We found a tick on Enrico’s upper arm! We thought we were doing a good job at checking for tick’s but this experience has proved it was not quite good enough. I talk about what I did and what we will do going forward during and after our hikes or possible exposure to grasses or wooded areas that may contain ticks!
1. Do a thorough tick check
2. Wear proper clothing, preferably long sleeves, light colored clothing. Tuck your pants into your socks, you might look like a dork on the trail but you will be better protected.
3. Ticks CRAWL upward into warm, moist places. They can attach to clothing and then crawl up your body and nestle into armpits, groins and behind ears. GROSS! Check yourself and have someone else also check you.
4. KEEP YOUR TICK. You can mail your tick (after you name him) to your local public health vector lab OR I chose to mail our tick (we named him George) to the U Mass Dept of Zoology Tick Lab for thorough DNA analysis which will test that tick for Lyme bacteria and other possible co-infections!
5. Enrico did an immediate telemedicine appointment with an MD and he is taking a round of Doxycycline (Ive got him on S. Boulardii to help with any side effects like diarrhea). As my friend Dr. Sydne Pomin says, “The right medicine for the right person at the right time.” I’ve had enough Lyme patients to know that Lyme disease can be quite devastating.
6. I will update when we get the tick report back! 7. There are lots of herbal protocols for Lyme and other co-infections, when we get the report back, depending on any possible co-infections and/or if Enrico experiences any symptoms of such infections we will consider a protocol for him!
A shout out to the tick lab where I mailed our tick. https://www.tickreport.com/about
Also a shout out to Marin Agricultural Land Trust because I’m wearing their hat and I think they are awesome because they preserve Marin’s Farmland! https://malt.org
