It’s summertime, when we enjoy outdoor activities like gardening, picnicking, walking in the woods and playing.
It’s also the season when ticks are most active. They live in leaf and garden litter, on tips of grass, and on the edge of woodland areas — and they’re just waiting for you to pass by.
Ticks don’t fly, jump or drop from trees. They don’t bite, and you won’t hear or feel them. You might consider them opportunists.
Ticks grasp passing humans or animals and crawl up the skin. Once they find a hospitable spot, they attach and feed over several days. Their “attachments,” commonly called bites, can infect you or your pets with Lyme disease and other serious illnesses.
“Lyme disease is a significant infectious disease that has become much more common lately with the encroachment of human development on natural areas,” according to the Lyme Disease Association, Inc. It is spread by deer ticks, also referred to as blacklegged ticks (scientific name is Ixodes scapularis or pacificus), that are infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.
About 75 percent of Lyme disease cases come from ticks that are picked up during activities around the home. The incidence of Lyme disease in the United States is highest the Mid-Atlantic states and also occurs in temperate forested regions in Europe and Asia. About 23,000 cases were reported in the United States in 2005; about 60,000 in Europe.
Early symptoms may include a bull’s-eye rash, fever, headache and fatigue. People of all ages can be infected. At higher risk are children ages 5 to 13, pregnant women and babies. Even celebrities, including actor Richard Gere, author Amy Tan and former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman, have developed Lyme disease.
With no vaccine on today’s market to prevent the disease, experts suggest you can avoid becoming infected by simply being vigilant. According to Kirby C. Stafford III, chief scientist, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, “Checking for ticks and prompt removal of attached ticks is probably the most important and effective method of preventing infection.”
If you find a tick on your skin, remove it promptly and safely. If you find a tick bite and develop signs of tick-borne illness, seek a medical evaluation quickly.
Remove ticks safely by using disinfected, fine-tipped tweezers and:
1. Firmly grasp the tick very close to the skin,
2. Pull the tick’s body away from the skin with a steady motion,
3. Clean the skin with soap and water, alcohol or other skin disinfectant.
Avoid crushing the tick’s body. If you accidentally crush it, clean your skin with soap and water or alcohol. Petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish and other products are not effective in removing ticks.
Note the site and date of the bite, and save the tick in a sealable plastic bag or crush-proof container (not a black film container or tape) for reference and testing if necessary. And, of course, watch for signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and any secondary infection. Seek medical treatment from a provider who is knowledgeable about the disease. The sooner treatment is begun, the higher the success rate.
For further information, contact Environmental Health and Radiation Safety at 215-707-2520. If you have other health and safety questions, suggestions or concerns e-mail the Health & Safety Committee at safetyawareness@temple.edu.