-Preventing Lyme Disease:

Lyme disease is carried in up to 50% of ticks in the Northeast and the disease is spreading. When outside this spring and summer, particularly in areas that are wooded, brushy or grassy, be sure to look for ticks and take precautionary measures.

After you have been outside, check for ticks. Lyme disease is most often spread in their nymphal stage. Deer ticks can be smaller than a sesame seed and like to hide in hard to see areas such as the groin, armpit and scalp. Check children and pets as well.

• Wear light-colored clothing to spot ticks more easily.
• Wear a hat and pull back long hair.
• Tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants so ticks can't crawl under your clothing.
• Remove leaves and clear any brush or tall grass from around your house and the edges of gardens.
• Construct physical barriers, like stone walls, to discourage deer and other wildlife from coming near homes.
• Ask your primary care provider about repellents and the soon to be released LYMErix vaccination. Repellents with DEET are effective, but may cause unwanted side-effects and should not be used by pregnant women.

If untreated, Lyme disease can cause many long-term medical problems, such as nervous system abnormalities, including numbness, pain, paralysis of the facial muscles and meningitis. It can also cause disabling, chronic arthritis in large joints and an irregular heartbeat which can lead to fainting. Lyme disease can be difficult to detect because the symptoms can often be mistaken for other diseases or infections.

Symptoms of Lyme disease include:

• a bull's eye rash (in 60-80% of cases)
• fever or chills
• muscle or joint pain
• headache
• fatigue

If you find a tick, remove it immediately. The longer a tick has to feed, the greater the opportunity to transmit disease. Use a blunt-tip, fine point pair of tweezers and try to get as close to the tick's mouth parts as possible. Then, with a steady and gentle pressure, pull the tick straight back. Do not twist, poke at, squash or burn the tick. Do not smother the tick with petroleum jelly, alcohol or any other substance. Do not use your fingers to remove the tick or crush it after removal. Dispose of the tick in a plastic bag and then in the trash outside your home. After removal of tick, apply an antiseptic to the bite spot.

Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics. See your primary care provider or veterinarian for more information.