Ticks carrying Lyme Disease are found in more counties every summer, and a few years ago we passed the point where more than half of US counties now have Lyme Disease. Lyme disease is spreading in other ways, too. In Connecticut, disease testing is revealing higher numbers of ticks carrying Lyme Disease—about 10% more than in previous years. Other tick borne illnesses are being found in more ticks, too, like Babesiosis.
Ticks are everywhere—a deer can carry more than 500, and if it goes through your yard, it’s dropping a bunch off for you. The booming deer population is one reason ticks and tick borne illnesses are spreading.
Also up this year are allergies to red meat, which are transmitted by the lone star tick. The current theory goes: the lone star ticks bites a deer, and picks up a sugar animals have that humans don’t, called alpha-gal. When the tick then bites a human, humans create an immune response to alpha-gal, leading to a severe allergy to red meat, and sometimes even dairy.
Red meat allergy produces a delayed reaction, showing up hours after eating meat. Rates are on the rise, with new cases popping up weekly, and likely more going undiagnosed.
Right now, ticks are in the teeny tiny nymphal stage, so efforts at prevention and detection need to be elevated. Remember that dogs can bring ticks inside, too, and also need tick prevention and tick checks.
The best bet is to be proactive. Keep ticks out of your yard by keeping wild mammals out—deer, and small rodents (rock and wood piles can attract them). A fence or natural border can help, especially if it’s a border that separates your grass from tall grass.
When venturing out into nature, wear light-weight, long pants and shirts. Use bug repellent, and don’t approach wildlife.
It’s almost impossible to avoid ticks. Do your best to prevent bites, and make sure you’re covering the pervasive risk of tick borne illness with some back-up, like immune supporting colloidal silver.
Make sure that you’ve got daily immune support this summer with colloidal silver.
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