Tick ​​Time: Experts say prevention is best for Lyme disease | Life

Johnstown, PA — When the warm climate arrives, people heading outdoors for recreation, gardening, gardening, and other activities need to be aware of the small enemies lurking in the undergrowth.

Black-footed mites, also known as deer ticks, will also appear this season. The Lyme Disease Association reports that small arachnids are carriers of Lyme disease and infect more than 10,000 Pennsylvanians each year.

“Pennsylvania is the number one state of Lyme disease and southwestern Pennsylvania is a hotspot,” said Dr. Richard Wozniak, a family medicine intern at the Konemau Memorial Medical Center.

May is the beginning of the Lyme disease season. It can be transmitted at any time of the year, but most cases are reported in late spring and early summer.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health states that it is not only when people go outdoors, but also when ticks occur.

“(Tick) larvae are most active in late spring and early summer,” the department said in last year’s treatise. “Most cases of Lyme disease are caused by Nymphal mites. Due to their small size, they are very difficult to detect and eliminate to prevent infection with Lyme disease.”

Typical symptoms include fever, headache, malaise, and a characteristic skin rash that spreads from the bite site. If left untreated, the infection can affect the joints, heart, and nervous system.

“At least that’s something to think about when a patient shows these symptoms,” Wozniak said.

About 80% of people with Lyme disease develop a rash. This is often referred to as a “bull’s eye rash” because the center is a lighter color than the surrounding inflammation. According to Wozniak, the rash can develop days to a month after being bitten by a tick.

This is one of the early symptoms of localized Lyme disease and can be easily treated with antibiotic pills, said Dr. Fiona McClellan, a UPMC Altoona family medicine trainee.

Prevention is the key

If left untreated, the bacteria spread throughout the body, leading to early disseminated Lyme disease. Symptoms include numbness in the arms and legs, altered vision, palpitation, chest pain, and facial nerve paralysis.

The third stage is late disseminated Lyme disease, arthritis, severe headache or migraine, dizziness, dizziness, pain in and out of joints or tendons, neck stiffness or pain, sleep changes, meningitis, mental fog. Fatigue, which can cause concentration problems and severeness.

At a more advanced stage, more aggressive antibiotics are needed, including intravenous antibiotics, McClellan said.

“The stage of the disease defines what you treat it,” she said.

Both local doctors say that the best way to avoid getting sick with Lyme disease is to avoid being bitten by ticks or at least get rid of ticks before enough bacteria get into the blood to cause the infection. I agreed to be.

“The message is: The best thing to do for Lyme disease is to prevent it,” Wozniak said.

In outdoor forests and brushed areas, it’s best to wear a long-sleeved shirt in long trousers. If possible, push the legs of your pants into your socks and you’ll lose another access point, McClellan said.

“If possible, wear light-colored clothing, as mites are easy to see,” she said.

Insecticides containing DEET may repel mites, and spraying pesticides containing permethrin on clothing may help kill mites before they bite.

“Perform a tick check”

Mites must adhere to the skin to feed. The longer the attachment, the more likely it is to get infected, doctors said.

“Take a shower within two hours of coming in from a tick-prone area,” Wozniak said. “Before spreading Lyme disease, wash it off, check for ticks, and get it off early.”

If there are ticks, the best way to get rid of them is to pull them straight out with sharp tweezers, he said.

Home remedies such as rubbing mites with petrolatum or touching them with a hot match’s head may actually exacerbate the situation, he said.

“It only spits it out and spreads the disease further,” Wozniak said.

Just because a tick sticks to the skin doesn’t mean that the person has Lyme disease, McClellan said.

“If it is installed within 36 hours, the recommendation is no treatment,” she said. “They need to monitor the area for a few weeks to make sure they don’t get a rash.”