May Means Lyme Disease Awareness Month
Lyme Disease is a tick-borne bacterial disease most commonly spread by blacklegged ticks (Ixodes Scapularis) also known as, deer ticks or bear ticks. According to the Center For Disease Control, Lyme Disease in the US is on the rise with well over 100,000 cases reported in 45 states since 2008. Blacklegged ticks are easily picked up from low-lying grasses or brush near wooded or brushy areas - especially along trails. Tick bites are usually painless with many people never noticing the bite or the tick until well after the tick has dropped off.
The best way approach for controlling lyme disease is prevention by wearing insect repellent clothing or, using a topical insect repellent such as DEET on exposed skin if insect protective clothing is unavailable, and checking for ticks regularly and whenever leaving areas at risk for ticks. Also be sure to thoroughly wash your clothes and hair after being in tick infested areas. If a tick is ever found attached to person contact your doctor. How to remove a tick: If you are unable to get prompt medical attention, the proper way to remove a tick is to grasp it by it's head with tweezers and gently pull on the tick until it releases itself from the skin. Swab the wound with alcohol. It is also a good idea to save the tick in case your doctor wants it tested for Lyme Disease or the pathogens. Do not try burning the tick or smothering it with Vasoline which could cause the tick to try and burrow itself deeper into the skin and increasing the chances of infection.
Symptoms of Lyme disease can extremely debilitating effecting the nervous system, heart, joints and skin. Symptoms are often flu-like and may include skin rashes, fever, weakness, numbness, pain and swelling in the joints, confusion, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting. If you suspect you are experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease contact your physician immediately. The sooner Lyme Disease diagnosed and treated the more likely the outcome will be good. Because Lyme Disease can be difficult to diagnose in some individuals, especially if the disease was contracted some time ago, with symptoms lasting for months or even years.