Healthy Options 5/1/24: Lyme Disease & other tick borne illness- update for 2024

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman
Co-Producer: Petra Hall
Technical assistance: Joel Mann & Amy Browne

Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well

This month:

– Why is prevention the best medicine when it comes to ticks? Why is it important to keep ticks off of us, to begin with?
– What is a tick borne infection?  What is Lyme disease, and other tick-borne illness?
– What are the different kinds of ticks, and the diseases they may carry? Do ticks spread bacteria or viruses?
– What is a co-infection?
– What tick found in Maine, can cause severe to fatal illness in just 15 minutes (!) after a bite?
– What is a tick check? What should you do if you find a tick attached to you? What is the safest way to remove a tick?  Where can we send ticks to be identified/tested?
– What is a “bullseye rash” and how could it show up differently in men & women? Does everyone get a rash when bitten by a tick?
– What type of clothing effectively reduces your chance of getting a tick bite? What is permethrin & how is it used on clothing (NOT your skin)?
– What is picaridin & other repellents which ARE applied to our skin? What works/doesn’t work to repel ticks?

Guest(s): 
Dr. Beatrice Szantyr, Internist and Pediatrician who lectures on Lyme disease and related tick-borne disorders in Maine and nationally, to both professional and community groups. She is an active member of the Maine CDC Vector Borne Disease Work Group, and a member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.  Dr. Szantyr also had served on the 2022 Federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, Access to Care and Education Subcommittee.

FMI:
EPA info on effective repellents
www.epa.gov/insect-repellents
www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you

University of Maine Tick Lab
Protect Yourself from ticks & tick-borne diseases:
extension.umaine.edu/ticks/

Tick testing Amherst MA. (tests for more diseases):
www.tickreport.com

Columbia University Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center
www.columbia-lyme.org/

Lyme Disease Association
Research, Education, Prevention and Patient Support   
lymediseaseassociation.org/

Lyme disease.org
Powered by patients. Home of Lyme Times and My Lyme Data:
www.lymedisease.org/

Maine Tracking Network: Tickborne Diseases
Improving public health with better information
data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking/home

TickEncounter  The University of Rhode Island
Tick-borne Disease prevention Education
web.uri.edu/tickencounter/

This article is brief enough for a patient to bring to a doctor’s visit for them to consider:
The Management of Ixodes scapularis Bites in the Upper Midwest
wmjonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/110/2/78.pdf

PARTICULARLY FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (& FMI for Clients):
LymeCME
Free, Evidence-based, AAFP-Accredited Courses that Physicians Can Trust
www.lymecme.info/

Invisible International
invisible.international/
The Montecalvo Platform for Tick-borne Illness Education is a library of accredited continuing medical education (CME) courses that teach front-line clinicians about diagnosing and treating vector-borne diseases. These courses are free to all users and are accessible to both clinicians and patients online.
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Previous HEALTHY OPTIONS PROGRAMS on ticks & Lyme can also be found at:

archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2023/05/healthy-options-5-3-23-lyme-disease-tick-borne-illness-and-how-to-be-tick-conscious-to-protect-ourselves/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2022/10/healthy-options-10-5-22-the-ticks-are-still-here-what-you-need-to-know/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2022/05/healthy-options-5-4-22-yearly-update-on-ticks-lyme-and-tick-borne-illnesses/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2021/05/healthy-options-5-5-21-ticks-those-blood-sucking-parasites/
archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2020/06/healthy-options-6-3-20-ticks-and-tick-borne-illnesses/

About the host:
Rhonda Feiman is a nationally-certified, licensed acupuncturist practicing in Belfast, Maine since 1993. She primarily practices Toyohari Japanese acupuncture, using gentle and powerful non-insertion needle techniques, and also utilizes Chinese acupuncture and herbology. In addition, Rhonda is a practitioner of Qi Gong and an instructor of Tai Chi Chuan in the Yang Family tradition.

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Outside the Box 4/30/24: “CBA (Cost Benefit Analysis)”

Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger

About the host:
Larry Dansinger (no pronouns) of Bangor came to Maine in 1974 and has been here ever since. Some of Larry’s activities since then: Done community organizing on numerous issues through INVERT and then Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC), committed civil disobedience several times, grown a garden yearly since 1977, joined various food cooperatives and two men’s groups, refused to pay federal income taxes for war, lived on a community land trust for 23 years, and met a wonderful partner whom Larry has loved for over 40 years. Larry has produced Outside the Box features on WERU since 2007 and continues to look for unique ways of seeing almost any problem or situation.

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A Word in Edgewise 4/29/24: Lana Turner Has Collapsed! . . .

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela

Hi, I’m RW Estela: Since 1991, I’ve been presenting A Word in Edgewise, WERU’s longest-running short feature, a veritable almanac of worldly and heavenly happenings, a confluence of 21st-century life in its myriad manifestations, international and domestic, cosmopolitan and rural, often revealing, as the French say, the more things change, the more they stay the same — though not always! Sometimes in addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives, in this age of vagary and ambiguity, when chronological time is punctuated elliptically, things can quickly turn edgy and controversial, as we search for understanding amid our dialectic. Tune in Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for an exciting journey through space and time with a few notable birthdays thrown in for good measure during A Word in Edgewise . . .

About the host:
RW Estela was raised as a first-generation American in Colorado by a German mother and a Corsican-Basque father who would become a three-war veteran for the US Army, so RW was naturally a military brat and later engaged in various Vietnam-era civil-service adventures before paying his way through college by skiing for the University of Colorado, playing Boulder coffeehouses, and teaching. He has climbed all of Colorado’s Fourteeners; found work as an FAA-certificated commercial pilot, a California-licensed building contractor, a publishing editor, a practitioner of Aikido, and a college professor of English; among his many interdisciplinary pursuits are the design and building of Terrell Residence Library (recently renamed the Terrell House Permaculture Living & Learning Center at the University of Maine), writing Building It In Two Languages (a bilingual dictionary of construction terminology), aerial photo documentation of two dam removals (Great Works and Veazie) on the Penobscot River, and once a week since 1991 drafting an installment of A Word In Edgewise, his essay series addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives — and WERU’s oldest continuous short feature. When pandemics do not interfere, he does the Triple Crown of Maine open-water ocean swims (Peaks to Portland, Islesboro Crossing, and Nubble Light Challenge) and the Whitewater Downriver Point Series of the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization. RW is the father of two and the grandfather of three and lives with his partner Kathleen of 37 years and their two Maine Coons in Orono.

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The Nature of Phenology 4/27/24: Killdeer Nesting

Producers: Hazel Stark & Joe Horn
Host: Hazel Stark

These birds are nesting between April 20th and July 15th in open places so you might be able to notice their nesting behavior from afar.

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com.

About the host/writers:
Joe Horn lives in Gouldsboro, is Co-Founder of Maine Outdoor School, L3C, and is a Registered Maine Guide and Carpenter. He is passionate about fishing, cooking, and making things with his hands. He has both an MBA in Sustainability and an MS focused in Environmental Education. Joe can be reached by emailing [email protected]

Hazel Stark lives in Sullivan, is Co-Founder and Naturalist Educator at Maine Outdoor School, L3C, and is a Registered Maine Guide. She loves taking a closer look at nature through the lens of her camera, napping in beds of moss, and taking hikes to high points to see what being tall is all about. She has an MS in Resource Management and Conservation and is a lifelong Maine outdoorswoman. Hazel can be reached by emailing [email protected]

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Earthwise 4/27/24: Turkeys in the Woods

Producer/Host: Anu Dudley

About the host: Rev. Dr. Anu Dudley is an ordained Pagan minister and a retired history professor. She continues to teach classes, including the three-year ordination curriculum at the Temple of the Feminine Divine, and others such as History of the Goddess, Paganism 101, Ethical Magic, and Introduction to the Runes. Currently she is writing a book about how to cast the runes using their original Goddess meanings. She lives in the woods off-grid in a small homesteading community in Central Maine.

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The Cosmic Curator 4/27/24: Abundance of Abundance

Good Morning, People! This is your cosmic curator, Tom Yaroschuk, with a look at the stars for the week of April 27th and the days ahead…

About the Host:
Tom Yaroschuk is a Vedic Astrologer. His intention is to help people understand their karma and the issues they may confront to cultivate more fulfilling lives. Tom is writing a memoir of the spiritual lessons derived from his work in a Homeless Day Center in between a career as an award winning television and documentary producer.

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Coastal Conversations 4/26/24: Managing Future Forests

Producer/Host: Catherine Devine

Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program.

This month:

What happens to science when the science is done? And how does that inform how our forests are managed in the future?

To answer these questions, Catherine Devine from Schoodic Institute sat down with UMaine’s Nicole Rogers to talk about how a research project, Extreme Climate and Trees, will help inform land management strategies for Maine’s forests in the future.. 

As a Fellow in Science Communication at Schoodic Institute. Catherine explains how she came to this topic idea: “I’ve spent 10 months exploring ways to bridge the gap between science and the public. One of my recurring questions during my fellowship was what happens to the science when the science is done? Meaning how does science and research change our environment and our lives?” Catherine’s conversion with Rogers explores these questions and more as they relate to forestry management in Maine.

Guest/s:
Nicole Rogers, Assistant Professor of Silviculture at University of Maine.

About the hosts:

Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

Catherine Devine is the recipient of the 2023-2024 Cathy and Jim Gero Acadia Early Career Fellowship in Science Communication at Schoodic Institute. She is the producer of season 2 of Schoodic’s Sea to Trees podcast and a graduate of New York University.

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Around Town 4/26/24: Local News, Culture and Events

Host/Producer: Amy Browne

Jace from Out in the Open joins us to talk about their upcoming Drag & Burlesque show (public welcome), which will be followed by a Queer Performance Art and Drag Summit for the LGBTQ+ community.  To register, buy tickets, or lean more go to: www.weareoutintheopen.org/

About the host:
Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine Association of Broadcasters awards for her work in 2017 and 2021.

Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

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