Simple Tips To Prevent Lyme Disease. Yesterday a patient contacted me frantically while vacationing in the state of Maine worried because she had just found a tick on her back. She had been told by another physician, “I’d rather treat cancer than chronic lyme disease,” and was quite worried. I reassured her that prophylactic treatment with antibiotics would treat any potential infection that she was exposed to through the tick bite and I called in a prescription for her.
You may think that was overkill, but every month in my practice I see patients who had a tick bite years ago and continue to suffer from inflammatory reactions, immune dysfunction, and even neurologic sequelae from a long-ago tick that was carrying Borrellia Burgdorferi (vector that causes lyme disease) or other co-infections… Due to urban spread into previously undisturbed habitats for deer and mice, lyme disease is becoming epidemic in certain counties in the United States and spreading to new locations nearby. Lyme disease is transmitted through the bites of blacklegged deer ticks that carry the B. burgdorferi bacteria. Acute symptoms include fatigue, fever, flu-like symptoms, and sometimes a bullseye-shaped rash centered on the bite. However, many people never notice or experience the classic rash. Researchers for the CDC wrote, “Over time, the number of counties identified as having high incidence of Lyme disease in the northeastern states increased more than 320 percent.” The risk is expanding in all directions in areas that are known to be hot spots for ticks – the Northwest, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and parts of California. About 20,000 to 30,000 cases are reported in the US every year, but experts say that the actual number could be 10 times greater. To read the CDC full report, click here.
Prevention is your best course of action as I explained to the patient who contacted me. Second best is to go ahead and treat a known tick bite exposure in a highly endemic area with antibiotics (30% of patients who have lyme never recall having a rash). Because it is July and prime tick season in many states, I wanted to write about the best tips to prevent tick exposure and bites in the first place.
Here’s a list of my Tips To Prevent Lyme Disease:
- Wear protective clothing: Pretreat clothing, boots, socks and camping equipment with bug repellant, such as 20-30% DEET or the preferred less toxic 20% picaridin or 30% oil of lemon eucalyptus. A recent Consumer Report showed these natural repellants worked better than DEET, which is neurotoxic.
- Walk in the center of trails and avoid heavily wooded areas: This includes areas with high grasses or leaf litter. The little buggers like to jump from the brush/grass to your ankles. Some advise avoiding white or bright socks that may attract them and even tucking socks into the pants so no skin is left exposed. A wide brimmed hat is also wise as they can jump from nearby leaves or trees to your scalp.
- Bathe or shower within a few hours of camping or hiking: This makes it easier find ticks on your skin. Have a friend or family member do a “tick check” examining your back and scalp and other areas that you might not be able to see well. Don’t forget to check your pets as well. Washing and drying clothes on high for 30min should kill any ticks that attached to your clothing.
- Check your dogs: many people don’t realize that their beloved pet (and horses, too) can carry ticks which transmit lyme disease. Be sure to check your pets after hiking or camping in wooded areas and remove any ticks that you see promptly.
Try my favorite DEET-free bug spray
If you DO notice a tick on your skin, remove it promptly and properly. Here are some tips from UpToDate:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO REMOVE A TICK
The proper way to remove a tick is to use a set of fine tweezers and grip the tick as close to the skin as is possible. Do not use a smoldering match or cigarette, nail polish, petroleum jelly (eg, Vaseline), liquid soap, or kerosene because they may irritate the tick and cause it to behave like a syringe, injecting bodily fluids into the wound.
The proper technique for tick removal includes the following:
- Use fine tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible.
- Pull backwards gently but firmly, using an even, steady pressure. Do not jerk or twist.
- Do not squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick, since its bodily fluids may contain infection-causing organisms.
- After removing the tick, wash the skin and hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- If any mouth parts of the tick remain in the skin, these should be left alone; they will be expelled on their own. Attempts to remove these parts may result in significant skin trauma.
More Resources
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EWG’s Guide to Bug Repellants
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Insect Repellents: Use and Effectiveness
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CDC Guide for Preventing Tick Bites on Humans
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! So many doctors refuse prophylactic antibiotics and patients wind up sick for years. I am one of those patients. I went to my doctor years ago with Bell’s Palsy and no feeling on my left side. I went to a hospital but was given no medication. I remained sick off and on for seven years and have permanent neuropathy in my left foot. I was told there was nothing wrong with me, to go home and get pregnant, and that I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Even when I did find a doctor who believed I had Lyme, he made me wait for the test results to come back before prescribing me antibiotics. Long story short, prophylactic antibiotics would have been worlds better than the six weeks of Probenicid and Doxyclycline I took and the four weeks of IV Rocephin I took after that. It is nice know some doctors really do understand Lyme Disease and hear their patients.
Dear dr Jill I have just finished reading your article on MTHFR gene mutation and was diagnosed with MTHFR Mutation :C665t Heterzygous .i have symptoms like 1)weight loss 2) generalized and localized puritis 3 ) low WBC 4)on rt side of my abdomen dark discoloration very forgetful and groggy heavy feeling on top of my head5) any time I took supplements I don’t feel good it’s hard to explain 6) heart rate in 48 7)lack of energy just tired 8) sad not motivated to do anything. 9)low blood sugar and other things can’t remember all.
I had been doing research for my daughter who has multiple problems where Homocysteine level was elevated she is the one with Pituitary Adenoma depression AMD a lot of other things, this is how I came across your blog I went to several dr and specialist one of which was my Oncologist forgot to tell I had Radiation for 1stage breast concer over 9 yrs.
to cut a long story short I asked him to test me for the MTHFR which I mention earlier is pos he also tested me for Lyme disease and that is also pos.
Now here is a big problem for me , he did start me on Docycline 100 mg bd for supposedly 1 mth but 1 1/2 wk into taking it I started to experience subtle nausea and shortness of breath he said I should stop it for a day and a half and start with just100 mgs daily which I did I then started to experience a few episode of burning on micturation more shortness of breath worst memory problems depression bilateral ankle and on top of both feet pitting odema and black and blue marks one on top of my rt calf and other on rt thigh..
D/C it right now going about 1 1/2 wks ago .
No further swelling in ankle or on top feet black and blue marks totally gone, depression foggy brain and breathless still in place.
BIG QUESTION WHAT DO I Do?
No one seems to know any thing about MTHFR and I reacted to the antibiotic in a bad way.
CAN YOU GIVE SOME SuGGESTION.
Thank you Rosemarie
Hi Rosemarie,
It is quite likely your reaction to the antibiotic had nothing to do with your MTHFR mutation. Many people live long healthy lives with this mutation and it is not a medical condition, just an underlying predisposition to process folate less than optimally. There are patients who find out they have MTHFR and focus exclusively on this as the root of their problems and most of the time it is not. I suggest finding a good functional medicine doctor near you to evaluate for gut dysbiosis, toxic exposure, autoimmunity and other inflammatory processes and fix these before focusing on the MTHFR SNP. One simple way to start is a comprehensive elimination diet, like this one, getting rid of all sugar and processed foods.
warmly
Dr Jill
Hi. I suggest to not use tweezers as the tick may regurgitate and bring disease to the individual with a bite. Much better to you a tick lasso and remove the tick by lifting it off the skin. When you squeeze on the tick, you are more prone to disease, so you run a greater risk of infection using tweezers.
I have had Lyme Disease six separate times. There have been 13 cases of Lyme Disease in my home. Half of them were me. One was my oldest daughter and the rest were my dogs. My daughter had it for 2 years before I figured out why her leg kept swelling up for a few days, every 4-6 months. She has had no symptoms for over 3 years. The most recent case was our 3 year old Maltese/Shi Tzu Maggie, who presented with the symptoms in late April 2016, 3 weeks after I found a bloated tick above her eye the morning after a walk in the forest where we live. The last time I had it was during the summer 2015. I felt that my immune system was dealing with it, because it’s seen this before. I studied it inside my body for two weeks and then decided that I learned enough. My immune system needed a booster, so I took what I always take for Lyme. Every time a person or pet in my home gets Lyme Disease, we take a homeopathic remedy for the symptoms of Lyme Disease and we have fully recovered. It hasn’t been a big deal for us, honestly. If you have questions, I’d be happy to talk about our experiences with Lyme. Email: [email protected]
Hey Jill,
What are your thoughts on mosquito/tick repellent for dogs? They are supposedly safe and effective, but Im always leery of that.
Thanks!
Stacy
Hi Stacy
I like the natural eucalyptus lemon based repellants for animals, too
warmly
Dr Jill
I highly recommend investing in some pre-treated clothes — socks, pants, shirt, kerchief, hat — with permethrin. Clothes are good for 100 washes. Or they can treat your own clothes. Company is InsectSheild. (No financial interest).
This way every square millimeter of clothing is covered and will kill ticks and mosquitos on contact. And the clothes are ready and waiting so you won’t make the mistake of “oh, I’m too much in a hurry this one time to treat my clothes and skin”.
It’s a very small price to pay to prevent tick borne and mosquito borne illnesses.
Hi Dr Jill, thank you for your info, what are your thoughts on using Diatomaceous Earth to dry up a tick and have it die/fall out that way?
I have not heard of this method but it may be effective….
Ok thanks!