For the past two weeks I've been feeling pretty sick, mostly flu-like symptoms.. Then I notice this red ring on my leg, with little smaller rings inside of it. I go to the doctor finally today because I have gotten so weak that I can barely move and walk. come to find out, I got LYME DISEASE from one of those ticks. I didn't even know I had one on my body. Pretty scary thing, good thing I caught it in its early stages before it permanently affected me.

I hate those little suckers!! You are lucky you caught it before it got worse.

how do you get that??

If you are in a wooded area or in the grass you can get a tick on you and some are very small and you wouldn't even feel it and it would just burrow in your skin. You have to pull them out very carefully and Lyme disease is one of the possible side effects. Here they are notorious especially around pine trees. I get nauseated when I have to pull one out. YUCK!!! We have to check our dog too.

Yay for urban life

yeah, I never had to worry about that in Chicago unless I went to the woods or something. Not it is just another thing to deal with. I wear skin so soft from Avon and it seems to help repel them and mosquitos.

and only deer ticks carry it not wood ticks

A similar thing happened to one of my close friend'* moms. She was feeling pretty low for a while but she'* as good as new now, and I'm sure you will be soon too

another thing to watch out for:

Rocky Mountain Spotted fever – Transmitted by many species of ticks, including dog ticks, brown dog ticks and wood ticks (all larger than the deer tick and easier to spot) Rocky Mountain spotted fever is now a misnomer since it occurs in almost every state in the U.*., Canada, Mexico, Central and South America.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever was first reconfirmed in 1896 in the Snake River Valley of Idaho and was originally called “black measles” because of the characteristic rash. By the early 1900s, the disease spread to parts of the United States as far north as Washington and Montana and as far south as California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The highest incidence of Rocky Mountain spotted fever is among children five to nine years old. In 1997, 831 cases over all ages were reported to the CDC. In the last three decades, more than 22,000 cases have been recorded.

Symptoms typically include headache, fever, restlessness and loss of appetite. After the third day of infections, a skin rash may show and may spread over the entire body. Some cases may involve nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or abdominal pain. Undiagnosed, Rocky Mountain spotted fever can cause central nervous system disorders, respiratory, kidney, or liver failure and in some cases, death. Treatment includes antibiotics under a physician’* supervision.

For more information about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, please visit Center for Disease Control (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever).