Lyme Disease
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Lyme Disease is a tick-born bacterial infection that can be transmitted to humans and pets by infected ticks. Much of Chester County is rural and suburban, making it a prime habitat for deer ticks which can carry the Lyme disease bacteria.
In 2009, Pennsylvania reported 4,950 confirmed cases of Lyme disease - an increase from 2008 when 3,818 cases were reported.
Chester County had 828 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2009. |
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Statistics
Protection
Precautions should be taken in high risk area such as damp, grassy, or wooded regions or when outside for an extended period of time while doing yard work, gardening, hiking, etc.
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Wear clothing that covers the skin and tuck loose pants into socks.
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Wear light colored clothing because ticks are easier to spot and brush off.
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Walk in the center of trails to avoid contact with overgrown grass and brush.
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Use a high-heat dryer for one hour after washing clothes. This will kill most ticks that might have been attached to clothing.
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Keep grass mowed and trees trimmed.
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Remove brush or leaf piles accumulated around stone walls or wood piles.
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Create a woodchip or mulch barrier between woodlands and your yard. Place swing sets and other play equipment in mulched areas away from surrounding woodland edges.
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Most importantly, check yourself, your family, and your pets frequently for ticks.
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Preventing Lyme disease can also be a community effort: The '4 Poster' Deer Treatment Bait Station is designed to kills ticks that feed on white-tailed deer. This method has shown up to a 98% effectiveness rate on eliminating blacklegged ticks. (American Lyme Disease Foundation).
Tick Removal
To remove ticks safely, use clean, fine point tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull straight out.
{Proper Tick Removal}
Remove a tick from your skin as soon as you notice it. Use fine-tipped tweezers to firmly grasp the tick very close to your skin. With a steady motion, pull the tick’s body away from your skin. Then clean your skin with soap and warm water. Throw the dead tick away with your household trash.
Avoid crushing the tick’s body. Do not be alarmed if the tick’s mouthparts remain in the skin. Once the mouthparts are removed from the rest of the tick, it can no longer transmit the Lyme disease bacteria. If you accidentally crush the tick, clean your skin with soap and warm water or alcohol.
Don’t use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove a tick.
Preserve the tick if possible in case symptoms start to occur.The blacklegged tick, or deer tick, is the only tick known to carry and transmit Lyme disease to humans. Compare ticks common to our area .
Lyme disease is known as the "great imitator" because symptoms often mimic other ailments. Symptoms that occur within the first few weeks of a tick bite include:
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Fever
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Headache
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Muscle and joint ache
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Swollen lymph nodes
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Fatigue
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Chills
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If Lyme disease goes unnoticed, late stage symptoms can start to occur after a few months. They include, but are not limited to:
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