Friday 16 September 2011

Small and very nasty beasty.

Hello dear reader, today you find me nursing a blood test hole in my left arm. I am always surprised when I get to the blood test centre at 6.45 in the morning (to avoid the horrendous queues later in the day) to find 13 people already ahead of me with the same idea as myself.

So why, you may ask, a blood test? Well about 8 weeks ago a very strange rash appeared in a very strange place - my bottom, to be precise. Now the first couple of doctors threw around such foul words as ringworm or fungal infections, which always sound rather distasteful. However I was lucky enough to find myself (after a few visits and none of the creams I had been given doing anything at all for the rash) in the presence of a really wonderful doctor who thought a little outside the box and wanted to investigate more than just the most likely cause. Well to cut a long story short it turns out that the rash was a little more serious than was first thought as it seems I had been bitten by a tic and that tic had infected me with lymes disease! For someone unfortunate enough to live in inner city London, this seems unlucky indeed, but on a working trip to Devon in late July, I was aware that there were tics about and one of these little buggers obvious decided to crawl up my leg to find a dark warm spot to have his lunch and try and kill me.



Joking aside, I feel very lucky that my doctor was on the ball, because undiagnosed lymes disease can be very nasty indeed with very long term damage. Fortunately for me I have finished a 4 week course of antibiotics and hopefully the results of this mornings blood test will reveal that I am now free of it. Let's hope.

There are more dangers than I thought living in the country, I was thinking that the worst that could happen would be an occasional sting from a nettle or accidentally stepping in a cow-pat.

12 comments:

  1. A sobering tale
    you forget these things don't you!

    keep well!

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  2. My goodness! Will the anti-biotics take care of it 100%?

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  3. Yes Tanya, they should do because it was caught quickly. I am happy to say that at no times have I actually felt unwell, so besides the annoyance of the blood tests and the antibiotics it has not affected me at all.
    John, you certainly do forget these things, never really occurs that you can be bitten by anything dangerous in this country!

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  4. Really lucky for you that your doctor was clued up, Lymes can be really nasty.
    I check my puppy for tics after each walk as he is always rummaging in undergrowth. Adders are also an issue here in Scotland, I haven't met one yet but one of the farm sheepdogs has lost a leg after being bitten.Makes you aware of what could be out there when you are out walking.
    Glad that you are okay.

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  5. What type of work do you do that gets you near such nasty creapy crawlies?

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  6. Thanks Dreamer, my doctor is a bit of a hero for working it out. The amazing thing is that I didn't even know I had been bitten by a tic, never even felt it.
    Sarina, actually I am an opera singer, which is a very unlikely profession for being attacked by tics. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!

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  7. Must have been an outdoor performance, lol.

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  8. Bravo for your Doctor being so switched on:) You certainly do tend to forget these things. This was a light bulb moment for me as tics are a problem here and I never think to check:( Pleased to hear you are feeling OK. Wow an Opera singer, I'm very envious as I cannot sing for peanuts:( Enjoy your weekend.

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  9. Thanks everyone, the tic problem is one that had never even crossed my mind until now, but all's well that end's well. However, whenever I go somewhere that possibly has tics I am going to be extra careful. For the record, the lymes disease rash is quite a distinctive one, called a bull's eye rash, because there is a red part at the centre (where the actual bite was) then a large white area and finally a red ring around the outside, just like a dartboard. Starts off small (hence it being confused with ringworm or fungal infection) and then over the course of a few weeks spreads outwards, bigger and bigger.

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  10. Wow! So glad to read that the doctor diagnosed correctly! Hopefully the round of treatment nipped totally eliminated Lyme bacteria from your system. My Daughter-In Law wasn't so fortunate: she was misdiagnosed when she was five and ended up having severe symptoms. She ended up bed-ridden for 3 years from complications. Currently she is much better and also the Mother of 3 of my grandaughters!! Best Wishes on your new house hunt. Elly Mae in WV, USA

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  11. Thanks Elly Mae, It looks like it has gone, but I am awaiting a final bloodtest to check that it is all gone from my system. I have heard of other people ending up bed-ridden for years from it, so I feel very lucky that my doctor had the knowledge to diagnose it correctly.
    Dan

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  12. Thanks Elly Mae, It looks like it has gone, but I am awaiting a final bloodtest to check that it is all gone from my system. I have heard of other people ending up bed-ridden for years from it, so I feel very lucky that my doctor had the knowledge to diagnose it correctly.
    Dan

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