Lyme disease
Lyme disease is relatively rare in humans but it can be devastating to peoples health.
It is caught by ticks that attach to the skin and suck blood.
The ticks carry the Lyme disease bacteria and it can get in to the human blood stream.
The disease is difficult to diagnose and treat so it's well worth knowing about it.
You have no chance of getting this disease diagnosed in Compton by NHS doctors. That's typical for the UK.
If you are out particularly in areas with long grass and woodland you should check your skin for ticks. Behind the knees is a favorite spot. Remove any ticks with special tweezers. Do not squeeze the tick body because that can force infected blood back into your body. Make a note of when you found the tick in your diary or send yourself an email as a reminder. This is important because if you get infected by the time you realize you will have forgotten about the tick. Lyme disease is a slow growth bacteria that gradually becomes worse and worse so you don't get many instant symptoms. The first symptom is like Flu.
Not all ticks carry Lyme disease. Areas where you have deer are likely to have Lyme disease infected ticks. So if you see a deer think ticks.