Tick Bites and Lyme Disease - What You Should Know
By Dr. Hayley Hellstern, Zest Pediatrics of Fox Chapel
This time of year, I hear a lot about “limes” - but not always the kind that garnish your favorite cocktail.
Lyme disease is endemic in Pittsburgh where I practice, which means it is very common in this area. It is also found in the Zest states of Ohio and Florida.
It is caused by a bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans by deer ticks. These ticks are tiny and often go unnoticed, which is why many people with Lyme disease don’t even remember having a tick bite!
Lyme disease is categorized into several stages - Early Localized, Early Disseminated, and Late Disseminated. Common symptoms of early localized infection include a bullseye rash, headaches, flu-like symptoms, muscle or joint pains, fever, and fatigue. Later symptoms, such as multiple bullseye rashes, severe joint pain or swelling, migraines, stiff neck, fever and fatigue, and Bell’s palsy (one-sided facial paralysis), indicate a disseminated infection.
If you suspect you have Lyme disease, talk with your doctor. You may or may not need testing, depending on your symptoms. If you do need testing, it’s usually a blood test that takes a few days to come back. Treatment includes antibiotics, and the length of treatment depends on the stage of Lyme disease you have. Fortunately, antibiotic treatment is curative.
So, what do you do if you find a deer tick on yourself or your child? First, try to remove the tick with tweezers or a tick-removal tool. If the tick is flat and not engorged, that’s great - it likely didn’t transmit Lyme disease! But if it looks engorged, you should contact your physician because you might be able to take a single dose of antibiotics to avoid contracting Lyme disease. Be sure to talk with your doctor as soon as you find the tick, because Lyme prophylaxis only works if taken within 72 hours of a tick bite. Of course, using bug repellent and long sleeves/pants in the woods is a great preventive measure.
