Health programme 12 - 23july2024

Oh Doctor, I'm in trouble. Well, goodness gracious me. For every time a certain man is standing next to me, a flash comes to my face and my pulse begins to race. It goes boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boom-boom. It goes boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom-boody-boom first of all you're very very welcome to Connemara Community Radio. Thank you Marion and listeners for having me. Well it's a very important and a very difficult kind of a topic and I know you're not a medical person yourself and the people in the group are not medical but you've all got experience of the Lyme's disease in one way or another. Yes the group was formed back in 2009 we're called Tick Tock Ireland and we are patients helping patients. We have a forum, we have a website that was set up by a patient and we run conferences in Ireland and we do general awareness. We've a small group of volunteers all over Ireland and myself and another lady from Limerick administers the group. Right so well I suppose tell us first of all about Lyme's disease or how would you know if you have Lyme's disease or how and obviously it can be diagnosed by your doctor but so that that's probably the first port of call is it? Yes Lyme disease is a bacterial infection and it's transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. It's our own hard-bodied castor bean tick known to country people as the skirthorn or the sheep tick that can be found in every county in Ireland that are the carriers of Lyme disease which is Borrelia and also other tick borne infections. Right so Lyme disease is the worst of them but there are other ones as well that people can catch? Yes there is absolutely other they're called co-infections and the ticks can carry the Borrelia that we know as Lyme disease which can also carry a different host of co-infections that can make a person as sick as the Borrelia itself. And I don't think a lot of people have heard of Lyme disease but I've just spoken to one or two since I knew I was going to be doing this interview with you it none of them seem to be aware of how serious it is. Is it a killer disease? I mean I know people kind of die from it but is it some other things they get from it or what happens? Yeah basically there's four stages to Lyme. Now the biggest issue is that less than 50% of people ever recall a bite or take a tick out of themselves. Other people take ticks out and just don't pass any remarks. Now not all ticks carry the bacteria. We do know from studies back in 1990 that 28% of ticks carry the bacteria that we know as Lyme disease. There was a study done by Professor Gray of UCD. Now at that time he didn't look at the co-infections he only looked at Borrelia. Now the fact that any female tick can lay up to 3,500 eggs at any one time 28% is quite a large amount of infected ticks in Ireland. That's a huge amount actually isn't it? It is a huge amount. I'm limited for time so what I would like to get on to is symptoms. Why should people perhaps become aware or alerted to the fact that they might have something? Yeah first of all you're a lucky person if you've taken a tick out and know you've taken a tick out. You have a starting point or if you get symptoms. The first symptoms that people should look out for is an EM rash. It's called a bullseye rash. It's a center-pointed and it expands outwards. People say it feels quite hot. Now less than 50% of people realize what the rash is and it's often confused with ringworm and at this stage you should be treated straight away at any one of the symptom stages. So it is important to first of all to bag the tick, pop it into the freezer straight away and go to your GP. The other symptoms are flu-like symptoms at an unusual time of the year. You get stiff neck, nausea and you're weak. Your symptoms can be mild or can be severe. Depends on your immune system. If it's not caught at that stage, you go on to a stage two where you get migratory pains, swollen glands and 90% of people have reported fatigue. They're as tired going to bed as they are getting up basically and that is one of the huge symptoms of Lyme. Others get a facial palsy. It's where their face and mouth drop and they get facial pain. Sometimes this stage one is missed out on and stage two you can go straight into stage two in a very short time and then if you're not treated at that stage then it hits your nervous system and it's both neurological and that's what actually happened to my husband. When he eventually after six visits to A&E he was hospitalized. He was at stage three neurological but never knowing that he had been bitten by a tick and never took a tick out of himself and the only thing he did was gardening in our own garden. So ticks can be picked up. You don't have to be in the wild countryside. They can be picked up in your garden. They can be picked up in football fields. They can be picked up just out and about. It is really important that you go to your GP. The West of Ireland has the highest incidence of Lyme within Ireland and Ireland is a very high incidence in Europe. So most doctors and most GPs in like the Connemara area, Galway area, over into Canberra, up Donegal, Fligo, Wicklow, Watford, Kerry all know about Lyme disease and if you're in a high area of Lyme they should treat straight away. Right. Okay. And 21 days antibiotics, 200 mg's for adults, amoxicillin for children and pregnant ladies and the amoxicillin will depend on the age and the weight of the child. These are not described for you by the doctor or hospital. It's described by your doctor. Most doctors in areas won't wait because their tests won't come back positive and it's a waste of time testing for the first two, four weeks because it's an antibody test and at that stage it has gone from your bloodstream and literally into you. Mary it's really fascinating listening to you and a very very useful information and I would like to direct anybody who would like to know more and I think everybody should find out more to be honest to go to your website ticktockireland.org. Getting treatment quickly is of the greatest of importance because if you let it go it takes much longer to treat and people are left with issues like my husband has been left with a drop foot, nerve pain, fatigue, has had to learn to live with Lyme and within three months he went from being bitten straight through to be hospitalized with no power in his arm and leg because it hit his nervous system so it is of the utmost importance and it's also so important if you take a tick out, pop the tick in a plastic bag and pop it in the freezer it can be checked. Now unfortunately we don't have a checking system in Ireland but people do send their ticks to our mean labs in Germany and they can tell you within four or five days of receiving the tick what the tick was carrying and what co-infections it was carrying and that's very helpful because people worry that their symptoms may not happen within three to thirty days may happen later on because Lyme can lay dormant and can raise its ugly head if your immune system goes down. If you have a good immune system some people can deal with a bite, the second bite is an issue or if you get a cold, a flu, a death in the family, anything covered, anything that will bring down your immune system Lyme will raise its ugly head. Right Mary I have to say thank you very much there do visit the website ticktockireland.org to get more details of this dreadful disease which can hit anybody very very easily. So Mary thank you very very much for giving us your insight into all this. Thank you very much for having me. You're very welcome. Bye-bye, thank you. Oh doctor I'm in trouble. Well goodness gracious me. For every time a certain man is standing next to me a flash comes to my face and my pulse begins to race It goes boom boody boom boody boom boody boom boody boom boody boom boody boom boody boom Well goodness gracious me.