Tick Check Time—Lyme Disease
As the weather improves, especially in light of the pandemic quarantine, New Englanders with cabin fever are heading outdoors. Our risk for Lyme disease is high, considering the tick that carries the bacteria responsible for the illness is thriving throughout Massachusetts.
Watch for these symptoms.
Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of the blacklegged tick (deer tick) when the bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi enters the blood via the skin. Lyme disease may present in many ways so it is important to be aware of the following possible symptoms:
Skin rash
Fatigue
Chills
Fever
Headache
Joint pain
Swollen glands
While many of these symptoms may occur with other illnesses, the skin rash of Lyme disease, erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), is often easily identifiable. Appearing in 70-80% of infected individuals, ECM usually begins at the site of the tick bite within three to 30 days after infection and gradually expands into a ring-like or bull’s eye-type rash. Smaller similar spots may also appear on other areas of the body. ECM is not typically itchy but rather may feel warm and be associated with a stinging or tingling sensation.
Seek treatment asap.
If caught early, Lyme disease is easily treated with oral antibiotics such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime axetil. The chance for recovery and cure is excellent.
Untreated Lyme disease can have severe symptoms and serious consequences. Patients may have medical issues including further rashes, severe headaches and neck stiffness, joint pain and swelling, shooting pains, abnormal heart rhythm, neurological problems, and shortness of breath. The disease may become chronic.
Prevention is best.
The best strategy is prevention when outdoors and in wooded areas. This means reducing exposure to tick bites, especially in warmer months when ticks are ever present and active, and we are outside more.
Keep in mind that deer ticks are very small—the nymphal forms of deer ticks are as small as poppy seeds—and can be present year-round. Some tried and true strategies include:
Wear light colored clothing to make ticks readily visible
Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and wear long sleeves
Use insect repellent containing DEET on exposed skin and products containing ivermectin on clothing and gear
Avoid high grass and piles of leaves
Walk in the center of trails in wooded areas
Tick checks are key.
Upon returning indoors, remove clothing and bathe or shower as soon as possible, as well as conduct a full body tick check. Ticks seek out warm, moist, and often hard-to-see areas such as armpits, behind ears, waistline, crooks of joints, and scalp. If you find a tick, remove it promptly in its entirety with fine point tweezers. If you suspect you’ve had a tick bite or the distinctive rash that indicates Lyme disease, seek diagnosis and care with your board-certified dermatologist as soon as possible. Early treatment is best to avoid significant symptoms and illness.
