Has lyme always been lurking to catch us, or is it new? Maybe we were just naive.
Zenkitty, depends. I grew up in East Lyme, CT. Yep, right next to Lyme, CT, aka home of Lyme Disease. Although evidence of the disease exists in Europe in the 19th century,
The full syndrome now known as Lyme disease was not recognized until a cluster of cases originally thought to be juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was identified in three towns in southeastern Connecticut in 1975, including the towns Lyme and Old Lyme, which gave the disease its popular name.[13]This was investigated by Allen Steere, and others from Yale University. The recognition that the patients in the United States had EM led to the recognition that "Lyme arthritis" was one manifestation of the same tick-borne condition known in Europe. [14] (Wikipedia)Yep, identified the year I was born. I've pretty much known Lyme as a danger for my entire life, and most people I know from this area, including both of my parents, have had it.
The good news is that it is easily treatable and curable if caught early and treated aggressively. The biggest problem is when early tests come back negative (as happened with my mom) and treatment is delayed. Luckily, around here the procedure is to test and then treat regardless. It's a lot trickier in other parts of the country, especially the further West you go, when people aren't as cautious about it.
Oh, and don't be too sure about the whole no way it's been on there for 12 hours thing--these deer ticks are literally smaller than the head of a pin. You might not have even noticed it.
But seriously msbelle, if it is Lyme, you're going to be fine. If you saw the ring, you've caught it fast enough. Just make sure that your doctor doesn't play the wait-and-see game if s/he isn't sure. I also strongly recommend this website as a reference if you have any questions. Chances are you won't need it, but it's a good place to start if you do.
I don't mean to jump in here and be all know-it-all bossy about this, but I've dealt with this disease for my whole life, and I've seen what it can do if it isn't treated. I just want to make sure you're okay.