To cancel holiday due to ticks

[worrier7]

Myself, DH and our two young sons are going on holiday this month. We'll be staying in the UK, in a very rural, self-catering cottage. We're hoping to enjoy some country walks and also spend time at the local beach.

However, I recently read an article about Lyme Disease and how it's caught from ticks living in long grass. I'm now terrified that one or more of us could get a tick on our skin and catch Lyme Disease, which sounds terrible.

I'm wondering whether to cancel the holiday altogether and book somewhere in a town instead. We were really looking forward to our countryside holiday but I'm now hugely anxious about the ticks - especially as my sons are very active and will no doubt want to play in the long grass. What would you do?

[ilovebagpuss]

Not all ticks carry Lyme disease and with a gentle nudge you do sound very anxious. There are many hazards everywhere if you start down that road. We have just come back from the highlands and I picked a couple of tiny ticks off myself in the bath that had crawled up my leg. There was no indication of a bullseye type bite you look for I just whacked on some bite cream.
If you go hiking tuck socks into trousers and make sure you have a little look at bedtime or bath time.
Have a lovely holiday.

[MzHz]

www.lifesystems.co.uk/products/insect-repellents/tick-removal-tool

[pinkcircustop]

YABU and this level of anxiety isn’t normal.

[StoneofDestiny]

The risks are tiny, but get a tick removing device and get kids on long trousers.

[Flaunch]

Don’t you have long grass where you live??

[Stompythedinosaur]

I think you are hugely overreacting. As pps have said just check for ticks and take them off with a tick stick.

[LuxOlente]

Grass, ticks and Lyme Disease is no more a threat to you today than it was yesterday. You can't alter your whole life because you just learned about a rare condition! Are you never going to go near grass again? It's not a new thing, you realise. You might as well get nervous about cholera or tetanus.

[worrier7]

Thank you for the replies - yes I am a big worrier.

I will get one of those tick remover tools that someone linked to before we go.

I did read that the nymph ticks can be absolutely tiny (about 1mm) so worry that I could miss one on my sons.

[worrier7]

@LuxOlente no, but it will be more of a threat when I'm staying in a rural area surrounded by long grass!!!

[Scrowy]

Do you think those of us who live in the countryside wander round in a permanent state of fear or as Lyme Diseased Zombies?

It's about as silly as me refusing to come to whichever urban area you live in because 'crime' happens there.

[QualityMarguerite]

Tiny before they start to feed but you want miss them. Get them off quick and they cause no issues. They are creepy but less of a danger than much of city life.

[Bunnycat101]

Ticks just become a way of life. I’ve had to get a few of my daughter and no harm done. You just have to watch out for any of the signs of Lyme disease. It really isn’t a reason to cancel your holiday.

[Samanabanana]

I grew up in the New Forest where there are lots of ticks. Despite spending my days messing around with dogs and ponies and running through heather and long grass, I never once got bitten by a tick! You'll be absolutely fine.

[BertieBotts]

You can only get Lyme disease if the tick is on you for over 48 hours, so as long as you check regularly and remove promptly, it's fine.

No different to the small risk of things like wasp stings. An unpleasant side to the animal kingdom but hardly holiday ruining.

[Strikethrough]

I grew up next door to a farm in a Lyme disease area in the UK. Spent most of my childhood playing out in long grass in the sheep/horse fields, the wheat fields and the woods behind. Never got bitten by a tick.

Now we live 100 miles away, we went to visit my parents with our three year old who got bitten in the week we were there He never developed any symptoms of Lyme disease.

Are you having any help for your anxiety, OP? Because your fears about Lyme disease are way out of proportion to the risks

[OverTheRubicon]

Also, while Lyme can be very serious it's also incredibly rare, and there's also a lot of rubbish talked about Lyme and dodgy diagnosis. I have a chronic condition and people are forever coming on to the patient group from the US to say that their 'Lyme doctors' have diagnosed them with this condition, even though it's pretty straightforward and very measurable and they never meet the criteria.

But instead they get so many expensive and unnecessary treatments, many of them are having weekly IVs and all sorts that aren't backed up by any proper research, and the doctors are making a fortune.

You can wear long sleeves and trousers, and check it out. Loads and loads of people get tick bites every day and the vast vast vast majority of time you're going to be nothing more than a bit itchy and sore. The trip there would undoubtedly be far more dangerous, if you looked at the statistical risk.

[Bubbletiers]

This is silly.

I, as did many a child, grew up in the countryside. We never got a tick and if we ever did we didn’t get Lymes disease.

I think you need a slight reality check. You could also die crossing the road. Or riding a bike.

Top tips- they like the groin area. Simply check at bath time.

[CaitlyntheCactus]

Sounds like you need some support for anxiety to me.

22 years living in the depths of the countryside and never a tick to be found. On me at least - the cats, dogs and horses were a different story!

[gogohm]

You do realise people live in the countryside? Very ott to cancel on the off chance of ticks! For many reasons it's best to wear long trousers walking and tuck them into your walking socks, sturdy walking boots are best on your feet. I've always walked in the countryside, including in shorts and I've had one tick in 48 years. Ddog had had two, and loves long grass

[Chiffandbip]

My four year old had a tick on her ankle yesterday (1mm) we took it out with tweezers and washed the area. All was fine.

[MMMarmite]

Take a tick remover and check in the evenings (or wear trousers tucked into socks).

Yes it's a risk worth being aware of, but it's disproportionate to never go to the countryside because of it!

[scaffoldingtheworld]

I live in the Countryside and have done for years. None of us have ever had ticks.

[SpringRainbow]

I spent many summers in the countryside carelessly running around in long grass. Never ever even saw a tick as a child, let alone got bitten by one.

[Tal45]

I've lived on farms/in farming areas my whole life (45 years) and only ever had 1 tick bite. My brother got a tick bite from sitting on a grassy area in the middle of the city he now lives in. Neither of us got Lyme disease. I would speak to your GP about anxiety if you haven't already because that level of fear is not normal and cannot be nice for you or your children to have to live with.

[gogohm]

Another tip is to take bite and sting cream (stinging nettles are a far more common problem), take bug spray and take antihistamine tablets in case you get mosquito bites.