Dr Clare Bailey: Enjoy the woods... but beware - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life Dr Clare Bailey Enjoy the woods… but beware By You Magazine - June 16, 2019 What do George W Bush, Ben Stiller and Kelly Osbourne have in common? They have all been affected by Lyme disease – a potentially devastating bacterial infection that is increasingly common, yet which is often missed. The trouble is that symptoms are vague and varied. You catch it by being bitten by an infected tick when walking in a forest or grassy area in spring and summer. These blood-sucking creatures which attach to your skin are tiny, however – some just the size of a poppy seed – so often go unnoticed. Warmer temperatures mean Lyme disease is becoming more common in the UK, with the Southeast showing a very high tick population. According to Public Health England, infections rose by as much as 35 per cent between 2016 and 2017, with up to 3,000 new cases every year. Maite Franchi/Folio Art The initial bite can cause a circular red rash with a central red area, called a bull’s-eye rash, but this is often missed because it is neither hot nor itchy. To make it harder to identify, the rash can appear at any time from three days to three months after contracting the infection. It may even appear years later as a bluish-red discolouration and swelling on the legs and arms. According to the British Medical Journal, the rash ‘is not always present, noticed or recognised, and other symptoms overlap with many common conditions’. Lyme disease can cause fevers, sweats, swollen glands, malaise, fatigue, neck pain or stiffness, joint or muscle pains, as well as headaches and memory loss – sharing many of the nonspecific symptoms of flu and other infections. Yet it can go on for months or years, causing serious inflammation and damage to major organs such as the heart, as well as arthritis and neurological problems. John Caudwell, the founder of Phones 4u, knows more than anyone about the impact of this disease, which has affected 11 members of his family, some of whom, including his son, are still suffering years later. John set up a charity to raise awareness and improve treatment (caudwelllyme.com). Providing earlier diagnosis and treatment leads to better patient outcomes by reducing long-term complications. Recovery may take months or years, while some people never fully get over it. Thankfully, with antibiotic treatment, most do. Given the vague symptoms, testing is important. See your GP if you’ve been bitten by a tick or if you get flu-like symptoms – feeling hot and shivery, headaches, aching muscles, feeling sick – within a month of visiting forests or grassy areas or a location where infected ticks have been found, or if you find a circular red rash. Don’t forget to tell the doctor that you’ve been in such a place. There are two main blood tests that can help diagnose Lyme disease – ELISA and western blot – although they aren’t always accurate and results can take up to six weeks. You may need to be treated with antibiotics, possibly more than one course, to clear the infection completely. So what precautions can you take to avoid tick bites? Cover skin when walking outdoors, tuck trousers into socks, use insect repellent such as Deet on clothes and skin, and brush ticks from clothes. Always check pets, children – and yourself – all over after walking in potentially infested areas. If you find a tick, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it as close to the skin as possible. Slowly and carefully pull upwards without crushing or squeezing the tick. Dispose of it and clean the site with soap and water or antiseptic. The risk of contracting Lyme disease is low as most ticks are not infected and you don’t need to do anything else unless you get ill. For more information, visit nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease. Veg goes va-va-voom Getty Images We have a very low-tech kitchen which is mostly hand-powered, but I am loving our new Veggie Bullet. It slices, grates and spiralises magnificently. Almost any crunchy vegetable that I can lay my hands on gets turned into multicoloured slaws and scattered on top of salads, transformed into veggie spaghetti or is fermented. Delicious – and our gut microbiomes will be happy too. From £129.99 from major retailers. If you have a question you would like answered, email [email protected]. RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Aldi s exercise equipment is on sale with up to 50% off The best Halloween events for 2022 across the UK Popular in Life The You magazine team reveal their New Year s resolutions December 31, 2021 Susannah Taylor The TLC tools your body will love January 23, 2022 How to stop living in fear February 6, 2022 Susannah Taylor My pick of the fittest leggings February 27, 2022 Women’ s Prize for Fiction 2022 winner announced June 17, 2022 These BBC dramas are returning for a second series June 30, 2022 Susannah Taylor gives the lowdown on nature s little helper – CBD April 17, 2022 The baby names that are banned across the world April 27, 2022 The Queen has released her own emojis May 26, 2022 Sally Brompton horoscopes 27th June-3rd July 2022 June 26, 2022 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved