samples and was tested positive three times. All this in early 1992. 11 monthes later I was so sick of antibiotics and Doctor offices I stopped with the pills. Now I have to have something for pain in joints (knees,shoulders,back,elbows,hands)I hate to have to ask for pain medication. Always have to explain why I need then.So I just suffer thru some of the time when I need then to relieve the pain.Be careful and do check yourself, unless it has changed a tick needs @24 hours attached to cause the start of the process.

 

[Ford850]

As I understand it too - 24 hours on you then it's dangerous. They suck the blood, use parts of it, and deposit the rest back into you. That's when they infect you. Check yourselves early and often.
Try Permanone, it works great for mosquitoes and ticks. Spray it on clothes only, let it dry, then it stays on clothes for weeks even through washing. No odor, and it works 100% for me. You still need a little Deet on your exposed skin but having your clothes protected does wonders. Socks, pants, shirts, hats, I use it on everything and get zero bites through clothing, and ticks will not attach to it. And unlike Deet which only repels, Permanone actually kills the bugs so they do not keep swarming aroung your face.
I've used it for 15 years but it still seems like an unknown secret for some reason. It's also safer for children since it's applied to clothing and not to their skin like Deet.

 

[Ford850]

I looked it up online, and it appears that Repel has bought the Permanone name. The Repel brand is scented though. The active ingredient is Permethrin. I found a Sawyer brand that looks closer to the cans of Permanone that I have. They say it has no scent and will last through washes.
Look for Permethrin as the active ingredient.

 

[jbrumberg]

When I use DEET products I find that I get mild asthma-like symptoms. I will use these products when I have to, but any chemical you can eliminate through urine literally minutes after application is stuff you want to be careful about and it will also dissolve some plastics. I spray DEET products liberally on my old jungle hat (topside and under the brim), I use a bug net and long sleeve shirts and pants, I eat a lot and I mean a lot of garlic, and I use dandruff shampoo with coal tar and some of the brands have pyrithrum (?). This/these combinations of responses to bugs tend to work for me and my body chemistry (and my craziness), but most of these methods (other than the bug net) worked for me when I worked in the jungles of Costa Rica. I will add that the biting insect pests in NE during blackfly and deerfly seasons seem worse than the jungle bugs (other than the army ants and some other ant species ) Jay

 

[WayneB]

During this time of the year I am usually wearing my bug baffler suit. Keeps the bugs off from me.

Bug Baffler - Insect Protective Clothing

 

[RedRocker]

Try a Thermacell, small and worked for me when I was deer hunting.