The clock is ticking. It’s the time of the year for Lyme disease and it’s nasty. Some sturdies report close to 300,000 new cases of the disease each year and many cases go unreported because they were not properly diagnosed.
Lyme disease is transmitted from infected ticks. Deer are most responsible as carrying hosts, but other mammals such as bears, mice and other small animals may also be carriers.
Many are bitten by ticks and do not contract Lyme disease, only about 1.5% are so unfortunate. But if you get it, it’s bad news.
Serious health problems, such as extreme fatigue, headaches with neck stiffness, swelling of joints and memory loss can ensue. In addition. Tick bites can also result in other diseases such as Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, relapsing fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and others.
It had been thought that the main sign of infection was the appearance of a large red bull’s eye marking at the bite site, but not always, so you never know.
The best way to avoid a tick bite is to stay out of their territory, but if you must go where the ticks live, apply lots of insect repellent to your pants, shoes and socks. And when you come home, check carefully, and remove the ticks before they bite.
Tick-tock, the clock is ticking.