Talk:Lyme disease

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48 hours

The into says:

• For a tick to transmit the bacteria, it must have taken a blood meal, which can take more than 48 hours.

I'm not sure of the point being made or exactly what the sentence is telling us. Ticks live on blood and - unless we're talking about it's first meal - it must have had a blood meal previously or it would be dead. And what is the particular significance of the maximum length a meal can take - (apparently 48 hours)? There is a link but there is nothing on the page linked to which mentions this.--Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 08:03, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

On the linked page there's a link to a section called "causes" (I didn't link to the individual page because I used different sections from the same general article). That page says "To contract Lyme disease, you must be bitten by an infected deer tick. The bacteria enter your skin through the bite and eventually make their way into your bloodstream. Before bacteria can be transmitted, a deer tick must take a blood meal, which can take more than 48 hours of feeding. Only ticks that are attached to your skin and are feeding can transmit the bacteria." Basically, if the tick is on you for a short amount of time, your chance of getting Lyme disease is low to the point of nonexistent. I think one of the things I read says diagnosis requires the tick being attached for over 36 hours, but I'm not completely sure. Thunderkatz^Ho! 08:21, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

So you're saying that the "48 hours" refers to the time necessary to transfer the bacteria - not the time necessary for a meal? Might I suggest a re-word for clarity and a link to the the actual page which says this?--Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 08:50, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

I'm not sure what I mean. But I think it means transmission doesn't happen until after a blood meal, and a blood meal lasts 24-48+ hours. On the other hand, most other sites don't mention transmission in relation to blood meals, and just say the tick has to be on for over 24 hours. So I don't know. Maybe just remove that line completely.Thunderkatz^Ho! 12:58, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

OK, I've removed it.--Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 20:55, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Good article

Actually this is a very good article. I must admit that I had been taken in by all the hype surrounding this and, as I walk through fields a lot, it was something which concerned me. It's good to know that it's not quite the risk it's made out to be. Thanks. --Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 21:22, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Thanks, though that doesn't mean you shouldn't still protect yourself when in fields: wear pants instead of shorts, check for ticks, etc. Thunderkatz^Ho! 21:28, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

I agree. You will note that I did not write "no risk". :-) --Bob^{Spring is sprung!} 21:34, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Rating requested

Yeah, I'm pimping my own article. Anyone have a rating for this? Thunderkatz^Ho! 20:55, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Thanks

I'm a long-ago disappeared user, but I'm having a bit of a Lyme scare myself, and the internet wasn't helping. Much of it is clearly nonsense, but even to a seasoned woo-watcher it is a bit hard to figure out what's real outside of some of the basic pages from the CDC, Mayo, etc. But then I thought to check RW, found a nice article, and relaxed a bit. --MarkGall (talk) 04:10, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

The actual cause of chronic lyme disease?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11953087/New-illness-spread-by-ticks-found-similar-to-Lyme-disease.html Hey guys, this can completely debunk the chronic lyme disease thing by convincing so-called sufferers the real possible cause of the so-called chronic lyme disease! ClickerClock (talk) 22:58, 24 October 2015 (UTC)