POLISH INSECTS CAN RUIN YOUR LIFE....

Some of you may have noticed on another thread that i was asking some health related questions due to pain in my arm caused by an old racing injury , and more worrying , a painless lump that i found last night on the same arm....

Well , while looking for info on the net i made the connection between the lump , and the fact that two days ago i found i had been bitten by a deer tic , something that is common in forest areas....

I was sure i had removed to tic before it had passed onto me any of the nasty diseases that some tics can carry , but while looking for info on my mystery lump i found it was one of the symptoms of being bitten by a tic carrying lyme disease....

Lyme disease is a rather nasty thing , causes all kinds of unpleasant effects , and if not caught in the eary stages can go on to affect your central nervous system and cause mental problems as well as severe health probelms....

The problem is , that in the early stages it may not be possible to detect the disease in your blood , untill you begin to develop the antibodies to the disease , its a case of getting onto the antibiotics before the disease makes itself known....

I am kinda hoping that this is not what has caused my lump , as i don,t have the money to go seeing doctors about this , but its a bit scarey to think my life here could go rapidly down hill as the result of a bite from a tiny insect....

If you live in the forest areas , and especially if you have pets , have a read about deer tics , and what to do if you get bitten by one....

When wild camping in Russia i did get an injection to prevent one of the more serious diseases carried by tics , but not for this particular one...watch out folks.....

well, looks like you need antibiotics asap. Good luck.

Why do I get a feeling that you are not that worried?

I suppose , because i am a survivor... During my life i have so many times had close encounters with death and serious injury , and i guess i am confident all will be ok....

Its slightly different now i suppose , as i don,t have the money to go seeing doctors , so i suppose i should be worried...

It would be ironic after all i have been through to be finally brought down by a tiny insect.....

wildrover
there is a difference between being a trooper and taking unnecessary risk.


How much is a doc's visit these days? Are you telling me that you don't have a health insurance?
I would just borrow money from a friend or offer the doc some English lessons to pay it off. Come on now:)

self denial is a terrible thing......guess i am losing the plot a little....

well, get going then, no need to risk your health that way and I am sure there are some people who would help you:). All you need to do is ask:)

If your immune system can't fight the disease, it doesn't matter how many fat cushion you have or how big muscles you possess. As far as I know there is a bull's eye symptom in Lyme disease where you have a red spot surrounded by a white circle, which in itself is surrounded by a bigger red circle. The pain as you probably know and all signs will disappear after a while, but horrible consequences will ensue withing 2 year period. It may even result in memory loss and nobody wants you to forget PF. Go and get a shot, no matter how expensive it is.


I remember you were talking about trip to the Eastern Europe on a Harley. If you have money for that, I hope you will find some for the health. Good luck.

Yeah , i already did that trip , and all the money i had left in the kitty has gone into travelling to the UK to get myself a Jeep as i need it out here in the forest , and for looking for a job...

I will come up with some kind of plan to deal with this , but right now i am just hoping its not an infected tic that had a sample of my blood....

Better safe than sorry, wildrover. I forgot that you live near afforested areas so I might have suggested a tick or something similar. Yeah, don't let it take hold and degenerate. My cousin had ovarian cancer and she delayed getting a check-up. She paid the price with her life. It's very painful to see your cousin die like that, helpless in front of you. You owe it to yourself and others, ma man.

My legs swell up like mini golf balls when an anopheles mosquito bites me. Swines!!

Well , i feel a lot better now i have had my bite checked out , no not by a doctor but by a wise old Babcia who has had six kids....

Her daughter , my good friend Magda has had a look at my strange lump and assures me that its just water , the kind of thing that old people can get.....Jeez , all of a sudden i am old , scarey....

Magda assures me that the tics in this area do not carry any virus , and its only cause for concern if one bites a child....

I feel a lot more reasured now , but i will get a second opinion from a friend who works in a medical place in town , but i think probably i don,t have too much to worry about....

The pain in my arm from the old injury is another matter , guess i might just have to live with that.....

Thanks for your advice and concern everybody , if anyone else has any information on Polish bugs and the dangers they might cause to people it would be good for non country folk to know about.....

I do not get this one. You bought yourself a Jeep in the UK, but cannot fork out the 80 PLN or so on a private doctor's visit, even when you think Lyme's is attacking you?

I do not think a bacia knows about Lyme's even when she has six children (sorry I do not see the connection there)

Go to the nearest A&E department, Its free, Your really should get it checked out and remember to take your passport and european health card if you have one. The hospitals in Poland seem to be very good and they helped me last year when i had problems,

Yes , i did...but to fly to UK , sort out the Jeep , pay for ferry back to Holland , and fuel it to Poland took all my last pennies , so cash is a bit short right now....

I am sure i could find 80 zloty for a doctors visit , but if i have this disease i suspect one doctors visit is not gonna fix it...

Since speaking to the expert Babcia , i have spoken to others that say that tics carrying virus ARE in Poland , so i am going to go see a doctor , hoping that my health card and my passport will ensure free treatment.....

No Polish insects buzzing around today :) Just those ubiquitous flies. The mosquitoes are on their way though.

Ha....they have been around my area forn a long time..lots of lakes , and areas of water near here....

The horseflies and hornets here are quite something. Sometimes I'll just be lying on my bed when suddenly a big f*ck-off hornet wil fly in. These things are double the size of queen wasps.

Yep , the sting from a horsefly is quite painfull , and hornets are not too much fun either....Last summer i had to call in the local fire brigade to remove a large hornets nest from one of my outbuildings.....Wasps nests i am willing to tackle myself , you get stung a bit , but no big deal , but hornets are critters best left well alone...if you get stung by enough of them , you can die....

The are quite big in ireland also, you dont see them often i think i've 4 or 5 of them in my life- They have a massive sting

Exactly, my fiancee is allergic to them. A sting or two can be fatal. Also, it's better not to stand on them as you will have a trail of them chasing you.

You don,t have to stand on them to upset them....just going too near the nest can be enough....If they think you are a threat , they will come after you....

I remember my dad trying to retrieve a ball that had gone into the bushes where the wasp bike was. He used a wooden stretcher pole to edge it back. He was a little over eager at one point and tipped the bike over. I've never seen him run so fast. The little blighters were in hot pursuit. He escaped unstung.

I THINK THESE TICS ARE CALLED "KLESZCZE" IN POLISH. A COUPLE OF MY COUSINS HAVE BECOME SICK (FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS) AFTER BEING BITTEN BY THESE PESTS. GOING TO GET CHECKED BY A DOCTOR IS PROBABLY A BETTER IDEA THAN SITTING AND WAITING TO GET SICK.

Yep , thats them...not all carry the virus....about 1 in 5 i think , but i agree its best to get a check up , as getting the virus can screw you up for life....

so have you seen the doc yet?

Errrr well i have found out where he is....but not quite got there ...yet....

ha, ha..........so you are one of those people .....ha, ha.........just put some tar on your skin next time you are in the woods LOL

I have a natural aversion to doctors and hospitals.....