Lyme Disease is on the rise: What can you do to stay safe?
- Stephanie Ray
- Sep 4
- 3 min read
Stephanie Ray, RN BSN
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial infection. It spreads to people when they are bitten by a black legged tick.
Lyme infection is most prevalent in the northeast, mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwest regions of the United States.
Habitat. Ticks live in wooded, shrubby, or grassy areas.
Time of year. The risk of infection is greater in the spring, summer, and fall. But ticks can be active at any time the temperature is above freezing.
Typical initial symptoms may include: fever, headaches, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If the infection goes untreated, it can become more severe and spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system.
Erythema migrans- a rash that is a hallmark of early Lyme disease. It develops at the site of a tick bite. It presents as red and may have a "bull's-eye" appearance
Signs and symptoms
How the disease presents depends on the stage of the infection.
Early signs ( 3-30 days after a tick bite) include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes (which may all appear without a rash).
Later signs and symptoms (days to months after a tick bite)
Severe headaches and neck stiffness
Additional erythema migrans rashes on other areas of the body
Facial palsy (loss of muscle tone or droop on one or both sides of the face)
Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, particularly in the knees and other large joints.
Intermittent pain in the tendons, muscle joints, and bones
Heart palpitations or an irregular heartbeat
Episodes of dizziness or shortness of breath
Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
Nerve pain
Shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet.
Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics.
Prevention
The best defense against Lyme disease is prevention and avoiding tick bites. This will also reduce your risk of other tick-borne diseases.
If you are bitten by a tick, remove the attached tick as soon as possible. The sooner the better, because depending on the tick bite and how long it was attached to you, antibiotic prophylaxis may help prevent the disease from developing.
Most ticks take advantage of grassy, wooded, or overgrown areas and attach themselves to your lower legs and feet as you walk by. When they attach to your body, they often crawl up and find a spot to burrow into your skin
Some tips to protect yourself:
Use tick repellents
Spray your clothing, shoes, and any camping items with a repellent that has 0.5% permethrin.
Use an insect repellent registered with the EPA on any exposed skin (except your face).
Wear protective clothing
Wear light colored clothing- it makes it easier for ticks on your clothing to be spotted
Avoid open-toed shoes or sandals
Wear long-sleeved shirts tucked into your pants
Check for ticks
Shower as soon as possible to wash off any loose ticks and to check for any that may have burrowed.
Pay attention to underarms, hair, and hairline. Also check ears, waist, the area between your legs, behind your knees, and belly button.
Before you wash your outdoor clothes, put them in the dryer on HOT for at least 10 minutes to kill ticks.
Do a daily inspection for ticks on any pet that spends time outdoors.
Stay on clear paths as much as possible in wooded and grassy areas.
Rash
After the initial bite, it is common to get a small bump or redness at the site. This irritation usually improves in 1-2 days and is not always a sign of Lyme disease. Ticks can spread other organisms that may cause different types of rashes.
Erythema migrans is a common symptom that occurs in over 70% of people with Lyme disease. Erythema migrans rashes have certain characteristics that help differentiate them from other types of skin lesions.
The rashes may look different, and if you travel to an area where Lyme disease is prevalent, it is important to see your healthcare provider.
Chronic Symptoms and Lyme Disease
Following initial antibiotic treatment, some people infected with Lyme disease may develop prolonged symptoms of fatigue or illness as a result of the infection.
It is unclear why some people with Lyme disease develop these symptoms, but these symptoms have been seen following other types of infections.
Many initial signs of Lyme Disease can be more vague, so it is important to seek medical guidance to evaluate all possible causes and develop and treatment plan.
Sources
Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board
