Tick-Borne Diseases: Protecting Yourself This Summer

Ticks can be more than an annoy­ance. They can trans­mit dis­eases that pose a risk to your health. Dr. Hala Saad, Infec­tious Dis­ease physi­cian at Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG), says ticks can be active through­out the year, but their activ­i­ty lev­els are gen­er­al­ly high­er dur­ing the warmer months. As we enter the dog days of sum­mer, Dr. Saad offers tips to keep your­self safe this summer.

Ticks are tiny arach­nids that can be found in var­i­ous envi­ron­ments, includ­ing wood­ed areas, grass­lands, and even urban parks. These crea­tures thrive in humid and warm con­di­tions, which vary depend­ing on the tick species and geo­graph­ic location.

“While ticks are dis­trib­uted world­wide, cer­tain species are more preva­lent in spe­cif­ic regions. For instance, in the Unit­ed States, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapu­laris) and the west­ern black-legged tick (Ixodes paci­fi­cus) are com­mon­ly found,” Dr. Saad shared.

Although ticks can be active through­out the year, they are gen­er­al­ly more active from spring to fall in tem­per­ate regions. How­ev­er, Dr. Saad explains that tick activ­i­ty may dif­fer based on the cli­mate. In regions with milder win­ters, ticks may remain active year-round.

It is impor­tant to note that not all ticks car­ry dis­eases, and not all tick bites result in infec­tion. Nonethe­less, it is cru­cial to exer­cise cau­tion and take pre­ven­tive mea­sures to reduce the risk.

“Ticks pose a poten­tial risk to humans and ani­mals as they feed on the blood of their hosts. Dur­ing this feed­ing process, ticks can trans­mit var­i­ous dis­eases,” Dr. Saad explained.

Dr Saad says the most well-known tick-borne ill­ness is Lyme dis­ease, caused by the bac­teri­um Bor­re­lia burgdor­feri, which is pri­mar­i­ly trans­mit­ted by black-legged ticks. Oth­er tick-borne dis­eases include Anaplas­mo­sis, Babesio­sis, Rocky Moun­tain spot­ted fever, Ehrli­chio­sis, Tularemia, Powas­san virus dis­ease, Col­orado tick fever, Tick-borne relaps­ing fever, and Q fever (caused by the bac­teri­um Cox­iel­la burnetii).

If you find a tick attached to your body, it’s essen­tial to remove it prompt­ly. Dr. Saad says you should fol­low these steps to safe­ly remove a tick:

1. Use fine-tipped tweez­ers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s sur­face as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pres­sure, avoid­ing twist­ing or jerk­ing, as this can cause the tick’s mouth­parts to break off and remain in the skin.
3. After remov­ing the tick, clean the bite area and your hands with rub­bing alco­hol or soap and water.
4. It is advis­able to save the tick in a sealed con­tain­er or plas­tic bag in case you need to iden­ti­fy it lat­er or con­sult a health­care pro­fes­sion­al if you devel­op symptoms.
5. Mon­i­tor the bite area for any signs of infec­tion or unusu­al symp­toms. Seek med­ical atten­tion prompt­ly if you expe­ri­ence a rash, fever, headache, mus­cle aches, or any oth­er con­cern­ing symp­toms fol­low­ing a tick bite.

In this sea­son, Dr. Saad says it’s impor­tant to take pre­cau­tions. To reduce your risk of tick-borne infec­tions, she offers the fol­low­ing tips:

• Avoid tick-infest­ed areas when­ev­er pos­si­ble, espe­cial­ly tall grass­es, dense­ly wood­ed areas, and brushy areas.
• When ven­tur­ing into tick-prone areas, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and closed-toe shoes. Tuck your pants into your socks or boots and choose light-col­ored cloth­ing to help spot ticks more easily.
• Apply insect repel­lent con­tain­ing at least 20% DEET (N,N‑diethyl-meta-toluamide) to exposed skin. Alter­na­tive­ly, you can use picaridin or oth­er EPA-approved repellents.
• Con­duct reg­u­lar tick checks on your­self, your fam­i­ly, and your pets after spend­ing time out­doors. Pay close atten­tion to areas such as the scalp, behind the ears, armpits, groin, and the back of the knees.
• Con­sid­er treat­ing your cloth­ing and gear with prod­ucts con­tain­ing per­me­thrin, which can help repel ticks.
• Cre­ate a tick-free zone around your home by main­tain­ing well-groomed lawns, clear­ing leaf lit­ter, and min­i­miz­ing tick habitats.

By fol­low­ing these pre­ven­tive mea­sures, you can enjoy the sum­mer sea­son while pro­tect­ing your­self and your loved ones from tick-borne dis­eases. Dr. Saad said with any ques­tions or con­cerns, you should seek the advice of your pri­ma­ry care provider. To learn more about Infec­tious Dis­ease ser­vices, vis­it https://​quin​cymed​group​.com/med….