Lyme disease, its symptoms and its treatment, is an area with a great deal of controversy among health care professionals, and misunderstanding among hikers.  The disease is difficult to diagnose.  Many tests for Lyme disease come back labelled "inconclusive."  I have met people who have suffered from Lyme disease for years before they were finally diagnosed correctly.  For one thing, there seems to be a number of different organisms involved.

        The "cures" are uncertain.  Your doctor may tell you that a course of antibiotics after your tick bite is all you need to cure you of  Lyme disease.  Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't. There are folks with permanent pain and discomfort, and with vision problems, and mental problems, and nervous problems, who would be glad to accept a sure cure if there were one!

        A support group may be the best source of information if you think you may have been bitten by an infected tick.  It is unfortunately true that you can be misled by some physicians and some hospitals.  See links at the bottom of this page.
 

       The best solution to the problem, of course, is to avoid a tick bite while you are hiking.  Here are the procedures I choose to follow, and they seem to work for me:

        1.  I keep my shirt tail always tucked in, and my trousers tucked into my socks during tick season. Ticks are likely to crawl upward.  They like to attach under a belt or restriction if possible.  You have a better chance of finding them and removing them before they bite if your shirt tail is in and your trousers are tucked into your socks.  Check your neck frequently; you may not feel one crawling on you. Check your ears, too, inside and out.

        2.  I check every nook and cranny of my body daily after hiking.  I use mirrors.  I am sure to check my ears.  I don't miss any square inch of the body.   One bite is all you need!

        3. All of my hiking clothing goes into the dryer even before washing it, because I have heard that dry heat kills ticks better than warm water (ticks float), and I believe it's true.

        4.  I inspect my boots and pack and the pack contents very carefully after hiking.  My boots and pack stay outside of my house until I do.

        5.  My hair is combed more than once a day with a fine-toothed comb that can scratch every inch of my scalp.

        6.  Light-colored clothing helps you find ticks before they find you.  Have your hiking companions check your back occasionally.

        7.  There are tick repellants. They contain DEET.  I can't comment on their effectiveness because, being chemically sensitive, I don't use them.

        8.  I try to walk so that I do not brush against bushes or trees that may harbor ticks.