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(U.S. CDC/FDA Release) — Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease are on the rise. Reported cases in the United States increased from about 12,000 annually in 1995 to approximately 36,000 per year from 2013 – 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As reported cases are only a fraction of actual cases, CDC believes the true number of infections is likely closer to 300,000.

Who Gets Lyme Disease, and at What Time of Year?

Lyme disease is transmitted via the bite of infected ticks, which attach to any part of the body, but often to moist or hairy areas such as the groin, armpits, and scalp.

While everyone is susceptible to tick bites, campers, hikers, and people who work in gardens and other leafy outdoor venues are at the greatest risk of tick bites. As many a suburban gardener can attest, with the expansion of the suburbs and a push to conserve wooded areas, deer and mice populations are thriving, too, providing ample blood meals for ticks. For lyme disease to be transmitted, a tick needs to feed on the host for 24-48 hours.

In the majority of cases, tick bites are reported in the summer months when ticks are most active and people spend more time outdoors. But this can extend into the warmer months of early autumn, too, or even late winter if temperatures are unusually high. Similarly, a mild winter can allow ticks, much like other insects, to thrive and emerge earlier than usual.

Lyme Disease: Symptoms and Stages

Symptoms of early-stage Lyme disease include:

• muscle and joint aches
• headache
• fever
• chills
• fatigue
• swollen lymph nodes

Another common symptom of Lyme disease is a rash. As many as 80% of infected people may develop a rash, and roughly 20% of the time the rash has a characteristic “bull’s-eye” appearance.

When left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

Later-stage symptoms may not appear until weeks or months after a tick bite occurs. They include:

• heart-rhythm irregularities
• arthritis (usually as pain and swelling in large joints, especially the knee)
• nervous system abnormalities

Permanent damage to the joints or the nervous system can develop in patients with late Lyme disease. It is rarely, if ever, fatal.

How to Safely Remove a Tick

1. Using fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. Your goal is to remove the entire tick, ideally in one piece, including the mouth parts embedded under the skin.
3. Thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
   
   For mor information about tick bites and or the diseases they can carry, go to our link to the U.S. FDA. CLICK HERE: