Lyme Disease and Ticks, a doctor's advice for bikepacking

A doctor's advice on Lyme Disease and Ticks for bikepacking, backpacking and wild camping. Thanks to Dr James Douglas of the Tweeddale Medical practice in Fort William and NHS Highland.
00:00 Start
01:12 What and where
04:00 Where to look
04:27 How to remove
05:57 Is it Lyme disease?
06:39 When to see a doctor

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[seamusOB]

I live in south Germany where TBE (Tick-borne Encephalitis) is increasingly a problem. I go cycling and camping and I have been very lucky so far not to have been bitten. Once I spotted a tiny sand coloured tick crawling up my leg. It was so small I don't know how I noticed it. There is a vaccine to protect against TBE. I was very happy to take it last month with a booster shot four weeks later.

[johnireland]

Cheers Simon appreciate you taking the time to do this with Dr Douglas - excellent information bursting the tick myths

[HughDWallace]

Excellent advice. Probably the most comprehensive & accessible video I've seen on the subject.

I'm very tick aware and have been picking ticks off me for 40 odd years now and (touch wood!) have not become ill. But my mum (similarly aware) did get Lyme's disease a few years ago. She never saw a rash (there is the possibility that the tick got into her hair) but the symptoms were there & she sought treatment. All good.

Scottish GPs are much more tick aware than they used to be but urban doctors are less likely to see Lyme's than their rural counterparts. The advice I've been given is to push your GP in the direction of considering Lyme's & even ask if they will give you antibiotics before blood test results come back. The earlier you can start treatment the better. I wouldn't be waiting for anything like a 10cm rash to appear before heading for the clinic: any kind of rash that doesn't disappear in 36 hours after tick removal is getting my full attention!

[thornwarbler]

Good Those tick twisters are superb. I would encourage everyone to get a set and carry them.

[summerofbeaches]

Just spent a night camping in Lyme, Connecticut USA. This is the town that lends its name to Lyme Disease. I live in the very urban city of Boston but I grew up in Connecticut as a very active outdoor recreation enthusiast. Almost everyone I know who spends time outdoors has had Lyme Disease. Many get it from gardening. Living in Boston I don’t hear of it. The deer tick is what we get it from. We have an increasing population of deer and where the deer are numerous so is Lyme Disease.

[north.by.northeast]

Fantastic to get concise and expert information in a sensible way without any of the drama. Great video, thanks for sharing :)

[colinmaceachern]

Fantastic getting professional input. In all my years in the outdoors I've never been bitten by a tic . Clegs on the other hand are a problem, the bites from them cause me immense problems if not treated right away.

[jameshallworth]

Thanks for sharing this important information! Tip: if you’ve removed a tick, make a note of when that was and where on the body, that way if a rash occurs you can better remember where it was and make the link to the tick.

[danhardisty]

Ticks and mosquitoes worry me the most. Very nice of Dr. Douglas to chime in.

[maimiethompson]

Excellent overview, advice and, practical tips as well as not scaremongering about going into the outdoors. The only thing to add is ticks don't just inhabit the 'great outdoors' increasingly in urban settings, parks, gardens, and so on. So this advice is of very wide use.

[kuri]

That was very informative. My brother and I will be bike packing Lejog in late July / early August so we will be looking out for ticks!

[jimmysqueezyronin]

useful info, thanks. I do carry a 'credit card' tick remover but did not know about the rash.

[Alphard_adventures]

Great advice and very useful video . Thanks so much . Not had a tick that I know of but have had two occasions where I’ve had a leech. Once was only walking through damp green, the other bathing in a stream . All the best 👍

[pavlovzdog]

A lot of stuff I didn't know in that. Thank you, it was very informative. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[Neohurricane]

Really helpful video and something I hadn't even thought about, thanks and I'll be buying a tick twister!!

[gcsScotland]

Very clear and informative - should be watched by anyone heading outdoors in ‘tick areas’ 👍👍 Must remember to delete those intimate photos 😉

[andrewrutherford]

thanks for a rational video about ticks - Brilliant stuff

[sebastianpaterson]

3.40 Ticks contract Borrelia bacteria when having first blood meal from primary host, usually rodents or birds. Deer themselves do not carry or transmit the Borrelia bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Thus, a tick feeding on a deer cannot become infected and subsequently transmit that infection to a human or other host. As deer are not a transmission host, they are referred to as a non-competent host for Borrelia.

[oschibaby]

Great video, good didactics. Keep them coming!

[eddiefogg]

Very, very clear, informative and helpful guys. Many thanks:)