Beware of This !

What a lot of people fail to realise is, not only are they absolutely everywhere in the UK but some carry a particularly nasty disease called Lyme disease. I have manged to avoid infection over the years but my wife has not been so lucky. Lyme disease can be fatal or permanently paralyze you if it is not recognised and treated quickly. We were on holiday in Spain some years ago when my wife complained of an irritation at the back of her knee. It was a tick bite and by this time the tick was quite large. I removed it carefully with tweezers. I usually smother the tick in toothpaste first to make it loosen its grasp. You have to be careful so as not to leave the head in which would go septic. I kept an eye on my wife's bite. She began to feel a bit feverish after a few days and I noticed that an increasingly large purple/red ring was spreading from the the bite area, a sure sign of Lyme disease. We immediately got her to the doctor and she was treated with anti-biotics. My wife had picked up the tick in our garden just before leaving for our holiday, she believes, when putting out the washing. The conventional advice is to ensure that when you go into fields of long grass, heath lands, or wooded areas you should tuck your trousers into your socks. I don't do that but I am well aware of any unusual itch on my skin and immediately inspect it for bites. I