Adults ticks are present year round and can be feeding any time when temperature exceed 40 degrees. Although both genders and all ages are susceptible, Lyme disease is most common among boys aged 5-19 and adults 30 or older. If you think you may have Lyme disease,it is important to consult your health care provider .In Canada there is no specific lab test and if they do one 99% of the time come false negative. USA do have better lab test for this disease.

The prognosis for recovery is best when Lyme disease is diagnosed and treated in its earliest phase. But remember, treatment doesn’t make you immune; you can get Lyme again if another infected tick bites you.

If you or a loved one is bitten, remove the tick promptly. Here’s how:

• Grasp the tick’s mouth parts against the skin, using pointed tweezers.
• Be patient; the long mouth part is covered with barbs, so removing it can be difficult and time consuming.

Pull steadily until you can ease the tick out of the skin.

• DO NOT pull back sharply; this may tear the mouth parts from the body of the tick and leave them embedded in the skin.
• If this happens, don’t panic! Embedded mouth parts do not transmit Lyme disease.
• DO NOT squeeze or crush the body of the tick; this may force infected body fluids from the tick into the skin.
• DO NOT apply substances such as petroleum jelly, nail polish, or a lighted match to the tick while it is attached. They may agitate the tick and force more infected fluid into the skin.

Once you have removed the tick, wash the wound site and your hands with soap and water.

• Observe the bite site over the next two weeks for any signs of an expanding red rash.
• Tick attachment time is important; removing ticks within 36 hours of attachment reduces the risk of infection.
• Testing ticks for infection is possible, but not recommended on a routine basis. You should consult your physician to see if you should save; the tick after removal for further evaluation.

If you are bitten by a tick, a small red bump may appear in a few days to a week, usually at the site of the bite — often in the groin, belt area or behind the knee. This bump may feel warm and tender when touched. If this tick bite has transmitted Lyme disease the redness may expand over the next weeks and form a round or oval red rash, usually bigger than 5 centimeters in size. It may resemble the classic bull’s eye, with a red ring surrounding a clear area and a red center. More often the rash lesion is uniformly red or reddish-blue, is minimally tender and minimally itchy (much less itchy than poison ivy). This rash, called erythema migrans, is a hallmark of Lyme disease and appears in about 70-80% of infected people.

If the rash is Lyme disease, it will continue to grow over days or weeks and will not fade in a few days.

• The Lyme rash is often confused with a spider bite.
• Tick bite reactions are often confused with the rash of Lyme disease.
  – Only 2% of tick bites result in Lyme disease.
  – Tick bite reactions are small, less than 1-2” in size.
  – Surrounding redness does not expand when observed over 24-48 hrs.
  – Reaction at site of tick bite can last days, even weeks.
• Lyme rash occurs at the site of the tick bite in 80% of people with early Lyme disease.

Incubation period from tick bite to rash is 3-30 days (usually 3-10 days).

• Lyme disease rash is:
  – Round or oval, enlarges in size over days/weeks
  – Red, sometimes warm.
  – Usually greater than 2” inches in diameter, often 6-8”
  – Rarely bull’s eye, usually uniformly red
  – Often confused with spider bites

• Diagnosing Lyme Disease- Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis made by a doctor or nurse by examining the patient
  – Acute Lyme disease is not a laboratory diagnosis; a negative Lyme blood test does not exclude Lyme disease in the first few weeks of the illness.
  – 20% of people have a flu-like illness and NO rash.
  – Fever, aches, and abrupt severe fatigue can be the main symptoms of acute Lyme.
  – Lyme disease is different from respiratory “cold”.
  – A runny nose and prominent cough are NOT symptoms of Lyme disease.

If you have a tick bite, watch for an expanding red rash or lesion at the site of the tick bite or an unexplained feverish, achy, fatiguing illness within 1 to 4 weeks after the tick bite. If this doesn’t happen, you are probably among the 98% of people who don’t develop Lyme disease after a tick bite. If you are concerned about any of these findings, take a picture of the rash and contact your physician.

                                                      Symptoms of Lyme Disease

• Fever, chills, fatigue, body aches, swollen glands, and a headache may accompany the rash.
• In some cases, these may be the only symptoms of infection and there is no rash.

• In some cases, inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain (meningitis), temporary paralysis of one side of the face (“Bell’s palsy), numbness or weakness in limbs, and impaired muscle movement may occur weeks or months, after an untreated Lyme disease infection.
• Other problems can occur months to years later and include difficulty with short-term memory, migraines, dizziness, ‘brain fog’, poor sleep, lack of verbal fluency, confusion or disorientation, and decreased ability to concentrate.

Lyme has also been found to mimic several psychiatric disorders.

• Untreated, the infection may cause severe joint pain and swelling from several weeks to months after infection.
• Knees are often affected, but the pain can shift from one joint to another.

• Some people experience irregular heartbeat several weeks after infection, rarely lasting more than a few days or weeks.
• Eye inflammation, hepatitis, shooting pains, and severe fatigue are also possible.

If you are bitten by a tick and develop the rash or symptoms of Lyme disease — especially if you live or vacation where Lyme is prevalent, contact your doctor immediately. Treatment is most effective if begun early. Although only a small number of tick bites lead to Lyme disease: the longer the tick remains attached to your skin, the greater your risk of getting the disease.

Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis made by a doctor or nurse examining the patient. Early Lyme is not a laboratory diagnosis: a negative Lyme blood test doesn’t rule out Lyme in the first few weeks of the illness. Also, 20% of people have no rash, only a “flu like” illness. Fever, aches and abrupt severe fatigue can be the main symptoms of acute Lyme disease. Lyme is different from a respiratory “cold” and does not cause a runny nose or a prominent cough.

 If you have a tick bite, watch the site for signs of a growing red rash in the next 1 – 3 weeks. Small, red reactions less than 1-2” in size (the size of a dime) are common do not represent Lyme disease. These are tick-bite reactions, often confused with the rash of Lyme disease. With a tick-bite reaction, the red area does not expand over 24 to 48 hours. Small reactions at the bite site can last days to weeks.

If the rash is Lyme, it will get bigger over days or weeks and will not fade over the next few days. Only 2% of tick bites result in Lyme disease. A Lyme rash occurs at the site of the tick bite in 80% of people who have early Lyme disease. The incubation period from a tick bite to the development of a rash is 3-30 days (usually 3-10 days). The bite mark may have the distinctive bull’s-eye appearance. Often, the rash is uniformly red and usually more than 2” across – often as large as 6-8”. It is sometimes confused with a spider bite.

Thank you for reading. Keep safe.

Steve Ramsey, PhD- Public Health.   Calgary, Canada.