In Maine, 20-Fold Increase In Lyme Disease 2000-2016 As Warming Pushes Deer Ticks North

[JenniferJuniper]

1. If you don't catch a Lyme infection early

You stand a chance of becoming very seriously ill.

I'm not sure where I got Lyme this spring or early summer - Maine, Massachusetts or even possibly London - but I had no early warning signs and am still on antibiotics and still have terrible joint pain.

I'm an not an outdoors person. I wasn't in any wooded areas. I could have only gotten bitten walking across a well-trimmed lawn. If I got it, anyone can.

Check for ticks anytime you are outside. They are the size of poppy seeds. Even if you don't see a classic bulls-eye rash, if you come down with a "summer flu" with no respiratory symptoms insist on being treated for Lyme. My tests were positive because I'd had it for weeks already but the tests aren't great and false negatives are likely during the first stage of Lyme.