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Just go to your PCP and get your one time course of 2 doxycycline pills as soon as you get bitten. I also spray my hiking/yardwork pants and boots with permeth

Just go to your PCP and get your one time course of 2 doxycycline pills as soon as you get bitten. I also spray my hiking/yardwork pants and boots with permethrin. DEET is pretty useless, I’ve seen them walk right over DEET sprayed boots onto my pants. They make it about 5 steps through permethrin. I’m surprised advise from Harvard is getting this wrong. If you want even more protection, you can buy stocking like slacks and a shirt specifically made for this purpose on Amazon. I wear these when I’m weeding or clearing brush. All the above methods haven’t failed me in 5 years.

keepamovin 2y ago
Ah faithful doxycycline, a legitimate cureall. Well tolerated, cheap, with few side effects when used sparingly.
- underbooter 2y ago
  Just watch out for the vomiting.
  - keepamovin 2y ago
    For me it's diarrhea. But yeah...Is the vomiting mostly with babies? Or even adults?
komatsu 2y ago
Taking antibiotics after every random bite is overkill. Antibiotics overuse is a serious issue for your body and for the general antibiotics resistance as well. When the tick is attached less than 24 hours it won't transmit Lyme disease according to the CDC. I check myself every evening after outdoor activities, remove 10-20 ticks every year and knock-knock never had Lyme disease yet. I wasn't aware of the permethrin effectiveness though. Thanks for letting us know.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- huytersd 2y ago
  If you take precautions, you might get bitten once a season. Taking antibiotics once or twice a year isn’t all that insane. Why not just use permethrin or anti tick clothing if you’re regularly pulling off 10-20 ticks. It’s disgusting and you can get some other serious diseases besides Lyme like Rocky mountain fever, alpha gal or encephalitis that are harder to treat or have no cures. I’ve always heard the 24-36 hour thing is a statistical probability figure. You most probably won’t but you could get it as soon as the tick attaches as well. Also if you squeeze the body of an engorged tick as you’re pulling it out, you force all the contents of its stomach (where the Lyme bacteria lives), into your bloodstream. Always use tweezers and go for the head.
- lencastre 2y ago
  10-20 ticks every year??? I can’t imagine that and I often run in grassy fields (not tall grass) and at most I found 1-2 ticks on me or my kids. How do you get that kind of numbers in the first place?
  - someoneiam 2y ago
    I think that is just what happens if you live in tick-dense areas and do a lot if outdoor activities. I take every precaution, and remove approximatively the same number of ticks per season. Some places are just like that. Once, I rested with my right hand against the ground, just a couple of seconds, and upon lifting it up I noticed around 30 ticks crawling on it.
    - sizzle 2y ago
      This is disturbing what state? Where do you find the ticks hiding on your body?
  - bregma 2y ago
    Why would you not believe it? It's normal where I live too. I definitely get dozens of bites every year and have been formally diagnosed with and treated for Lyme twice because it's pretty easy to miss one. Tick bites are very often completely painless and they often choose very discreet locations for their meal. Keep in mind tick season is March to June and September to December (although it started in February this year because of unusual weather). That's a lot of days with "1-2 ticks" and it adds up.
    - huytersd 2y ago
      I’ve never had a tick bite I could miss. They form a blister and itch like crazy for a couple of days. I wonder if the inflammatory response goes away if you get bitten too often. I know it happens with mosquitos if you get bitten too often.
      - bregma 2y ago
01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
You can get into your PCP in less than a week?
- huytersd 2y ago
  Yes but I’ve also used one of the plethora of telehealth systems before that will let you speak to a doctor within a hour and you can pick up your prescription in two.
xorcist 2y ago
After every bite? That is a manual how to breed multi resistant Borrelia burgdorferi, the short version. Please be a responsible human being and consult a doctor. Common symptoms for a bacterial infections are flu like symptoms and a bullseye-like rash a few days after the bite. Be on the lookout for those and you will be fine.
- huytersd 2y ago
  Getting antibiotics maybe once a year is not excessive. Please stop being hyperbolic, I’m well aware of MRSAs and do my best to take them sparingly. Where I live between 50-70% of the deer ticks have Lyme disease so it’s not overkill.
  - xorcist 2y ago
    This was in reference to after every bite, not once a year. Antibiotic resistance is not hyperbole. It is a real problem, and potentially a big one. What would be hyperbolic is if the part of the world that lives in tick infested regions would be pretty much on a constant antibiotic binge during season. A full dose is two weeks and you are likely to be bitten again. I don't know if the suggestion was in reference to ideas that float around the Internet that you shouldn't take the full two week dose, but none of those studies have been replicated. Given what we know from how antibiotic resistance forms, they could be potentially harmful. Just be careful when taking medical advice.
    - huytersd 2y ago
      Antibiotic resistance almost never occurs in isolated situations. It’s hospital settings and large factory farms that are the issue. Either ways there’s a Lyme vaccine on the way. It should be available by 2025.
    - underbooter 2y ago
      By far the weirdest thing to me in this entire thread, as someone who had long-term Lyme disease, is the dudes bragging about how often they remove ticks from themselves and their children, yet who are more scared of antibiotic resistance the Lyme. Simply does not compute. Do you, like, get off on risking contracting infectious disease? I feel bad for your children.
CatWChainsaw 2y ago
DEET is a repellent which is meant to keep them away, but if they land then they land. Permethrin is a pesticide so it kills. When I'm in the woods I wear outdoor clothing that's been sprayed with permethrin, but I also put a "heavy-duty" DEET repellent on my clothes and use OLE (oil of lemon and eucalyptus) on exposed skin, even though the last one might just be placebo.

keepamovin 2y ago

Ah faithful doxycycline, a legitimate cureall. Well tolerated, cheap, with few side effects when used sparingly.

underbooter 2y ago
Just watch out for the vomiting.
- keepamovin 2y ago
  For me it's diarrhea. But yeah...Is the vomiting mostly with babies? Or even adults?

komatsu 2y ago

Taking antibiotics after every random bite is overkill. Antibiotics overuse is a serious issue for your body and for the general antibiotics resistance as well. When the tick is attached less than 24 hours it won't transmit Lyme disease according to the CDC. I check myself every evening after outdoor activities, remove 10-20 ticks every year and knock-knock never had Lyme disease yet. I wasn't aware of the permethrin effectiveness though. Thanks for letting us know.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
huytersd 2y ago
If you take precautions, you might get bitten once a season. Taking antibiotics once or twice a year isn’t all that insane. Why not just use permethrin or anti tick clothing if you’re regularly pulling off 10-20 ticks. It’s disgusting and you can get some other serious diseases besides Lyme like Rocky mountain fever, alpha gal or encephalitis that are harder to treat or have no cures. I’ve always heard the 24-36 hour thing is a statistical probability figure. You most probably won’t but you could get it as soon as the tick attaches as well. Also if you squeeze the body of an engorged tick as you’re pulling it out, you force all the contents of its stomach (where the Lyme bacteria lives), into your bloodstream. Always use tweezers and go for the head.
lencastre 2y ago
10-20 ticks every year??? I can’t imagine that and I often run in grassy fields (not tall grass) and at most I found 1-2 ticks on me or my kids. How do you get that kind of numbers in the first place?
- someoneiam 2y ago
  I think that is just what happens if you live in tick-dense areas and do a lot if outdoor activities. I take every precaution, and remove approximatively the same number of ticks per season. Some places are just like that. Once, I rested with my right hand against the ground, just a couple of seconds, and upon lifting it up I noticed around 30 ticks crawling on it.
  - sizzle 2y ago
    This is disturbing what state? Where do you find the ticks hiding on your body?
- bregma 2y ago
  Why would you not believe it? It's normal where I live too. I definitely get dozens of bites every year and have been formally diagnosed with and treated for Lyme twice because it's pretty easy to miss one. Tick bites are very often completely painless and they often choose very discreet locations for their meal. Keep in mind tick season is March to June and September to December (although it started in February this year because of unusual weather). That's a lot of days with "1-2 ticks" and it adds up.
  - huytersd 2y ago
    I’ve never had a tick bite I could miss. They form a blister and itch like crazy for a couple of days. I wonder if the inflammatory response goes away if you get bitten too often. I know it happens with mosquitos if you get bitten too often.
    - bregma 2y ago

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago

You can get into your PCP in less than a week?

huytersd 2y ago
Yes but I’ve also used one of the plethora of telehealth systems before that will let you speak to a doctor within a hour and you can pick up your prescription in two.

xorcist 2y ago

After every bite? That is a manual how to breed multi resistant Borrelia burgdorferi, the short version. Please be a responsible human being and consult a doctor. Common symptoms for a bacterial infections are flu like symptoms and a bullseye-like rash a few days after the bite. Be on the lookout for those and you will be fine.

huytersd 2y ago
Getting antibiotics maybe once a year is not excessive. Please stop being hyperbolic, I’m well aware of MRSAs and do my best to take them sparingly. Where I live between 50-70% of the deer ticks have Lyme disease so it’s not overkill.
- xorcist 2y ago
  This was in reference to after every bite, not once a year. Antibiotic resistance is not hyperbole. It is a real problem, and potentially a big one. What would be hyperbolic is if the part of the world that lives in tick infested regions would be pretty much on a constant antibiotic binge during season. A full dose is two weeks and you are likely to be bitten again. I don't know if the suggestion was in reference to ideas that float around the Internet that you shouldn't take the full two week dose, but none of those studies have been replicated. Given what we know from how antibiotic resistance forms, they could be potentially harmful. Just be careful when taking medical advice.
  - huytersd 2y ago
    Antibiotic resistance almost never occurs in isolated situations. It’s hospital settings and large factory farms that are the issue. Either ways there’s a Lyme vaccine on the way. It should be available by 2025.
  - underbooter 2y ago
    By far the weirdest thing to me in this entire thread, as someone who had long-term Lyme disease, is the dudes bragging about how often they remove ticks from themselves and their children, yet who are more scared of antibiotic resistance the Lyme. Simply does not compute. Do you, like, get off on risking contracting infectious disease? I feel bad for your children.

CatWChainsaw 2y ago

DEET is a repellent which is meant to keep them away, but if they land then they land. Permethrin is a pesticide so it kills. When I'm in the woods I wear outdoor clothing that's been sprayed with permethrin, but I also put a "heavy-duty" DEET repellent on my clothes and use OLE (oil of lemon and eucalyptus) on exposed skin, even though the last one might just be placebo.