How did I get Lyme disease? How can Lyme disease be prevented / Can Lyme Disease be treated to go away or while I have it forever?

Lyme disease is a bacterial disease spread by insects called "Ticks ".

Ticks are small insects of the same family as spiders and are actually quite small.

The female tick seeks a blood meal to feed and nurture its brood of eggs similar in the manner that a female mosquito acquires a blood meal.

Imagine if you will the female tick wavers on a blade of grass until the moment that a mammal walks by. The combination of heat, moisture and carbon dioxide has to be just right.

And then the female tick latches onto the warm blooded mammal host just as brushes that blade of grass to affix herself in order for that special meal of blood.

Rather amazing and extraordinary isn't it.

But that is not all the little tick may leave you with before it crawls away with its load of your blood.

You may be left with a serious illness called Lyme disease which is caused by an infection which is caused by bacteria which were spread to you by the bite of deer ticks in the northeastern and north-central United States and by the black-legged tick on the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada.

Worse. Some symptoms of signs of Lyme disease may not appear until weeks, months or even years after the tick bite.

You could get these delayed symptoms years later of intermittent joint pain and arthritis, severe headaches and even heart disease.

Lyme Disease is not a myth.

Last year the incidence of Lyme Disease was estimated at about 100,000 cases in the Unites States alone.

Luckily Lyme Disease can be treated in 2006/2007 by a course of antibiotics.

Prevention of Lyme Disease is the key strategy.

First of all avoid tick infested areas especially in the spring time and early summer of July.

Wear light colored clothing so that ticks can be spotted more easily. Tuck your pant legs into socks and shirt into pants so that the disease spreading ticks cannot crawl under your clothing.

Spray yourself and your clothes with insect repellent such as you use to prevent mosquito bites. Usually these compounds, such as the most well known commercial product "Off" contain "DEET". The higher the amount of "DEET" in the product the stronger it will be.

Wear a hat and a long sleeved shirt for added protection.

Walk in the center of trails to avoid overhanging grass and brush.

Lastly after being outdoors, remove clothing and wash and dry it at high temperature. Inspect the body of yourself and your children and pets. Carefully remove any attached ticks with tweezers, grasping the tick as close to the skin surface as possible pulling straight back with a steady force. Remember as well to avoid crushing the tick's body.

If the tick is a stubborn female you may have to coax her to relax her grip. This can be done with the use of a bit of alcohol or a hot knife or head of a match.

Just remember if you are using a hot match to the tick body as a last attempt to allow any previous alcohol to evaporate before trying as the alcohol will ignite which may burn you or your family member.

Of course if you feel that you may have been bitten by a disease spreading Tick best to seek medical help.

Your doctor can prescribe antibiotics.

Remember that Lyme Disease is a serious malady. Morgellons Disease is often associated with Lyme Disease.

An ounce of prevention is worth 100 lbs (or Kilograms) of cure.