Lyme Disease season is HERE and it’s worse than ever
This is a great little informational video on this year’s tick season: HERE
It’s a little hard to understand because Dr. Goudarz has a thick accent, so I’ve dictated the important points below! Please read because if you live in the northeast (US), this year’s tick season is BAD.
Here we go…
It’s summertime and that means ticks and consequently, Lyme disease is on the rise. There has already been a higher rate of infection his year so far US northeast.
Why?
There have been exceptionally warm winters in the northeast, as well as reports and evidence of a higher number of white-footed mice (main reservoir for lyme and three other pathogens).
Ticks are being tested and researchers are finding more than 1/3 of ticks testing positive for lyme. And on top of that, an increasing number of ticks infected with another tick-associated disease.
It’s considerably worse this year than last year. There are so many more ticks than normal and it’s scary.
The tick is most infectious in the nymph stage. This is the stage where the tick is so small that it is hard to see the tick on the body. Average infection rate with nymphs is 25-27% in the past, but this year it is expected to be much higher.
But being bitten by a tick doesn’t necessarily mean that you will come down with lyme. The successful transfer of lyme from tick to human normally occurs when a tick has been blood-feeding for at least 24 hours.
If you think you have lyme disease you can look for the bullseye rash (but not everyone will have this), fever, headache, joint pain, and fatigue.
Some tips to prevent lyme disease:
- Use repellent with at least 20% DEET
- Wear lighter colored clothing when playing outside
- Thorough tick check the body using a mirror
- Shower or bathe after spending time outside to knock off unattached ticks
- Dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any ticks
Please stay tuned for more information about lyme disease!
Link to video: http://www.wsj.com/video/tick-and-lyme-disease-season-is-here-worse-than-ever/514E681C-6456-4916-B77B-5A9018D37D7E.htm
