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> It's a shame because these kinds of stories create unnecessary fear in Americans about picking things from the wild, when there are so many great tastes and e
by Alex3917 7y ago
> It's a shame because these kinds of stories create unnecessary fear in Americans about picking things from the wild, when there are so many great tastes and experiences right there at your fingertips.
To be fair, until we have better tools to diagnose and treat the tick-borne illnesses that are prevalent in the US, it still isn't the safest hobby. This year I finally got sick of worrying about Powassan virus et al. so largely gave up spending time in the woods and just bought a road bike for outdoor time instead.
- SapporoChris 7y agoOdds are pretty low of getting a tick borne disease. I would assume they're even lower if you take precautions. About 60000 incidents a year. Powassan virus 33 incidents (https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-summary/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-summary/index.html) I would speculate that more than 33 people manage to kill them selves road biking each year, but I confess I'm just guessing.
- Alex3917 7y ago60,000 reported cases, which means more like 600,000 estimated cases. You can definitely vastly lower the risk if you take all the right precautions, but most people I see don’t even have their pants tucked into their socks.
- xenonite 7y agoAnd even if I ask a doctor to remove a tick he discourages a test of the dead tick, because „nothing would turn up anyways“. This supports a high rate of unnoticed cases.
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y agoMaybe they understand how miniscule the risk is and can't be bothered?
- jjeaff 7y agoDepends on where in the US. Lyme's disease from ticks is very rare in some parts of the US.
- saiya-jin 7y agoThat's... one of the worst excuses I ever heard to not go out into the wilderness. How can you ever sit in the car for example?
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y agoPretty much!