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Lyme disease is developed when a person is bitten by a tick carrying the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Early symptoms of Lyme disease are similar to those of the flu: headache, stiff neck, muscle aches and a temperature that develops a week or two after the bite. A circular “bulls eye” rash develops in 50 to 80 percent of people infected, but a rash may not appear for up to a month after the tick bite.
According to the CDC, in 2007, 27,444 cases of Lyme disease were reported in the U.S.
While most cases of Lyme disease are successfully treated with antibiotics, the web is full of reports of people who have suffered long lasting effects from the disease. Problems with arthritis, muscle and joint pain, inability to think clearly or fatigue sometimes have lasted for years. An emotional documentary, “Under our Skin,” recently debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival chronicling the struggle chronic Lyme patients face and is currently showing across the country to raise awareness of their plight. www.underourskin.com/
Lyme disease-carrying ticks are tiny, about the size of a poppy seed. They are not the watermelon seed-size “dog” ticks many of us have pulled out of Rover’s coat. Ticks live in moist, shady places such as under leaves, trees and grasses and when they sense the vibration of a host (us or our dog), they snag onto clothes and fur.
In the U.S., those living in the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest and northern Midwest states are most at risk. Areas heavily populated by deer have a higher incidence of Lyme disease. It is not practical to constantly spray ourselves with insecticide and hope that chemicals alone are going to protect us.
How to avoid Lyme tick bites:
1: Daily inspection of skin, in every nook and cranny is how to catch a tick before it sufficiently attaches. Ticks are less likely to cause infection if removed within the first 24 hours. Take a shower after being outside in a potentially infested area and scrutinize every inch of your body. Have someone else check your back. Make sure to put the clothes worn into the dryer for 20 minutes so the heat will kill any remaining ticks.
2: Use the insecticide DEET in strength just strong enough to deter the ticks from attaching. Use permethrin insecticide on clothes only. The FDA has also approved oil of eucalyptus as an alternative for children under the age of three.
3: Wear light-colored clothes and tuck shirts into pants and pants into socks. Stay on trails if out in the woods and do not sit directly on the ground. Use a blanket.
If you think you have been bitten by a Lyme tick, go to your doctor or urgent care center that same day and have the bite area examined. Let the doctor, not you, remove the tick.
**Early treatment is important, just as important as protecting yourself from exposure.**
Studies have shown that early treatment with doxycycline can prevent the development of Lyme disease in adults and children over the age of eight. Pregnant women, children under the age of eight and those with tetracycline allergies are given alternative antibiotics.
Close attention must be paid to avoid tick exposure even after the weather cools in the fall. Remember, if you suspect you have been bitten, early treatment is the best prevention against Lyme disease.
https://www.empowher.com/media/reference/lyme-disease
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/ld_humandisease_symptoms.htm
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=6937488
http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?doc_id=4836&nbr=3481&string=lyme
Michele is an R.N. and freelance writer with a special interest in woman’s healthcare and quality of care issues. Other articles by Michele can be read at http://www.helium.com/users/487540/show_articles
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