It’s a bad tick season : NPR
CDC data indicates that this can be a bad tick season. Experts offer advice to reduce your chances of going down with Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis and other check diseases, and what to monitor.
Andrew Limbong, host:
It looks like a bad year for tick stings. CDC data show that people are looking for emergency care at the highest rates since 2019. So if you plan a hike or a trip to the park and want to avoid these blood insects, Pien Huang de NPR has some tips to help you postpone them.
Pien Huang, Byline: There are a dozen different ticks in the United States that can cause human health problems. In the northeast, mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest, the biggest problem is Lyme disease. Thomas Hart is a microbiologist of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He says that Lyme disease is transmitted by infected deer ticks.
Thomas Hart: You can really meet these ticks at any time of the year, but they will be the most active in the hotter month, and they tend to live in woody or grassy areas.
Huang: In the center and southeast of the United States, Ehrlichiosis and spotted rickettsiosis fever are the main concerns, as well as allergy induced by red meat ticks. Tick stings are less common in the West, but they also occur and can spread Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and a few other things. So, if all this itchs, Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist of the CDC, says that there are precautions that you can take.
Alison Hinckley: You can wear clothes treated with insects. We call this clothes treated with Permethrine. It’s a really easy thing to do.
Huang: Cover as much skin as possible and check yourself daily.
Hinckley: The shower when you come from outside has been really a good way to prevent diseases transmitted by ticks.
Huang: It is because the more a tick feeds on you, the higher the risk of infection. So if you find a tick, remove it right away. The best way is to use tweezers, grab it as close to the skin as possible and discover what type of tick it is and how long it feeds you. If it is a deer tick and you are in an area where Lyme disease is common, Hinckley says a doctor.
Hinckley: The only time you get an antibiotic after a tick bite and above all symptoms would be to prevent Lyme disease. And in this case, we recommend a single dose.
Huang: Otherwise, watch symptoms like fever, aches and rashes. If these arise, says Hinckley, consult medical care. You wouldn’t be alone. Some 31 million people obtain tick bites each year.
Pien Huang, NPR News.
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