Dangers Lurk in the Grass: Tick Season is Back

The season of the blacklegged ticks or deer ticks as they are otherwise known, is here. The U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention is drawing citizens’ attention to the incumbent peril of the Lyme disease bore by the blacklegged ticks.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria called Borrelia Burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans from a simple tick bite. It has been reported that Southern Indiana is one of the rare spots where the ticks do not carry the Lyme disease. Hotspots or pockets of the disease bearing ticks are New England, upper Midwest, as well as Mid-Atlantic States. Connecticut was the first state where Lyme was identified back in the 1970’. Nonetheless, the geography of Lyme disease and its bearers is analyzed on a yearly basis as it gradually spreads and shifts.

When going out for a walk in the park or in the woods, it is important to remember that the habitat of the blacklegged tick is in wooded areas, in the grass, generally in any environment that provides vegetation and humidity. After each walk, it is crucial to look if any of the pests caught on to your skin. Removal of the tick within 24 hours significantly decreases the chances of contracting the Lyme disease. If however, the tick is not discovered, the following symptoms manifest when the infectious bacteria enters the blood.

Firstly, at the skin level, a red rash will expand rapidly. Flu-like symptoms usually follow, with fever, fatigue, joint pain, muscle aches or lymph nodes accused by patients before treatment. Within several days of contracting the disease, it is possible that other symptoms may appear. It has been reported that some patients exhibit the swelling of joints, dizziness and heart palpitations. Some of the symptoms should emphatically draw your attention: loss of muscle tone and the inflammation of the spinal cord leading to stiffness in the neck area.

Being aware of the habitats of ticks and the dangers they pose to health, it’s important to self-check. If the ticks are discovered early, risks to health are reduced. Otherwise, the usual treatment pathway is using antibiotics over a period of four weeks. Furthermore, prevention is as always better than treating. Therefore, it is advisable that we use repellent, that we protect our environment from the presence of ticks and that while in nature, we remember to wear clothes that can properly protect our skin.

Blacklegged ticks are second to mosquitoes in carrying infectious-disease bacteria and the number of people reported to have been infected with the Lyme disease is exponentially growing on a yearly basis.

Image Source: standard.net