This is an appeal to moms, because moms are the designated family nurse, family organizer, family keeper of facts, family advocate for their family. We are mama bears. We will do whatever it takes to protect our families. Moms are going to save the world.

So, listen up, moms, especially if you live in a state that does not recognize the seriousness of tick-borne diseases. I live in Kansas, and I can tell you–it’s a big black hole when it comes to any sort of acknowledgement of these diseases. You have to arm yourself to keep your family safe.

What you need to know:
SUMMER FLU IS A MYTH.
If anyone in your family comes down with a ‘summer flu’ you should immediately suspect a tick bite. Suspect tick-sepsis. DO NOT accept a diagnosis of summer flu or severe allergies or fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis or “must be seeking attention.” These are all GARBAGE CAN diagnoses that will guarantee non-treatment of a serious, potentially life-threatening infection.

The CDC in 2013 announced that cases of Lyme disease are likely UNDER reported by 10 times:

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2013/p0819-lyme-disease.html

So, if you look at the reported numbers for your state, keep in mind that you should immediately multiply by 10.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6332a6.htm
Then, you have to know that because of the testing protocol in place, many, many more are not being reported. For example, in Kansas, there were 34 confirmed or probable Lyme cases for 2013. In 2014 there were only 20. How does that make any sense, when all the evidence points to this being a growing problem and the CDC admits that cases are grossly underreported?

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) put out this warning on April 30, 2015:
Fight the Bite

“In 2014, 212 cases of tickborne diseases including ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, spotted fever rickettsiosis, also known as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and Lyme disease were reported in Kansas; 75 of those patients were hospitalized.”

People are being bitten by ticks and they are getting very, very sick as a result. They are being injected with a toxic tick-gut soup that causes sepsis and requires immediate care that includes antibiotics. Here is what happens, chemically, so you can tell your doctor where to shove that ‘summer flu’ diagnosis:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3831162/

“TLR2 as heterodimers in association with either TLR1 or TLR6 (and possibly TLR10) senses a variety of microbial products, such as lipopeptides, lipoproteins, peptidoglycan, porins, β-glucan, glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors, and glycoproteins from Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, mycoplasma, mycobacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses.”

And you really do need to put your foot down there, because what happens if this septic event progresses to chronic POST-SEPSIS is a mom’s worst nightmare. This report describes the now-well-known phenomenon of post-sepsis syndrome, and how it is a permanent state of immunosuppression, featuring chronically reactivated herpesviruses:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0098819

This one similarly explains this mechanism, but also says, avoid opiates (psych and pain meds–which the doctors are likely to push) because opiates can make it even worse:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059412/pdf/cc13110.pdf

So, you can see that a mysterious ‘flu’ followed by fatigue is something not to be ignored. Doctors will try to ignore it. They have been trained to believe that, despite the clear science, this problem does not exist. But we know it exists, those of us who have witnessed the devastation of an innocent child’s life.
It’s up to us moms to be vigilant, assertive, and protect our own. Take these precautions when you do things outdoors:

• Use a repellent containing DEET on your skin, and permethrin on your clothing. Permethrin is known to kill ticks but shouldn’t be applied directly to skin.
• Wear light-colored clothing so it’s easier to spot ticks.
• Wear a close-fitting hat and/or pull long hair into a ponytail.
• If you’re camping, hiking, hunting, or doing anything in an area that would be a logical environment for ticks, wear long pants and don’t be afraid to look like a dork with pants tucked into your socks. I’ve even known people to use duct tape around the ankles.
• You don’t have to be in a wildlife area to get a tick bite. My family has picked up ticks at our local parks, in town.
• Any kind of tick can carry disease–not just deer ticks.
• The health department will tell you that a tick must be attached for 36-48 hours to transmit disease. They are not keeping up with published research, which states, “A literature review has determined that in animal models, transmission can occur in 16 hours, and the minimum attachment time for transmission of infection has never been established.”
• When you return home from an outdoor excursion, immediately remove clothing and put it straight into the clothes dryer on high for 20 minutes. The heat will kill ticks that may have hitched on.
• Check your family (including pets) regularly for ticks. Tiny nymphs can be smaller than a pinhead. Use a flashlight and be suspicious of new freckles. Check all over, but especially in creases like the groin, armpits, backs of knees, belly buttons, and even on the scalp. Look along clothing lines, like waistbands, bra straps/elastic, and underwear lines. Ticks like to be where they can get warm and snuggly.
• After you strip down, put your clothes in the dryer, and do a full-body check, get in the shower to rinse off any strays that may not be attached yet.
• If you find an attached tick, remove it immediately and save it in a small jar with some alcohol. You may need to get it tested later.
• Here is the only piece of information you can trust out of the CDC:

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.

• Better yet, get a couple of tick removal kits, such as this, to keep in your car and at home. The lever-action is less likely to squeeze the tick’s gut contents into the bite.
• If you see ANY signs of possible infection–flu symptoms, lethargy, headaches, joint pain, muscle aches, rash, irritation around the bite…take this information and get to a doctor immediately. Demand AT LEAST three weeks of antibiotics.
• A bulls-eye rash is an indication of infection with borrelia (Lyme disease), but it doesn’t always appear. Doctors will try to tell you “no bulls-eye, no Lyme.” Not true. There is no validated data on how frequently it appears, but when it does, it is CONFIRMATION of Lyme infection.
• The bullseye does not have to be large (they might tell you it has to be greater than 5 cm) and it does not have to be at the location of the bite.

• In Kansas, K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine recommends: “Ticks removed from people should be saved in a vial with alcohol and labeled with the date. If flu-like symptoms
  – including, headache, skin rash, and fever – occur 10 to 14 days after tick removal, see a physician immediately and take the tick with you or send it to the local K-State Research and Extension office.” I have yet to confirm whether they offer tick testing services. Other such services exist, such as this one through Igenex, but can be very expensive. KDHE does not appear to have a service to identify the pathogens in a tick. This is a shame, considering state leaders would like to think of Kansas as the leader in bio- and agricultural research. Is there some reason they don’t want us to know what kind of infections the ticks here carry?

You’re on the front line, moms, whether you like it or not. Please protect yourself and your family. It is your right to receive proper medical attention for suspected tick-transmitted sepsis. The facts–that doctors are ignorant and the only available testing is fraudulent–do not excuse them from providing prompt, respectful and accurate care. You will be glad you took a stand for your family.