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Latest Infectious Disease News<\/h3>\n
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SATURDAY, Aug. 1, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Summer means higher odds of getting Lyme disease<\/a>, so know how to avoid it, health experts say.<\/p>\n Lyme disease<\/a> is caused by a bacterium carried by some ticks<\/a> and, if left untreated, can cause severe health problems.<\/p>\n Ticks<\/a> can live anywhere, but they thrive in woods and damp, dark or overgrown places.<\/p>\n “Mow your lawn,” said Tara Simmons, a community health nurse at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. “And if your kids have a play set in the backyard that borders trees, create a barrier of wood chips. Ticks will have difficulty crossing a dry, sunny area.”<\/p>\n When walking<\/a> in meadows and the woods, stay on the paths and wear light-colored clothing, which make it easier to see ticks. You should also treat clothing and hiking gear with the insecticide permethrin, she advised.<\/p>\n But don’t rely on insect repellents to prevent tick bites, Simmons added.<\/p>\n “They’re good at keeping mosquitoes away, but they don’t kill ticks — just repel them,” she said. “Ticks may be able to walk across the sprayed skin and seek shelter in an area you missed, like an ear.”<\/p>\n After a hike, take everything off and wash it, or just toss it in the dryer as ticks can’t survive the heat. Then shower and check for ticks. If you wash off a tick before it’s attached, it didn’t have a chance to transmit the bacteria.<\/p>\n The proper way to remove a tick is with tweezers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Get the tip of the tweezers as close to the skin as possible, and as close to the tick’s head as possible and pull straight up,” Simmons said in a Penn State news release. “Don’t use a match or nail polish. These old wives’ tales are dangerous and can force the tick to burrow down further into your skin.”<\/p>\n If part of the tick stays in the skin, don’t panic. “You can try to dig a little to get the remaining parts of the tick out. Or you can just clean the area with soap and water or rubbing alcohol<\/a>. Your body should break down the tick parts effectively,” Simmons explained.<\/p>\n Early symptoms of Lyme disease<\/a> are like flu symptoms<\/a> with fever<\/a>, muscle aches, fatigue<\/a>, headaches<\/a> and swollen lymph nodes<\/a>.<\/p>\n One sure symptom is a rash<\/a> where you were bitten. “A bullseye rash<\/a> is a telltale symptom of Lyme disease<\/a>,” Simmons said. “But a rash<\/a> doesn’t always appear, and when one does, it may take a different shape.”<\/p>\n Treating Lyme disease<\/a> as early as possible, before complications develop, is essential. If you develop a bullseye rash<\/a> or flu-like symptoms<\/a>, see your doctor.<\/p>\n “If you’re unsure if you’ve been bitten, don’t have a rash and have tested negative for COVID, your doctor may test you for Lyme disease<\/a>,” Simmons said.<\/p>\n The typical initial treatment for Lyme disease<\/a> is the antibiotic doxycycline<\/a>. If the disease advances, antibiotics may be given intravenously. Symptoms at this stage can include severe neck stiffness<\/a>, facial palsy, arthritis<\/a>, an irregular heartbeat, dizziness<\/a>, nerve pain<\/a> and shortness of breath<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Once those complications start happening, damage is occurring. You’re having significant impairments,” Simmons said. The third stage of Lyme disease<\/a> can develop months or years later and cause arthritis<\/a>, limb numbness and neurological problems.<\/p>\n — Steven Reinberg<\/p>\n![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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