“It’s been so bad for ticks this year”, “I’ve just pulled another one off the dog”. So often we hear these anecdotes in our Online Community group and in conversation with friends and neighbours.
Are ticks more prevalent this year? We can’t be sure, but we have noticed a constant influx of new enquiries from people across the UK contacting our support email service and Online Community with bites and rashes.
To try and reduce as many acute cases being missed or going undiagnosed and untreated, we have produced a new series of acute Lyme disease information guides. Our aim is to help anyone worried about a bite or rash to quickly access the information they need so that there is less confusion about how to remove a tick, when to seek medical advice and when treatment may be needed.
(Click on the images above to download each guide)
Signposting and support for a young girl with facial palsy caused by Lyme disease
We were relieved to hear that a five year old girl recieved appropriate treatment for acute Lyme disease following advice from LDUK this summer. Her mother describes their experience of seeking diagnosis and treatment.
“When my 5 year old daughter suddenly presented with one sided facial palsy, it was a big shock. Used to doing my own research, I did a quick google and I noticed Lyme Disease as a potential cause. We live rurally so removing ticks can be a daily occurrence in the summer. When we saw the local GP, they assumed Bell’s Palsy, but I wanted to exclude the possibility of Lyme, as I already knew how horrible it can be when left untreated.
Referred to the paediatric department at the local hospital, I had a lot of time to continue googling, and I found the excellent poster created by Julia Knight. Being able to see that the most recent research shows statistically that the most common cause of facial palsy in children is Lyme, it gave me further confidence to press this with the doctors at the hospital, (especially since the medical treatments for Bell’s vs Lyme vary). I’m happy to say my daughter is already making a full recovery.
This is in large part due to the help, signposting and support from the team at Lyme UK, via direct emails, and the FB support group. They helped ensure that she was prescribed the correct dosage of antibiotics, (not always the case) and helped with various links that helped me top up my knowledge of Lyme disease.”
If you are worried about a recent bite or rash following a tick bite, please email support@lymediseaseuk.com for information and support.