Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Dylana Milobar

LYME DISEASE AWARENESS DAY

Kamloops Lyme disease victims raising awareness

May 1, 2019 | 4:52 PM

KAMLOOPS — Today is Lyme Disease Awareness Day, and advocates in Kamloops are gearing up for the second annual Lyme Disease Awareness Walk this weekend.

Organizer Jen Marie says she has been living with Lyme disease for the last 18 years, and has been pushing others to be aware and for the illness to be recognized in the region.

“I had mysterious symptoms that started off with flu-like symptoms. They (doctors) thought I had mono, and then it turned into numbness and tingling, along with food allergies,” she explains. “And then it got worse with neurological symptoms. They thought I had MS or Parkinson’s, and it turned out to be Lyme the whole time.”

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The illness is spread through the bite of an infected tick, however the most common species in the local area, the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick, is not known to be a carrier of Lyme disease.

While the wood tick is more frequent than others in Kamloops, according to the Interior Health Authority, the Deer Tick (Also known as Ixodes pacificus or I. angustus) has been linked to a handful of Lyme Disease cases in the Southern Interior, however it is not as common to the area.

Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks can reach the size of a swollen raisin when finished feeding, whereas Deer Ticks are the size of a sesame seed, and only reach the size of a small pea when full.

Regardless, Marie says preventative measures, along with rigorous checks after any outdoor excursions is key.

“Check yourself, use spray, and if you do see symptoms, go to your doctor immediately,” she urges. “Because if you catch it right away, you’re good and can be cured of it, but once it is there chronically, the chances of remission are very slim.”

Registration for the event starts at 11:00 a.m., and the walk will get started at noon from Riverside Park this Saturday (May 4).

For more information, the group’s Facebook page can be accessed here.