Lyme Disease and the Entrepreneurial Bug
A different kind of editorial this week, due to our having contracted Lyme Disease, which basically turns you into something of a narcoleptic for at least several days. We’ll be fine – it was caught early. And note to self, since our doctor told us that many people wait two weeks before seeking treatment, thinking that it’s merely a summer flu, since it has many of the same symptoms: ache and pains and fever. The bullseye shaped rash doesn’t develop immediately, and it doesn’t show up at all in some cases. It takes at least 24 hours to develop, and it’s not always shaped like a bullseye, or even large, so it can be mistaken for a spider bite. Still, the same antibiotics are prescribed for the same amount of time. But you do have to see a doctor.
Don’t ignore it. Waiting to seek treatment can lead to serious and permanent health issues.
As a head’s up, you don’t have to be out in the country or even in deer country to contract the disease: a friend told us that a friend of his had gotten it in Central Park, while walking his dog. If you’re going anywhere where there’s grass or wooded areas, make sure to apply insect repellant (by the way, the infected area is extremely painful and sensitive to the touch for days). Summer’s not over yet and Lyme Disease-bearing ticks are around until early Autumn, so let’s be careful out there.