Lyme's Disease in the UK
From: JWissmille (jwissmille_at_aol.com)
Date: 01/02/05
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Date: 02 Jan 2005 01:05:44 GMT
http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/familylife/tm_objectid=14949627
&method=full&siteid=50080&headline=the-tiny-terror----name_page.html
The tiny terror... Dec 6 2004
By Barbara Argument Evening Gazette
It was only a pesky little tick picked up by young Alex Benn as he raced
through moorland bracken with his pals.
Back home at the family pub in Glaisdale, dad Graham spotted the creature
clamped to the youngster's neck.
And although he quickly knocked it off, the damage had already been done.
The bite left ten-year-old Alex battling a rare disease which hits just 200
people a year.
With his face badly swollen and partially paralysed, worried mum Marie was
desperate to find out what was making her son so ill.
Hospital medics in Whitby and Scarborough were puzzled by the symptoms and
red rash.
Then a villager mentioned she had become ill years ago after a tick bite and
suggested Alex was checked for Lyme's Disease.
She told the family the sooner treatment began the better to prevent future
health problems.
That's when 37-year-old Marie began surfing the Internet to find help for
her seriously ill son.
"The symptoms of Lyme's Disease matched Alex's exactly," says Marie.
"His dad spotted what he thought was a blood spot on Alex's neck and rubbed
it off.
That was when he noticed the 'spot' had legs and we think the mouth parts of
the tick were left behind.
"At first Alex developed an itchy red rash and then he became quite ill.
"He was really tired, he had a temperature and flu-like pains.
"The doctor gave him some antibiotics and after a couple of days the
swelling went down.
But we were horrified to see the left side of his face had dropped and he
had Bell's Palsy. The bite had affected nerves behind his ear which control
the face muscles."
Blood tests sent to a specialist lab in Southampton proved Alex had Lyme's
Disease which can trigger serious illnesses like ME, multiple sclerosis and
meningitis.
His GP agreed to refer Alex to Middlesbrough's James Cook University
Hospital where doctors put him on an drip of antibiotics after contacting a
specialist in Newcastle. Now months after the bite, Alex is on the mend at
home at the family's Arncliffe Arms.
"But it's thanks to doctors at James Cook and Professor Cant on Tyneside,"
says Marie.
"Once at the James Cook, he was given lots of tests, including a brain scan
and lumber puncture. Then he was put on 19 days of intravenous antibiotics
for an hour a day.
"Alex's face is a lot better after physiotherapy and he has regained his
appetite."
Marie says her son still suffers nightmares over his trauma.
The illness hit Marie and Graham particularly hard because they had just
moved from Middlesbrough hoping for a healthy new life for their children.
"I was very relaxed about letting Alex go out with friends on the moors
because you feel he is safer than in town," says Marie.
"We obviously told him to be careful, but never expected anything like this.
We were concerned at the time about Alex, but also that he wouldn't want to
stay here. We had only moved to the pub in June and he got the bite in
August."
Graham was head chef at Middlesbrough eaterie the Purple Onion, but he and
Marie always wanted a business of their own.
They met in the Lake District where Graham was a hotel chef and came back to
Marie's home town of Middlesbrough, when Alex was born. The move to a
country pub was a dream come true.
"We are on the Coast to Coast route, so we have walkers, tourists and locals
at the pub," says Marie.
"It is a busy life, but we love it and being here means we can work life
around the pub and Alex and his sister Charlie, who is five. And I have to
say everyone in the village has been so supportive and kind."
Now after Alex's experience, the Benns are keen to raise awareness of Lyme's
Disease.
They are organising a charity quiz at the pub on December 12 to raise money
for leaflets warning of the danger from tick bites.
The local school where Alex and Charlie go is also keen to make the children
aware of what can happen.
Says Marie: "We want to make people aware because not many know much about
Lyme's Disease or how it's caused.
When Alex was bitten it had been really hot and then there was a lot of rain
which disturbed the ticks in the bracken on the moors around the village.
"Apparently that's what happens in this country between April and October
and if you walk through bracken, you must keep covered up.
"It is important to check kids at the time and for a while after they have
been out because the ticks settle into a warm place to bite. There is a
special way to pull them off too, so their mouth parts aren't left behind to
infect the wound."
Spot the tick
Lyme's Disease is a rare illness which is on the increase warns the
Ramblers' Association.
It is caused by a bacteria carried in the saliva of ticks which live in
rough vegetation - particularly bracken.
Ticks are tiny spider-like creatures which live in woodland, moorland and
grassy areas. The highest risk is from April to October but they may be
active most of the year.
Ticks cling to ends of vegetation and wave their legs around hoping to latch
on to a passing animal or person - so keep your skin covered.
If a tick attaches itself to your clothing, it may crawl around for some
time before making contact with your skin. Wear long trousers, tucked into
socks if possible, and long-sleeved shirts.
Light coloured clothes will help you spot ticks and brush them off. Once you
are home, undress and check your body for ticks. Insect repellent on
clothing may help.
If you are bitten, remove the tick as soon as possible by grasping it close
to the skin with tweezers.
Apply gentle pressure, twisting anti-clockwise upwards. You can buy
purpose-made tick removers.
Save the tick in a sealed container to show doctors in case you develop
symptoms later.
The disease may first show itself as an expanding reddish, round rash in the
area of the bite which starts three to 30 days later.
Early symptoms may resemble flu, with swollen glands near the site, mild
headaches, aching muscles and joints, and tiredness.
If Lyme's Disease is left untreated, the disease may develop over months and
even years.
Like Alex Benn, facial muscles may be affected, there can be meningitis-like
or arthritis symptoms.
Lyme's Disease is treatable with antibiotics and the earlier it is
diagnosed, the better.
© owned by or licensed to Trinity Mirror Plc 2004
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