Pesky ticks on the march
As if you hadn’t noticed, summer has arrived, summer skies has bloomed. That means we have to get interested in Lyme disease all over again. Let me inform you about bad news first. The number of such cases has increased dramatically. Why is this happening? Because more people are building their houses out in the countryside where there are deer and other animals that carry the ticks. Now add in climate change (yes, global warming is here as well). There are many undoubted reasons. The result is a surge in the number of serious cases of infection. The good news is that Doxycycline is still a steady performer. You pop the pills for two to four weeks, and the infection clears up. So this year, more people are getting the chance to see this antibiotic at work. There is likely to be a positive changes in following years. The Center for Disease Control has started development of a slow release variant of Dox. This may be by injection or by patch for those who are needle-shy. The aim is to replace the tablets with a single therapy active over a two week period. Until this comes out of the lab, you’ll just have to pop the tablets, but life may soon improve.