The threat of Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that causes an inflammatory disease in many areas of the body.  It is transmitted through an infected deer tick.  These ticks are smaller than the common dog or cattle tick.  They are usually not much bigger than the head of a pin.  The deer tick can attach itself to any part of the human body but especially to more hidden and hairy areas (i.e. armpits, groin, and scalp).

 Deer ticks stay attached to the skin longer than other ticks.  Transmission of the disease from an infected tick is unlikely before 36 hours of attachment.  Infection from the disease usually occurs after two or more days after attachment. 

Symptoms of Lyme disease are similar to the flu.  A “bulls-eye” rash may develop where the tick was attached.  Fever, lymph node swelling, neck stiffness, generalized fatigue, headache, migrating joint aches and muscle aches may also occur.  If Lyme disease is suspected, antibiotics are used to treat the disease.  Lyme disease that is left untreated results in severe, chronic, and disabling symptoms such as chronic, inflammatory arthritis, chronic muscle pain, heart disease, and brain and nerve disorders.

Avoiding tick bites is of utmost importance in the prevention of Lyme disease.  Avoid brushy, overgrown, grassy, and wooded areas, particularly in spring and early summer.  Also, remove leaves, tall grass, and brush from areas surrounding work or residential areas, thereby reducing tick, deer, and rodent habitat.  There are also tick-toxic chemicals that can prevent tick attachment to skin.

Using personal protection can also decrease the probability of tick bites.  Several measures have been recommended for personal protection, and have been used, including:

1.  Wearing light-colored clothing so that ticks can be easily seen and removed before attachment   occurs;

2.  Wearing long-sleeved shirts and tucking pant legs into socks or boots to prevent ticks from   reaching the skin;

3.  Wearing high boots or closed shoes that cover the entire foot;

4.  Wearing a hat;

5.  Spraying insect repellents (containing DEET) on exposed skin, excluding the face, in accordance with   EPA guidelines.  Using  permethrin on clothes to kill ticks on contact;

6.  Showering, and washing and drying clothes at a high temperature, after outdoor exposure;

7.  Checking the body carefully for ticks; once found, promptly removing them with tweezers   and   cleansing the skin area with an antiseptic.

Typical Bulls Eye Rash Associated With Lyme Disease