Oh,crap. You've got it too-Listen, please, Lyme disease is NO joke-it hurts and kills. PLEASE be carefull.

My sons friend had lymes disease. He kept getting migranes and one day just passed out from the pain. He went thru all kinds of testings and they couldn't find out what the problem was. It was his mother, who researched on the internet, that asked the dr. to test him for lymes. He went on anti-biotics for weeks. They never found a tick on him and he never had that signature bullseye mark.

As a keen hillwalker in Scotland, Ticks are just like rain. Sometimes you get more than you would like.

Check your groin (front then sides). That's where they tend to settle. Occasionally, the back of the leg.

To avoid leaving the head behind, a dab of cooking oil often makes them withdraw the head and therefore it can just be lifted off.

A vet can supply a handy wee hook tool for dogs. Haven't tried it on myself yet.

Happy Strolling.

A point of fact - ticks are not insects, but related to spiders, mites and scorpions (Arachnids, for the geeks).

I have found that certain scented body creams smeared on bare legs will dramatically cut down tick attachment.

I always walk in shorts, despite the received wisdom, for comfort. This also means that you can see the ticks and remove them before they attach. If you wear long breeks, you will need to wash them on return as the ticks can stay on the fabric and attach days later. Socks should also be washed to kill any lingerers.

Removal within 24h of attachment will virtually eliminate any transfer of the disease, so rapid examination (with the help of a close friend if possible) is important.

#7 Murchadh Ruadh

"certain scented body creams" ... Can you name which one best for you ?

Thanks.

#8 - I was trying to avoid the commercial until I get a lucrative contract from them ;-) , but I found Avon SSS worked well in a controlled experiment (one leg smeared, the other not).

#1, #2. #5
What a bunch of bigoted Scotch anglo-phic morons;
this is a serious story about a viral disease which cripples, blinds and kills people - 117 folk in Scotland were infected last year and the symptoms are evidently worse than HIV sufferers have to bear.

To reduce this to the level of gutter nationalism and anti-English bigotry and xenophobia is appalling. You three are a disgrace to this country and show exactly what would happen if your racist ilk ever got into power.

Ticks are also very prevalent in the north of England, hilly Wales and the New Forest. In addition to testing for Lyme Disease victims who feel unwell and have headache should also be tested for Louping Ill. This is a viral disease (antibiotics no effect) and is similar to the Russian Spring/Summer virus which is increasing in central Europe. It appears to affect many organs and gives Encephalitis

#1 i'd rather have a blood sucking tory tick than
a labour vampire bat.

Are these related to politics - Another kind of bloodsucking parasite.

And tae all the lassies oot there....check the legs when ye come hame...if ye've gone fir a pee in the bushes...I did and caught 3 o' the beggars!

#6 mostly i agree.
i hillwalk and i pick up unwanted hitchhikers all the time- mostly the top of the socks for me, occasionally teh belly button.
the best thing to do is to ahve a bath when you get in and check yourslef over. also periodically check you legs when you ar out on the hill e.g. when having your pieces.

as long as you remove them within a few hours of them settling you should not get infected.

however, you should NOT use oil, vaseline, butter or anything similar to remove them. it used to be the recommended tip and it does indeed make them come out more easily. however, it also increases the likeliehood of infection as the whilst the ticks are suffocating (that's the purpose of the oil as they breath through their skin) they are basically sick, which increases the chance of them passing infection.

just get a really really good grip on them and pull them out. if they a e in too deep, go to a doctor.

also, the bulls eye rash does not always appear. keep an eye on any tick bite sites for irritation. if they become irritated, go to a doctor ask for an antibiotic. the sooner you get it the better the chances of avoiding illness.

there is no need to panic if you get bitten.
most bites are harmless.
just remove them quickly, don't use oil. monitor the bite site and any symtoms, if in doubt go to the doctor, sooner rather than later.

also this
"BLOOD-SUCKING ticks carrying a potentially fatal disease are increasingly moving into Scotland's cities as a result of global warming, campaigners warned yesterday"

is a bit of an exaggeration/scare mongering.
Who, the Scotsman? scaremonger? never!

Pair of tweezers, grab right down at the bottom, twist and pull sharply to ensure you get the head of the little beggar out!!!

15....Nor a fishing net wide boy.

19.
fishnets :)

The first paragraph is in no doubt whatsoever that this is caused by global warming but later we get:

"but the recent warm weather in Scotland - as well as a reduction in the use of sheep-dip"

Of course cause is difficult to determine, unless you are a "campaigner" but I suspect a less committed article would have held out the latter as the major cause (particularly since temperatures are actually down since 1998). Other cause I can think of would be a higher level of reporting, declining public health standards, more urban wildlife & slower bin collection. Several of these, including the lack of sheep dip, are directly the fault of the "environmental" movement.

I do not ask for news to reported in a way slanted against "environmentalists" either but merely for it to accurately reflect the facts, or in this case lack thereof.

Coincident with the rise of the blood sucking tick, a lot of labour councillors are out of jobs...

I've got it (i guess you don't get rid of it, they just control it?). Several years ago i went to the emergency room thinking I may have had a stroke(paralysis on one side of my face). Turned out to be something called Bell's Palsy but they tested for lyme because it can bring bell's on. Turned out I did have lyme disease. Was given the treatment and sent on my way. I have arthritus today but don't know if it is due to the lyme disease. If you start getting some of these side disorders; its probably a good idea to get checked for lyme even if your unaware of being bitten by a tick. I didn't know that I had been bitten

get your self immunised against tick encephalitis is one thing you can do to help protect yourself.I live in Germany now and done it this year for the first time as we spend alot of the time in the alps.You get one jab and then another 4 weeks later followed by another one year later this gives protection for 10 years a little less worry to all you keen walkers and campers.Still have to inspect yourself though there are still infections you can get but atleast it takes away some worry esp over this illness as it is a killer.Ticks are on the increase everyware not just in Scotland i would take this as a warning our planet is getting warmer and ticks are in the front line as one of the insects to react fastest to this.You can say all you wante about sheep dip and rubbish collection but face the facts Global Warming is here its a fact this is only going to get worse protect yourself before the tick bites and you stand a far better chance

Also get your pets protected go see your vet dogs and cats can get infected too

The best thing you can use to remove ticks (ASAP) can be bought from your local pet shop. It looks like the ends of a claw hammer but smaller all you do is the hook it under the tick and press down on it (do not twist).
Works great on dogs too.
A way to reduce the chances of getting ticks is to place strips of natural fur round joints of clothing as ticks naturally tent to go for fur they will attach to the strips (which will be at your body heat so that is what attacts then) and at the end of the day you you just destroy them.

#12 ha ha ha

Thanks 9# Murchadh Ruadh and #16 Just and #24 sergiesmax re inoculation

Oops, I came inhere thinking the "rise of killer ticks in Scottish cities" was about the spoiled ballot papers! Wrong thread, bye,

I find some of the comments here very upsetting, being a Lyme sufferer myself and having personally known people that have died through this awful disease.
It is a very serious and debilitating illness that affects the everyday life of a Lyme sufferer.
For the correct removal of Ticks and how to protect yourself and your family, I would recommend you visit the BADA-UK website at http://www.bada-uk.org they also have tick removers there that you can order on-line. I use them all the time.

Cadrina

I fell sick in early 2000 and became progressively disabled and eventually ended up in severe, unremitting, chronic neck pain and had many symptoms including brain damage, depression, brain "fog", numbness in 1/2 of my face, trouble walking (and now use a cane part time), stumbling, tripping, weird sleep issues including falling suddenly asleep at the office for 10-20 seconds at a time for 2-3 hrs ea morning (it would happen continuously during that time), etc.

I was seen by 17 specialists over the course of the first 5 years of being ill but nobody could figure out what was going on. I was sent to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD so they could have a go at me (thinking I had a tropical disease), too, but came up with no idea what happened to me. Early on I was tested using the ELISA test, which is horribly inaccurate (it has a false negative reading of about 50-70% of the time!) and that showed "no lyme disease" but anyone who knew me knew something terrible was happening.

Finally, in 2007 I meet a Lyme Literate M.D. (LLMD) who interviewed me for 90 minutes at my first appointment (instead of the typical American 10-12 minute visit tops) and *clinically* diagnosed me with Lyme. That's the key - LD is a CLINICAL diagnosis first. Testing is an adjunct but is not to be relied on as it can be wildly inaccurate. I did end up having a Western Blot test done (with ALL BANDS read by iGeneX in California instead of just the surveillance bands, which is key) and surely enough do have Lyme accoridng to both the American CDC standards as well as on other bands of the test.

My treatment has been on-going for around 4 months now and at the 3-month mark I started to show some improvements. A 2nd antibiotic was added to the mix recently but thankfully my doctor is intelligent and well-versed on this horrible disease.

Lyme is a tough disease to nail down. The only reason for this post is to show you that you CAN

One other thing to watch for is if you have pets that spend time outdoors and indoors both. They can bring ticks into the house. So even if you don't go out, you can get a tick that your pet has brought in. Check pets and children daily during warm weather.

Of course, the most dangerous of all is the dreaded poly tick.

#22 ROFL! AND SO TROOO!

To all you idiots posting here today, treating this article as a joke, I just hope you are never affected by this very clever bacterium.

Borrelia Burgdorferi, the spirochette type of bacteria that causes Lyme disease mimics all sorts of "conditions". ME, chronic fatigue syndrome, Fibromyalgia, MS, the list goes on.

What is utterly disgraceful is the fact that the NHS Lab test used to confirm the diagnosis is only at best 30% accurate. There are far more undiagnosed than those 177 diagnosed this year.

So, what has our fantastic Scottish Executive done about this? Nothing. Amount spent on research £0 and they have no plans to do any either.

Until there is a much more reliable and accurate test for Lyme disease 1000's of people will never find out what is REALLY wrong with them.

The ignorance of most doctors on this subject is appalling. There should be a national training program for all Gp's for a start.

Oh, a few have said that early removal will prevent infection. Wrong! As soon as the bacteria sense that the tick is feeding (on your blood) they start to leave the Ticks stomach and enter your bloodstream.

Want to see the creature in action?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODYu--TNPDE

With a bit of spin I am sure these ticks could be portrayed as an improvement in education standards.