Do you spend time outdoors? If so, it's important to pay attention to this blog post. You could unknowingly be the target of a tick, who could give you Lyme disease.
Right now, I'm concerned, because people quickly reading this New York Daily News article may falsely conclude that you can only get Lyme disease in wooded or rural areas in such areas as Connecticut, New Jersey, Long Island and Westchester County.
That's not true. You can get "Bitten in the City," which is evidently what happened to me last year at this time. (You can learn more about Lyme disease and my horrible experiences in last year's radio show, on which several renowned experts shared their insights and info.)
Of course, there's considerable truth to the statement in the Daily News that "city dwellers have less exposure to ticks," as Dr. David David P. Calfee of Mount Sinai tells reporter Katie Charles, but it's false that "Rocky Mountain fever is the only disease known to be transmitted in all five boroughs."
Anyhow, in my opinion, more than 417 New Yorkers got Lyme disease in the city last year. (The New York Daily News News cites another figure — 538 people.)
Let me repeat: It you spend any time at all outdoors — i.e., most Americans — you MUST learn about this infectious disease. Again, I urge you to to listen to last year's radio show, which featured Pamela Weintraub, author of the book, Cure Unkown; Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease
Association; Dr. Bernard D. Raxlen; Dr. Steven J. Bock; Dr. Qingcai
Zhang; author Rebecca Wells ("Ya-Ya" novels) and Kris Newby, senior
producer of the “Under Our Skin: The Untold Story of Lyme Disease.”
Next, I encourage you to tune in July 14 at 3 pm EST to my Gab With the Gurus Radio Show for a special show about Lyme disease in which Andy Abrahams Wilson,
director/producer of the poignant documentary, "Under Our Skin," and Kris Newby, the film's senior producer. The film is now playing at selected movie theaters nationwide.
Together, they will open your eyes about the mistruths and controversies surrounding this fast-growing, infectious disease. (Special thanks to Kris for alerting me to this Daily News article cited above and for consistently providing me with lots of background information about
this tick-borne illness.)
Again, let me insist! All Americans need to know about tick-borne illnesses. You see, as many as 2 million to 3 million people around the country, according to some experts, have Lyme disease, but they and their doctors don't know it.
That's because people with Lyme disease are often misdiagnosed as having a variety of other illnesses such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, lupus, ALS, lupus, arthritis or even psychiatric disorders.
Read more about this incredible documentary in this Vanity Fair article.
You can listen to this show live Tues., July 14 at 3 pm EST or later, at your convenience.
Incidentally, because of my horrific experiences with Lyme disease, I've written an op-ed piece, "Bitten in the City: How a Tick Made a Mockery of My Memmory," which will soon be published in a major newspapers. Details coming.
Plus, I'm now writing a book about Lyme disease. The working title is: "Bitten in the City: Facts &
Fallacies about Lyme Disease." Stay tuned for announcements about it.
Remember, on July 14, on the Gab With the Gurus Radio Show, the creators of "Under Our Skin" will educate you about this horrifying, horribly misunderstood, controversial disease.
One thought on “Lyme Disease: You Can Get Bitten in the City & Country: Learn About this Controversial Infectious Disease With “Under Our Skin” Creators”
I, too, was bitten in the city and have Lyme disease and bartonella.
Only I live in Somerville, MA. Somerville is the 17th most-densely populated city in the country and THE most-densely populated city (per capita) in New England.
The overgrown shrubs lining the front of my complex along the sidewalk are an ideal habitat for ticks. And ticks they have. Stone walls, leaf litter, tendrils sweeping down the wall like Rapunzel’s hair dropping to the sidewalks, brushing passersby. A prime breeding & feeding ground.
Ticks are in the city and not just in the parks. Rodents abound and are hosts for these bugs. The birds that favor the bushes out front provide a lift to ticks to help spread the population.
I found 2 ticks and 2 nymphs in my condo unit last year. Lord knows how many I didn’t notice. Not my first bite, but my first Known Bite was late spring and pretty promptly my slow decline in health was kicked up several notches.
Because the complex is eco-friendly, the condominium board and developers refuse to take anything other than milk-toast proactive measures to control both populations and even in that they are lackadaisical.
Now I hear that neighbors of mine are complaining of fatigue for no reason, being tired all the time and excusing away aches ‘n pains as working out too hard.
Because I knew someone with Lyme in the 90s, I always took standard precautions the handful of times I was in nature before my health was affected. and still, I contracted tick-borne illnesses. If it can happy to an urban kid like me, it can happen to anyone. Everyone knows someone afflicted, whether the afflicted know they actually have TBD or not.
Anyway, I look forward to the release of your book & your Op-Ed piece! It’s great that you are spreading the word that it’s more than a woodland, oceanside and suburban health risk but also an urban reality. Kudos to you.
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