Adam’s Journal
Some friends are heading to Massachusetts. They’re excited to escape the Oklahoma heat, but they’re concerned about ticks, and especially Lyme disease. How worried should they be? And what should they do to protect themselves?
Dr. Scofield Prescribes
Our awareness of Lyme disease is a relatively recent phenomenon. It was formally recognized in 1975, after a mysterious outbreak of children experiencing severe arthritis in Lyme, Connecticut. Six years later, scientists discovered the bacterium, carried by blacklegged ticks, that causes the illness.
However, like the arachnids that transmit it, it turns out the disease itself has been here much longer. Researchers have since found bacterial evidence of Lyme in a 5,300-year-old mummy.
In recent years, cases of Lyme – again, like the population of ticks – have exploded. Experts now estimate that almost a half-million Americans contract Lyme annually, all from tick bites.
The blacklegged ticks that carry Lyme have not yet been detected in Oklahoma. But they’re common in New England, and their range, which now covers well over half the country, continues to spread.
Lyme can be treated effectively with antibiotics, especially if begun soon after infection. Still, up to 20% end up with what’s known as post-treatment Lyme disease, a confounding array of long-term symptoms like fatigue, brain fog and dizziness.
Other tick-borne diseases are also on the rise. Oklahoma routinely leads the nation in Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases. And alpha-gal syndrome, an unusual allergic reaction once only seen in southern and midwestern states, including Oklahoma, has now spread to Massachusetts and the Northeast.
The surest way to prevent all of these conditions is not to get bitten by a tick.
Ticks typically live close to the ground in humid environments like forest floors or in tall grasses or weeds. When venturing into spaces like this, the best defense is to cover up. It’s even better if clothing (but not skin) is treated with an insecticide called permethrin, which you can spray onto clothes and kills ticks before they have a chance to bite. Treating all clothing, including shoes, with permethrin is especially effective, as young ticks – nymphs – live close to the ground, while mature ones usually latch onto people around knee-level.
If you opt not to cover up fully, which may be uncomfortable in summer weather, products applied directly to the skin that repel mosquitoes will also repel ticks. Use DEET or picaridin, which are approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for use as safe and effective insect repellents. Synthetic chemicals like these are most effective, while repellents branded as “natural” or “organic” generally don’t work as well.
Wear light-colored clothing, which makes it easy to spot ticks. When coming home from tick-populated areas, check all clothing and skin for ticks.
If you find one, don’t panic, even if it’s bitten you. Ticks must be attached to humans for at least a full day, and often closer to 36 hours, before transmitting Lyme disease.
Remove ticks using fine-tipped tweezers. Contact a healthcare provider if one was attached for more than 24 hours – or if you develop a rash around the bite, fever, chills or other symptoms in the weeks that follow.
Dr. Hal Scofield is a physician-scientist at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and he also serves as Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. Adam Cohen is OMRF’s senior vice president and general counsel. Send your health questions to contact@omrf.org.
