Ticks and Lyme Disease: The Bite

Chapter 1: The Bite

So, I got tick-bitten in early April while camping at a renaissance festival.  On Saturday morning, I allowed myself to be chased down and slain by a few young knights and princesses with wooden swords.  To keep up the play, I died quite dramatically and rolled on the ground in defeat.

Image from Appalachian Mountain Club

Twelve hours later, I was finally done and bound for bed.  With relief, I pulled off my tight bodice and took a deep breath.  Rubbing my seamed skin, I felt a bump on my abdomen.  I called my husband over, and under the dim light of our camp lanterns we found a total of three ticks latched on.  There was one adult tick on my lower back, right near my tailbone.  There was another adult tick found on my abdomen, and there was one teeny, tiny, black speck of a tick right on my sternum, in the middle of my heart chakra. That one concerned me immediately, as larva or nymph ticks are the most likely to transmit diseases to their hosts. They were attached for most of the day, as far as I know - possibly more than 12 hours.  We got them pulled off, and collapsed into bed with exhaustion.

The next day was a busy one - we camped up our truck before a torrential rainstorm hit, and I felt a bit out-of-sorts and ill.  We drove the three hours or so home very slowly and carefully.  Once settled in our dry, warm house, I got ready for my shower and noticed that the bite area at my heart had developed a ring around it.

Now...I have studied Lyme quite a bit, enough to know what I was seeing.  Not every time, but quite often, Lyme shows itself first as a ring around the bite.  The ring is generally red, but mine was white. I called Eric over, and he confirmed that he saw it, too.  I made an appointment for my doctor for the following Wednesday.

Next to come...western medicine, herbalism, treatment options, antibiotics, and more.

In the meantime, here are some resources if you want to learn more about Lyme.

http://www.ladybarbara.net/
https://www.facebook.com/TBDAlliance

Next...Chapter 2:  The Next Steps