[celiar]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Celiar I for one appreciate your input on a subject that clearly needed
to be better publisized I never liked Ticks and like them less now (thanks for the original question Rich)

Thanks Nightshade. This is definitely a subject that needs to be better publicised especially here in the UK.

This is a quote from Pest Control News (August 2006):

"........if we look at data from the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC), stretching back to 1986 for the UK. In combination with the Eurosurveillance data, it shows that incidence in England and Wales has not doubled or even trebled but has increased 18-fold from 1986 to 2005!”

Yet still Lyme disease is considered by many health professionals to be rare.

There could be hundreds of people feeling unwell and not really knowing why,is there a leaflet that I could give to the GP's at my local surgery?

There could indeed! However it is a sad fact that efforts to enlighten GP's are more often than not met with strong resistance, and in many cases direct opposition. They somehow see it as an affront, and most are unwilling to read literature on the subject or even discuss it. There are one or two more enlightened doctors in the UK but they are sadly few and far between. The experience of many people is that GP’s generally like to think they know best, even when the weight of evidence is to the contrary. I've known people who have turned up at their GP's surgery who have had a known tick bite, have the typical Erythema Migrans rash that can accompany Lyme disease (although it's absent in over 50% of cases), and have common symptoms of early Lyme disease infection, i.e., flu-like, headaches, sore throats, fatigue etc., yet the GP has said categorically that they can't possibly have Lyme and offered no treatment. Lyme disease can then lay dormant in the system for weeks, months and even years and be triggered later by another illness, pregnancy or a trauma. So instead of it being dealt with early by a short course of antibiotic treatment this person can then go on to develop a multi-systemic illness which is much harder to deal with. GP's also have a habit of dismissing information that comes from the internet. It’s an uphill struggle!

There are leaflets and posters available for download free on www.bada-uk.org, as I’ve suggested previously. I can’t stress how important and informative these leaflets are. Although they are aimed at ‘at risk’ groups they do contain information about the threat to the UK, the various tick-borne diseases, as well as advice on how to prevent them in the first place. I understand that some GP’s have been willing to display them though this is not always the case unfortunately.

Tick awareness and the danger ticks represent in the transmission of these horrendous infections is really best done amongst the people who are in the 'front line'. 1 in 3 ticks is infected, so anyone who goes out into the great outdoors needs to be aware of the risk so that hopefully we can prevent it happening to them in the first place, or to enlighten them as to what the cause may be if they do become ill. Early treatment is essential.

The best thing you, and others, could do, is to download the free leaflets available that BADA-UK have on their website, for yourself, but also make them available to the groups you belong to. There are posters free for download too. Those groups could include, golfers, ramblers, horse riders, anglers, mountaineers, campers, wildlife photographers, the list is endless. Also use the links on the FAQ's and FACTS pages for more in depth information that can be printed off.

BADA-UK also offers a dedicated discussion forum on their site, of which I am a member. The forum is called ‘Tick Talk’ so is very pertinent to this topic. All are welcome to participate and it would be good if we could find a way to improve community awareness too. They offer a selection of ideas on how individuals can raise awareness amongst their local community, and of course they are always open to new suggestions and ideas.

For some who may already have been infected with this devastating infection, like me, the motivation and passion to prevent others from experiencing a similar fate is strong. BADA-UK is a group of patients all affected by Lyme borreliosis along with a cocktail of other known tick-borne diseases. They also happen to be the only charity in the UK actively promoting and offering improved understanding and awareness of ticks and the diseases they can pass on. It is only through the efforts of groups such as BADA-UK, and individuals such as you, that the powers that be will finally wake up to the ‘ticking time-bomb’ we have in our midst.