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Comment by drewcon | Hacker News Reader

If you do get bit. Get your tick tested. https://www.tickreport.com

I’m from Massachusetts and spend a lot of time on Nantucket, which is like ground zero for Lyme (lots of deer, no predators). A service like this can really give you peace of mind if you do get bit.

Also worth noting, a tick bite is not like a snake bite. It’s not really like being instantly injected with a venom or a foreign pathogen. From what I understand (after I got bit and looked it up) the tick really needs to be dug in for about 24-48 hours to cause a problem. So it’s more like the tick is giving you an infection, and in the course of that passing on these terrible diseases (sometimes).

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One thing to note about getting ticks tested is that your local health authority might provide no-cost tick testing.

This is the case here in Ottawa:

http://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-topics/lym...

Unfortunately we know all about this because our dog got bit, got Lyme disease (even though she was on the preventative medications), then developed a rare complication (heart condition). It's really made going out on the trails a less fun experience when worrying about ticks.

At least in my whereabouts, tick testing is no longer used. They said chance of false negative is too high. On top of that, bad tick doesn't mean you're infected. Two stages blood test is only fool proof way to test for Lyme.

Can confirm that ticks need time to give you Lyme. I've had Lyme twice. Both times I missed a tick on initial check and found it a day later. I get bitten few times a year and every time I find them on time all is good.

Do you build up any kind of immunity after repeated exposure?

It's a bacterial infection, so I believe immunity just doesn't last as long as it does for e.g. chicken pox. The vaccine, when it was available, recommended rather short intervals between boosters.

Nope. On the bright side, the treatment is easy if it's not neglected . There's little chance of any residual too.

>I’m from Massachusetts and spend a lot of time on Nantucket, which is like ground zero for Lyme (lots of deer, no predators).

Give a 100% discount on ferry tickets to anyone with a valid hunting license during deer season. The problem will solve itself. The people with money don't care what the locals shoot up over the winter. I don't see why they care what the locals shoot over the winter.

> Nantucket, which is like ground zero for Lyme

It's pretty close. Only ~150km from Plum Island.

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