The tiny creatures lurking in your backyard could change your life forever. Shira Haid knows this reality all too well, having battled severe tick-borne illnesses that left her unable to walk or speak. Today, she's turning that painful experience into purpose through her educational platform, Lemon or Lime.

What began as a website has blossomed into a YouTube channel and growing social media presence dedicated to demystifying tick-borne diseases like Lyme, Babesia, and Bartonella. Shira's mission is clear: provide the resource she desperately needed during her own diagnostic journey that took three years and left her disabled.

Throughout our conversation, Shira shatters dangerous myths about tick-borne diseases. The CDC's claim that ticks must be attached for 36-48 hours to transmit disease? False – some infections can transfer in just 15 minutes. That famous bullseye rash everyone associates with Lyme? Only 20-30% of patients ever develop it. And the notion that ticks only exist in wooded areas of the Northeast? Wrong again – they're virtually everywhere except Antarctica, including desert states at higher elevations.

Perhaps most alarming is Shira's discussion of co-infections and emerging threats like Alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-transmitted condition causing potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to mammalian products – including medications. With 70% of pharmaceuticals containing mammalian ingredients, this presents a frightening challenge for affected patients.

For those concerned about prevention, Shira offers practical advice: treat clothing with permethrin, use Picaridin lotion on exposed skin, perform regular tick checks, and maintain shorter lawn heights. Hunters and hikers should consider specialized clothing with elastic cuffs that prevent ticks from accessing skin.

Connect with Shira on YouTube and Instagram @LemonorLime (remember, that's Lyme with a Y!) and join her mission to raise awareness about these devastating but preventable diseases.

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