Ticks are out in force. In the past week I have spoken to friends and clients who were recently bitten. I teach about prevention often, because it is so important to minimize tick bites. Based on some of the questions, I am sharing about some of the basics of how people and pets get infected with tick borne illnesses and prevention. With Lyme disease information is power, we have to share and help each other.
Minimize Tick Bites Prevention is Key
I use a 3 tiered approach minimize contact, repel and limit access, and find and eliminate. Here is a guide with an overview and a page with the details. This sounds easy, but ticks range in size from smaller than a pin heat to that of an eraser head as shown in this diagram from the Center for Disease Control and can be easily missed, so consistent inspection is important.
Ticks are around all year long, but the worst times are spring and late summer due to their need to feed for reproducing and growth transition. Ticks come into our environment on vector animals like deer, mice, chippers moles, voles and even birds. They are in the country suburbs and cities.
If you find a tick on your clothing or gear. Don’t panic, dispose of it properly.
Tick Disposal
Do not crush the tick with your fingers or put it in the trash. Ticks are hard to kill and they can crawl out of the trash. Instead. The CDC recommends flushing it down the toilet for disposal. If the tick bit you or your pet, I suggest putting in a sealed plastic bag or pill bottle for testing.
Oh No A Tick Bite
When do you get infected from a Tick Bite? Information on the web is all over the place from upon bite to 3 days. I believe that Infection can occur any time after the tick attaches if the tick is carrying pathogenic organisms. When the tick attaches it breaks your skin and injects you with anticoagulants that prevent your blood from clotting. This is so the tick can feed. When the bite breaks the skin it opens a pathway in for infectious pathogens. The longer this pathway is open the more likely any infectious agents the tick contains will be shared with you.
Removing the tick promptly and correctly is really important. If you don’t know how or can’t reach the tick. Call your doctor and get in for some help the day you find the tick to remove it.
Save the tick and send it out for testing if you have any questions. Massachusetts provides a list of labs that test ticks . Find a testing lab near you with a quick web search. Remember just because the tick has a specific pathogen like Bartonella it doesn’t mean you are infected. It just gives you information to look out for.
Check in with your health care team and get in front of a doctor pronto, you have flue like symptoms or see a bulls eye rash after outdoor activity.
I Got Bit Last Year And Treated, So No Big Deal right?
Wrong! Multiple Bites can lead to multiple infections. Ticks bites can infect you with Lyme disease more than once. It is not like the measles or the chicken pox where you are one and done. Whether our bodies develop any adaptive immunity for this infection is up for discussion.
In my case I believe I got infected once had low annoying symptoms that I ignored and got no treatment for. When I got bitten a second time the level of infection was more than my body could handle. I started to show serious symptoms. Then hormonal fluctuation of menopause came along, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I was sick at a level I couldn’t ignore or blame on age or excess weight.
Different doctors believe different models to explain ongoing symptoms from Lyme disease after treatment. Many say symptoms continue because of reinfection rather than chronicity. In any case there are multiple strains of Lyme disease and different ticks carry different co-infections, so reinfection with the same strain or a different strain, is real and a serious issue. So just because you were bitten, treated once, you are not immune and you still have to take care.
Pay attention this spring, minimize tick bites in an active way to help protect yourself from Lyme and other tick borne illness.
The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.