Ridgefield's Lyme Disease Task Force Urges Discussion, Prevention

Editor's note: This is part one of a multi-part series about Lyme disease in Ridgefield and the surrounding area.

, , vision or hearing abnormalities and joint or muscle pain are only a few of the symptoms that can occur from untreated and undetected Lyme disease, according to the Lyme Disease Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Inc.  

The has been working ferociously this year to help residents prevent the occurrence of . The LDTF provides information about Lyme specialists, information on Lyme disease discussions and seminars, a support group for sufferers and a information on prevention.

They have also created the program, a Lyme prevention program that can be accessed 24 hours a day at www.ridgefieldct.org.

“We got a grant in Ridgefield in 2008,” of the LDTF said. “It was a fifty-thousand-dollar grant and we’ve been around ever since."

 All of the information that the LDTF uses for the BLAST program comes from research that can be viewed on the CDC website, according to Reid. The LDTF also uses the Tick Management Handbook prepared by Kirby C. Stafford, III, Ph.D. Stafford is the Vice Director and Chief Entomologist of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.

“The thing about Lyme disease now, is that there is controversy research-wise,” Reid said. “Our goal is to get early treatment and prevention out to residents.”

Reid explained that controversy happens when a victim of Lyme disease is given a late diagnosis. Neurological disorders, psychiatric or psychological disorders, arthritis, loss of hearing and loss of sight are some of the effects of a late diagnosis, according to the Lyme Disease Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Inc., causing some doctors to question the true source of the symptoms, according to Reid.

“We want people to start learning how to keep their families safe,” Reid said.

Recently, the LDTF received a grant from the Leir Foundation, according to Karen Gaudian of the LDTF. The $2,000 grant will go toward the education of children on Lyme disease prevention. Claire Bishop, a LDTF member and Lyme sufferer will be working closely with parents around the community to make use of the grant.

“I got Lyme last summer and I didn’t even know about the task force,” Bishop said.

In order to help others gain knowledge of the LDTF, Bishop will be reaching out to parents of nursery and pre-school aged children. She will be organizing coffee meetings at which parents can discuss preventative measures, detection, treatment and more. She considers herself the “go-to” girl for Lyme information and encourages parents to attend the LDTF meetings and any meetings she has planned for the future.

“Parents are getting on board when it comes to teaching kids about Lyme,” Bishop said.

Although this may be true, the LDTF would like to see schools start a conversation about Lyme prevention as well. The LDTF would like to have a discussion with Ridgefield schools on how they can work together to keep children safe from Lyme, and how to approach the difficulties a child may have after contracting it, according to Reid.

“Getting to the schools for 2012, it will be important for us to do some very significant projects,” Reid said. “I believe it will also be our ten-year-anniversary.”

The LDTF knows that children are not the only people living with Lyme and encourage adults to educate themselves as well. Lyme patients do not always test positive with a test done through a primary care physician, according to Gaudian. People who suspect they may have Lyme, are encouraged by the LDTF to seek out a Lyme specialist who will do thorough testing in order to learn if a patient is infected.

“If you’re on antibiotics when you have a Lyme test, it skews results,” Reid said. “I also realized that antibiotics can also trigger huge responses of Lyme symptoms,” she said.

The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, the largest medical and professional organization devoted to tick-borne illnesses, according to the Lyme Disease Assocation of Southeastern Pennsylvania, provides a list of doctors on their site. For a list of specialists and doctors, go to: www.ilads.org.

The next support group that the LDTF will be holding for sufferers of Lyme disease, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia will be held on August 11 from 12-1:30pm. The meetings are held on the second floor of the old high school where the Ridgefield Visiting Nurses Association offices are located. For directions go to www.ridgefieldvna.net.