Keeping Up With Lyme Disease

Keeping up with Lyme Disease while living in CT, we are familiar with the more common symptoms of Lyme Disease. Fatigue, headaches, joint pain, muscle aches and the signature bulls-eye rash usually near the tick bite. You probably also know that a few weeks of antibiotics will usually cure the disease. Although that’s good news for most Lyme victims, it’s not true for everyone.

Lyme Disease can often go undiagnosed. Its symptoms mimic other bacterial diseases and even viral ones like the flu. We are fortunate in CT that our primary care physicians are familiar with Lyme Disease and have experience in treating Lyme patients. You should write down any symptoms you experience and the date they first occurred. This information will be important to your physician in determining whether you have Lyme Disease.

When Lyme Disease goes undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed, symptoms often become more severe. Bell’s palsy, memory loss and chronic joint pain are just a few of the later symptoms for chronic Lyme Disease that can last for years. Only 70% of Lyme Disease patients will ever see a bulls-eye rash. If you don’t find a tick buried in your skin and don’t have a bulls-eye rash, your physician will be able to perform tests to rule out tick-borne infections. However, your treatment is likely to be delayed until an infection is confirmed. Ticks transmit several other illnesses besides Lyme Disease and the accuracy of blood tests are not 100%. The best way to avoid misdiagnosis and the disease itself is to avoid tick bites as much as possible.

Following good practices like performing regular tick checks each day as you return indoors is important. Showering within an hour of returning inside is important in remaining Lyme-free. You can wash off any unattached ticks you missed while inspecting yourself. As fall approaches, ticks are growing into their nymph stage. Ticks at this stage in their life cycle are as small as a poppy-seed and very difficult to see. At this time in their development, ticks are more likely to be infected with Lyme Disease than in any previous stage of development.

Along with reducing places where ticks enjoy hiding in your yard, you should consider a proven and effective barrier treatment, like the one applied by Sub:BusinessName}. Our traditional barrier treatment will eliminate 80-90% of the ticks in your yard. Reducing the tick population in your yard means reducing your exposure to the diseases these pests carry more and more over time. Contact Mosquito Squad of Northern Westchester, Putnam & Dutchess County today to learn more about reducing the risks of tick-borne illness on your property this season.