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Preventing Tick Bites and Lyme Disease

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There are only a few tick species that can give people diseases, but the rising popularity of outdoor activities and the rampant increase in residential developments have made the odds of tick bites higher than ever.

“Luckily, ticks don’t fly, jump or fall from the sky,” says Stephen Wikel, disease expert and professor emeritus of Medical Sciences at Quinnipiac University’s Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine. “They generally move from grass to a living host, and crawl upwards, looking for a warm, moist area to feed. Ticks also have incredible anti-detection defenses. For example, their saliva is loaded with antihistamines, anticoagulants and other inhibitors that prevent wound healing, and dampen pain and itch responses; unfed nymphs are so small, they can be mistaken for freckles.”

The correct way to remove a tick is by gently lifting it off the skin using forceps or tweezers.

Attempting to burn ticks off using matches or cigarettes will only cause them to spread bacteria even more. If the tick is alive, it can be brought to a local health clinic for identification. Persons bitten by a tick who start showing symptoms should be immediately brought to a doctor.

Symptoms of tick-borne diseases are different for each person. Wikel says that these symptoms may range from mild to severe, including fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches and rashes. One of the most common diseases that occurs from tick bites is Lyme disease; people who get this may also experience joint pain.

“Many people think a sign of Lyme disease is a bull’s-eye rash, but rashes don’t always occur,” said Wikel. If untreated, Lyme disease can affect the joints, heart and nervous system. Detecting Lyme disease early allows it to be cured with antibiotics, which Wikel says is actually the case for most tick-borne diseases.

Lyme disease is quite difficult to diagnose, as only 40% of people get a rash after a tick bite.

Available lab tests might also give false positives. However, a study published in the Journal of Translational Medicine has reportedly shown some success in detecting Lyme disease early on using a urine test.

Developed by graduate student Temple Douglas, this Lyme disease test is able to detect trace amounts of Lyme bacteria in the body through a urine sample, making it more effective than current tests. “I was aware of the issues with the Lyme disease test because of people in my family. Two people in my family at that time had Lyme disease,” Douglas told CBS News.

The test is still experimental and the findings are preliminary, not ready for use by doctors and patients. But the researchers are hopeful that this new test will be able to provide a viable detection for Lyme disease in the future, before the symptoms manifest.

“We believe it’s a game changer,” says Lance Liotta, Co-Director and Medical Director of the George Mason Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine. “The goal is to treat this bacteria really early, right after the tick bite, and it can be completely cured with antibiotics.”

In the meantime, those who spend a lot of time outdoors or have large yards can do plenty to avoid getting bitten by ticks: apply topical insect repellent, protect ankles by tucking pants into boots or wrapping duct tape where the pants and socks meet (sticky side out), conduct tick checks and immediately remove any that have stuck, check pets for ticks and put flea collars on them, keep lawns and shrubbery trimmed and remove piles of material where rodents might hide. When hiking or camping, dress properly and use items that are insect repellent and stay on the trails.

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