A DOG groomer is warning others to be aware of the dangers of country walks after being diagnosed with a incurable bacterial infection.

Katie Rourke Dowding, who lives in Cheapside, now suffers from Lyme disease, after a diagnosis back in June. She believes she contracted it after walking around Ascot Racecourse.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread to humans by infected ticks, tiny spider-like creatures found in woodland and heath area that feed on the blood of birds and mammals.

Many people develop a distinctive circular rash – it looks like a bullseye on a dart board – where they have been bitten by the tick around three to 30 days later.

The 49-year-old initially thought she had summer flu until an American client recognised the rash and told her to go to a doctor for emergency antibiotics.

She said: “You have a very short window of opportunity to cure and treat the disease. If you have a rash, there’s no two ways about it. You need to take antibiotics within 24 hours or that’s it.”

She said after rushing to see a doctor, she was told to take a blood test the following day as the doctor was unsure it was Lyme disease and had to wait a week for the results to come back but by that time, it was too late.

She added: “When you have the rash you can treat it, but once it has gone in under the tissue, then that’s it. My pain level on a daily basis from one to 10 – if 10 is giving birth without any painkillers – then my pain is anywhere from four to six.

“The pain is in my arms and shoulders and hands and I now can’t lift anything heavier than 15kg, which affects my ability to groom dogs.

“I now suffer from chronic fatigue. I used to be a bit of a powerhouse and now I can only do four dogs a day so it is really debilitating, but I am luckier than some people.

“It is a struggle to pay off my mortgage, but I am not classed as ill enough for my disability insurance to kick in.

“I am absolutely at breaking point.”

Some people are treated with regular doses of antibiotics, but this is not a guaranteed cure and many people suffer from pain once they come off them.