How to reduce the risks before tick season bites
DAVINA McCall turned to Twitter for advice when her son Chester suffered a reaction to an insect bite earlier this year.
She feared he may have Lyme disease but didn’t know much about the illness.
It’s caused by the borrelia bacteria and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.
Ticks are active between April and October and there are about 3000 cases of the disease in the UK each year.
If left untreated, the disease can lead to meningitis, heart failure, paralysis and chronic fatigue syndrome. It can prove fatal.
Hikers, dog walkers and campers are most at risk as ticks are mostly found in woodlands but can also be in gardens or parks.
The ticks climb on to your skin if you brush against something they are on. They then bite into the skin to feed on blood.
While pets may carry ticks, not all ticks carry the disease.
Some sufferers will notice a growing area of redness, like a dartboard bull’s-eye.
However, others develop a different rash, or none at all.
Often the symptoms of Lyme disease can be mistaken for flu, with sufferers getting a fever, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea and joint pain.
Some, most commonly children, also develop Bell’s palsy (a condition that causes facial drooping) or BY NATASHA HOLT tingling, numbness and headaches.
The bull’s-eye rash starts at the site of the bite three to 30 days after being bitten. It spreads slowly and can grow to 12in across.
If you spot a tick on your body, the best method of removal is using a specially designed hook that you can buy at a vet’s, chemist or pet store. You can also use pointed tweezers.
To removie it, wear gloves to protect yourself and slide the hook or tweezers under the tick. Secure around the mouthparts of the tick and pull firmly. Do not twist or squeeze the tick.
Diagnosis of Lyme disease is based on symptoms, signs such as a rash and the likelihood of a tick bite.
Two types of blood test are available to confirm the diagnosis but these can give a false negative.
Antibiotics work well if the disease is detected early on. The problem is many of the symptoms overlap with other diseases, such as MS, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and fibromyalgia.
To reduce your risk of being bitten, wear long clothes when in woods.
Some experts say to put insect repellent containing permethrin on your clothes, not your skin.
Check your skin and your children and pet’s skin after being outdoors.
If you think you’ve got Lyme disease, see a GP.
Symptoms of Lyme disease can be mistaken for flu