Reader-submitted: Dear TLS. Thanks for keeping us up to date with the fall leaf pickup schedule. I’m writing because with the leaf season upon us, it’s really important for parents to warn kids to AVOID PLAYING IN THE LEAVES.
Many of us think you only need to be vigilant in the summer when kids are out and playing and maybe wearing shorts or short sleeves. But a kid joyously diving into a leaf mound can pick up a tick that remains on their clothes, eventually finding its way to their skin, or scalp where Lyme’s transmission can occur. As someone whose family has been severely effected by Lyme’s disease I would never want to see this happen to anyone.
It’s important to know that tick bites, even those that lead to Lyme contraction, are not always accompanied by the large identifiable “ring rash” we are familiar with (see image). The bite can go unnoticed, and Lyme’s can go undiagnosed for longer periods of time leading to a more severe health issues.
Apart from this vigilance, it is important to know how to remove a tick. By simply pulling it, you may actually cause additional immediate pain, infection and subsequent pain as well.
One of the best ways to remove a tick if found on the skin is to twist it in a circle while pulling it backwards. The ticks “stinger” has barbed hooks that prevent it from being easily pulled directly backwards. But they don’t prevent it from being pulled to the side. By turning it and pulling at the same time you avoid pulling directly against the barbs that are holding the stinger in the skin.
There are many different special tweezer tools and other tick removal gadgets out there that are not expensive and worth having in the medicine cabinet. All of them operate on the same principle, that simply tugging a tick out is not the best way to remove it. You have to pull it in a way which does not go against the ticks own attack mechanisms.
In the words of one of our local physicians, Lyme’s is a quiet epidemic in Lakewood. Hopefully a little noise on the topic will help reduce the infestations.
(TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected])
Hi i,have a family member who is greatly effected by Lyme..i would love to know the name of the doctor that has some knowledge in town..to my understanding and experience all frum doctor’s in town are uneducated in this area and kids are being greatly ignored for to long causing undiagnosed. Lyme to linger..would you be kind enough to share the name..thank you
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.(usually on deer tics) Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks. Laboratory testing is helpful if used correctly and performed with validated methods. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, applying pesticides, and reducing tick habitat. The ticks that transmit Lyme disease can occasionally transmit other tickborne diseases as well.
Other common ticks to this area are the lone star tick and dog ticks that may cause a rash similar to that of a deer tick. It is advisable to have a tick removed and examined by a health care professional that can recognize the differences between the various types of ticks.
PA Nissim Menashy
Lakewood Immediate Care