May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and due to the mild winter we had, we may be in a for a tick-infested spring and summer. With a rise in the number of ticks, there will also, most likely, be a rise in the number of Lyme Disease patients. Christine Cronkright, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, isn't sure whether the mild winter actually increased the number of ticks, or just increased the amount of time people and pets have been spending outside.
The Center for Disease Control reports that in 2010, 95% of all Lyme Disease cases were reported from 12 states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin. According to the CDC website, most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, applying pesticides and reducing tick habitat. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
There are recommended ways of removing ticks from skin, according to the Department of Health's website. "Use fine-tipped tweezers and protect your fingers with a tissue, paper towel, or latex gloves. Avoid removing ticks with your bare hands," the website reads. "Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal. After removing the tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water."
