Photograph: Ervic Aquino

Ticks and Lyme Disease

What’s the connection?

What do I need to know?

Committed to making Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to curebayarealyme.org

What is a Tick?

• Ticks are not insects, they are arachnids (Spiders are also arachnids).

• Ticks are external parasites that live off of the blood of other animals – mostly small mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 2

The lifecycle of a tick is 2 years long!

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 3

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection that can be contracted through a tick bite.

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 4

Visual sign of Lyme Disease:

This rash may be confused with allergic reactions to tick bites. (However, allergic reactions occur within 24 hours of the bite and they do not spread)

*The rash does not appear on everyone who has been exposed to Lyme disease—it’s only 43-70% of cases.

Bull’s-eye rash

• Expanding rash (bull’s-eye) 3-30 days following tick bite*

• Round, oval, triangular, irregular shaped rash

• Rash is not normally itchy or painful

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 5

Other signs of Lyme disease: •Within days of exposure:

• Flu-like symptoms - fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pain, headache, swollen lymph nodes

•Within weeks to months of exposure:

• Musculo-skeletal: arthritis in one or more joints

• Nervous system problems: Bell’s Palsy, numbness, tingling, or pain in the arms and legs

• Heart problems (<10%): disturbances in the heart rhythm•Within months to years of exposure:

• Musculo-skeletal: severe joint pain & swelling (60% of patients)

• Neurologic complaints: shooting pains, numbness, tingling, problems with short-term memory

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 6

How common is Lyme disease?Reported Cases of Lyme Disease by Year, United States, 1995-2013

http://www.bayarealyme.org/our-research/ecology-lyme-disease/

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 7

Number of CDC-Reported Cases CDC-Estimated Total Diagnosed Cases

How common is Lyme disease in California?

Eisen et al. 2006 Am J Trop Med Hyg© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 8

How to avoid Lyme disease…

• Check for ticks every day • Ticks can be very small-- so feel for bumps (especially on the

scalp)• Ticks like certain parts of the body: groin, armpits, around the

waistband, backs of knees, naval, neck and ears (be sure to check those areas)

• When hiking, walk in the middle of the trail• Avoid bushes, grasses, leaf piles, logs and tree trunks• Wear light-colored clothing covering ankles and wrists• Ticks crawl UP, so tuck pants into socks• Consider treating clothing with insect repellent• If you find a tick on you, stay calm and find an adult!

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 9

Our Hero: The Western Fence Lizard!

There are proteins in the blood of this lizard that kill the Borrelia burgdoferi bacteria! The proteins in the blood of the lizard are like a neutralizing agent and the bacteria is unable to survive

This means that this lizard could help stop the spread of Lyme disease!

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 10

What to do if you get bitten:

• Find an adult immediately to help you!• Using fine point/needle nose tweezers, grasp the

tick as close to the skin as possible (do NOT use wide/square ended tweezers).

• Gently pull the tick straight out, using a firm steady motion.

• Wash your hands and the bite site with soap and water. Apply an antiseptic to the bite site.

• Prompt tick removal can prevent transmission of infection.

• DON’T USE matches/lighters etc.

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/121-a120/

© 2015 Bay Area Lyme Foundation 11