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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The number of people infected with Lyme disease in Florida has increased dramatically.
And Florida mom, Melanie Milner, is living proof that Sunshine State's doctors may be slow to diagnose the disease, which is more prevalent in the northeast, where ticks that spread it are more common.
According to a recent study by Quest Laboratories, the number of Lyme disease infections in Florida increased by 77% between 2015 and 2017.
Milner said the symptoms of her Lyme disease, including anxiety, depression and severe migraines, had changed her as a mother.
"My daughter has never known a healthy mother," said Milner. "I'm sick since she's petite."
Milner said that she was so sick that she could barely get out of the couch to spend time with her kids.
She said that her husband did not know that he had brought home some tickling clothes after a hunting trip to Camp Blanding.
"He left his clothes near the bed and I think the ticks got into the bed and bit me while I was sleeping," Milner said. "I found ticks in bed."
Lyme disease is spread by the bite of a tick. The insect crawls on a human and sinks into the skin. As ticks carrying Lyme disease are not often found in the Southeast, Ms. Milner said that it had taken years for her to be diagnosed.
"The doctors told me that there is no Lyme disease here in Florida," Milner said. "There is Lyme disease everywhere. Ticks do not know the limits. They migrate too.
In addition to migraines and joint pain, fever, chills and headaches are symptoms of Lyme disease. Milner thinks his illness is persistent because the doctors have missed the alarm signals, delaying his treatment.
After more than a year, she still fights, but for the sake of her family, she does not give up the fight.
"I do not know if I'll ever feel 100% but that's my goal," said Milner. "And I'm going to work there, no matter what it takes."
Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.
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