By Dr. Del DeHart
Infectious Disease Specialist
University of Michigan Health-West
Spring is here, and with warmer weather people are outside much more, which is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, ticks feel the same way and the combination of outdoor activity and warmer weather makes tick exposure more likely. With National Lyme Disease Awareness Month approaching in May, if you plan to spend time outdoors this spring and summer, there are things you should know about ticks and the diseases they spread.
Exposure risk:
- Ticks are active from early spring to fall, and they like woodlands and grassy areas
- Ticks vary in size as they develop over the year
- While we think of exposure when we are out in the woods or grassy areas, many to most bites occur around our homes
- Ticks are moving into some areas where they were not common in years past
- Tick-borne diseases can be regional, so it is helpful to know common ticks or infections in your area
- Use tick prevention for dogs too
Tick exposures and tick bites:
- Preventing exposures is the first line of defense
- When trekking in areas of higher risk wear tight-fitting clothing and tuck pants into socks
- Check for ticks on clothing and on skin periodically
- Remove any attached ticks quickly with tweezers
- If a tick is engorged or has been attached for more than a few hours keep it for possible identification
- Most common tick-borne infections are not transmitted quickly, but towards the end of the blood meal so early removal is very helpful
- Rashes and bites may not be in an area where it will be noticed, and bites are often painless
When to seek medical advice:
- If you develop a rash or fever after a bite or exposure to high risk area
- In areas with high risk of Lyme disease and clear high-risk tick bite, prophylactic antibiotics may be prescribed
- Save the tick: If the tick can be identified it can help with identifying specific infection risk. Tick identification can be helpful, but testing the tick for pathogens is a waste of money and time
- Many commercial labs will nevertheless do this testing for lots of money
- Any given tick may carry several pathogens
- Infected ticks don’t regularly, or even commonly, transmit infections
- Be aware the tick you find may not be the one that bit you, or the only one to which you were exposed
Resources
Recent video from the New England Journal of Medicine about ticks and tick diseases:
Excellent and comprehensive information for consumers and clinicians at the CDC can by found by clicking here.
Lastly, state health departments often offer information and help as well. For example, Michigan has a
free tick identification service with links available online.
About Del DeHart, MD
Dr. Del DeHart is an infectious disease specialist with University of Michigan Health-West.
About University of Michigan Health-West
