Give ticks and Lyme disease the brush-off
Your child has just come in from a long day playing outside and you think: "Is that dirt on her, a new freckle — or a tick?" Lyme disease is carried by pinpoint-size deer ticks that breed wherever there is nature: in the grass, woods and fields. According to
Richard Hymowitz, MD, Virtua Health rheumatologist: "Peak tick season is April through September in the northeastern United States, but most people become infected during the summer months when the tick population multiplies. The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid being bitten by a deer tick in the first place."
How to keep the ticks off your and your family
Know the signs and symptoms
Thank you've been bitten?
The Lyme vaccine: pros and cons
How to remove a tick
How to keep the ticks off you and your family
Dr. Hymowitz offers the following advice:
- Wear protective clothing when walking in the woods or tall grasses: long pants and long-sleeved shirts that fit tightly at the ankles and wrists, hats, socks and shoes that leave no part of the foot exposed. Light-colored clothes are best since it is easier to spot ticks on them.
- Stick to the center of trails when hiking to avoid picking up ticks from overhanging brush, grass and trees.
- Apply an insect repellant containing no more than a 10% concentration of DEET. Use repellants sparingly and never on babies under age two. The repellant should be sprayed on clothing as well.
- Check your children daily for ticks during tick season. Check the entire body for poppy-seed sized ticks whenever returning from outdoors. It takes a tick 24-48 hours from the time it attaches itself to a body to pass on the bacteria that causes the disease, so getting ticks off immediately is important.
- Wash clothes that have been worn outdoors.
- Check your pets daily, too. Not only can they get Lyme disease, they can also bring ticks into the house.
- Clear brush and spread wood chips at the edge of any property adjoining a wooded, moist forest to limit the places ticks like to live.
Know the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease
"Early symptoms of Lyme disease are often mistaken for the flu. They include fatigue, fever, headaches, stiff neck, body aches and joint pain, and the symptoms can come and go over a number of weeks," states Dr. Hymowitz.
The most obvious sign of Lyme disease is a characteristic bull's-eye rash that occurs in most people. This rash starts as a small red spot at the site of the bite, then gradually expands over a period of days or weeks to form a circular or oval rash with an outer red ring and a clear center. This rash can be as small as a dime, or it can cover the width of a person's back. Rashes can spread to other parts of the body as the infection spreads.
Left untreated, Lyme disease can cause a number of serious health problems including arthritis, heart problems and nervous system conditions such as facial paralysis, poor motor coordination, poor concentration or numbness.
Think you've been bitten?
Call your doctor if a tick has bitten you or your child, especially if a characteristic rash or flu-like symptoms develop. Because many of the symptoms resemble the flu or other viral infections, Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed. Furthermore, diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are not always reliable.
A number of antibiotics are used to treat Lyme disease. Generally, patients should begin taking antibiotics as early as possible in the course of the disease to ensure a swift and complete recovery.
The Lyme vaccine: pros and cons
According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 1982 and 1996, the incidence rate for Lyme disease increased at least 32-fold. In areas where deer ticks are common (such as the northeast) this upward trend has continued.
In December 1998, the FDA approved the first vaccine for Lyme disease. Called LYMErix, the vaccine has been approved for use in people ages 15 to 70. It is generally recommended for those who live and work in grassy or wooded areas where deer ticks are found. The FDA points out that LYMErix given between January and April is most effective.
LYMErix does not guarantee that you won't develop Lyme disease. The safest course is to continue practicing the preventive measures described above even after receiving the vaccine.
How to remove a tick
- Have children seek help for tick removal.
- Use tweezers to remove the tick.
- Wash your hands and swab the tweezers and area of the bite with alcohol.
- Grasp the tick with the tweezers as close to the skin as possible. Try not to crush the tick.
- Gently pull the tick straight out from the body.
- Swab the area of the bite with alcohol again.
- Pay careful attention to the bite site and general health over the next several weeks. Rashes may appear anywhere on the body.
- Consult your doctor if symptoms arise.
- Do not try to burn or smother the tick.