There’s a famous saying in the camping and outdoors community:

Take only memories, leave only footprints.

This year, I took something with me unexpectedly after one of my camping trips – a fast-moving, acute case of Lyme disease.

I’ve always loved camping, and I still do. I enjoy sleeping out under the trees and the stars, cooking meals over the campfire, and watching the dog run and play happily in the woods. While enjoying these simple pleasures, it’s not often that I’m thinking about things like my risk of contracting tick-borne illness. However, I wish this had crossed my mind at the time, because little did I know, the next month would be a brutal rollercoaster of doctors’ appointments, missed work, and health scares.

I was in my room changing one night when I noticed something out of the ordinary on my right side. Upon further inspection, it appeared to be a bull’s-eye rash – a small dark red dot in the center with a large, reddish-pink circle about three inches wide around it.

My Bull’s-Eye Rash

I went to urgent care the next day, where they diagnosed me with Lyme Disease on the spot (no pun intended). I had gone camping the previous weekend, so it added up, and thankfully, I had caught it within a relatively small timeframe. They prescribed me three weeks of antibiotics (100mg doxycycline hyclate, two times a day) and sent me on my way. However, to my dismay, multiple symptoms began to emerge:

Fatigue. Even the smallest things took tremendous effort and were straining to my body – doing the dishes, taking the dog out, even walking up the stairs. Every few hours, I felt like I desperately needed a nap.

Even the smallest things took tremendous effort and were straining to my body – doing the dishes, taking the dog out, even walking up the stairs. Every few hours, I felt like I desperately needed a nap. Rashes. This was a more alarming symptom, and they appeared on most parts of body. I was lucky enough that a typical summer outfit covered most of these, but under my clothes, I had dozens (if not hundreds) of bright red, scaly, itchy rashes, varying from about one to three centimeters wide.

This was a more alarming symptom, and they appeared on most parts of body. I was lucky enough that a typical summer outfit covered most of these, but under my clothes, I had dozens (if not hundreds) of bright red, scaly, itchy rashes, varying from about one to three centimeters wide. Neurological symptoms. I began to see facial drooping (Bell’s Palsy) whenever I smiled. My eyes began to twitch unpredictably. To top it off, I felt a consistent sense of “mental fogginess”. The way I best described this to others was “feeling like a zombie” – my short-term memory was non-existent, listening required full and undivided attention, and remembering simple things (such as using turn signals) was becoming increasingly difficult.

I made a few doctor’s appointments with concern about these symptoms, but most were not too helpful, and they simply encouraged me to continue taking my antibiotics. It wasn’t until the third appointment that a physician referred me to the emergency room for a lumbar puncture, fearing I had meningitis as a complication of the Lyme.

As if things couldn’t get worse, I got a first year resident to take a stab at the lumbar puncture first, literally. Not only did he miss the spot three or four times, but each attempt sent shooting pains through different parts of the lower half of my body. I was close to tears by the time the attending finally stepped in to insert the needle properly.

A few hours later, the results came back completely clean. I was free to go and feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders, but the next day, I felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks. My back was so tense and stiff I couldn’t get out of bed, and debilitating pain and headaches made even the act of sitting up a chore. Each attempt to sit up felt like a horrific head rush. I found out later than I was experiencing spinal headaches, which were a complication of the lumbar puncture. This kept me bedridden for about a week.

After what seemed like forever, I finally had the strength to leave the house and go to an infectious disease specialist, who prescribed me an additional week of antibiotics. She said my case of Lyme was “textbook”, and I’d begin to feel better within a month or so.

Now, this is all behind me, but I’m still kicking myself over the fact that this didn’t have to happen.

The intention of this article is not to scare any outdoors-loving people out there, but rather to stress how preventable Lyme disease really is. With some simple preventative steps, you can keep yourself from contracting it.

Wear bug spray, and don’t forget to reapply! This was my first mistake. While enjoying my camping experience in a campsite with few mosquitoes, I never thought to put bug spray on more than once a day. But just because the mosquitoes aren’t biting doesn’t mean the ticks aren’t. In fact, I never even felt my tick bite!

This was my first mistake. While enjoying my camping experience in a campsite with few mosquitoes, I never thought to put bug spray on more than once a day. But just because the mosquitoes aren’t biting doesn’t mean the ticks aren’t. In fact, I never even felt my tick bite! Check yourself, and any children or pets, for ticks daily. Ticks are tiny, usually about the size of a poppy seed. By doing a quick daily check for ticks, you can prevent them from latching on long enough for Lyme disease to spread. It takes 36 hours of attachment for a tick to spread the disease, so checking once a day is sufficient to keep you safe.

Ticks are tiny, usually about the size of a poppy seed. By doing a quick daily check for ticks, you can prevent them from latching on long enough for Lyme disease to spread. It takes 36 hours of attachment for a tick to spread the disease, so checking once a day is sufficient to keep you safe. Don’t spend time in areas where deer like to hang out. During the camping trip where I got bitten, we camped next to a group of apple trees. Deer like apples, ticks like deer – you do the math. Moving your tent to an open clearing will keep you away from those wooded, grassy places that ticks like to hide.

If you do find yourself bitten by a tick, don’t panic! It doesn’t necessarily mean that the tick carries Lyme disease, and if it does carry Lyme disease, it doesn’t mean it’s spread to you yet. Remember, it takes 36 hours of attachment for infection to occur. Regardless, you should follow these steps immediately to prevent infection:

Remove the tick. There are many methods to do this, but my preference is to use a Tick Key. It’s cheap and fits on your keychain. If you have a dog, this is a must-have.

There are many methods to do this, but my preference is to use a Tick Key. It’s cheap and fits on your keychain. If you have a dog, this is a must-have. Check others in your party for ticks. If you were bitten by a tick, there’s a chance someone else spending time in the same area did too.

If you were bitten by a tick, there’s a chance someone else spending time in the same area did too. If you start to develop a bull’s-eye rash or flu-like symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. A bull’s-eye rash occurs in about 75% of cases of Lyme disease, and considered a sort of “visual diagnosis” of the disease because it is so distinct. It’s also usually one of the first signs, so if you see it, don’t wait. When caught early, Lyme disease will clear up within a few weeks. The sooner you get to a doctor, the better. Antibiotics will take care of an early stage infection relatively quickly.

With this information, I hope you can learn from my misadventure and continue to explore the outdoors confidently and without fear of these sneaky, pesky little bugs.