Disease-Carrying Ticks Live Near California Beaches, New Study Shows
Expect a bad summer for ticks across the United States--but you can keep your family safe from Lyme disease and other tickborne ailments
Disease-carrying ticks aren’t just in woodlands in the Northeast, a new study shows, but also in places such as Northern Californian coastal scrubs and grasslands--and 2021 may be a major year for Lyme disease, which affects nearly half a million Americans in a typical year. While the last thing you probably want is a new disease to worry about, the good news is that a little knowledge can go a long way.
If you want the tl;dr version, know three things:
Lyme disease can be effectively treated if diagnosed early, but its similarity to chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, and other conditions often thwarts this. So know that Lyme disease can occur across the United States and has early symptoms such as a rash, fever and chills, headache, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue. Even if you take no other steps, knowing these facts about Lyme disease can help with a quicker diagnosis, and early treatment usually leads to a complete and quick recovery.
Consider using this plant-based insect repellant when spending lots of time in nature.
Other proven ways to reduce risk include bathing and/or checking your skin for ticks when you return home.
Tell me all the details.
Lyme Disease can cause debilitating symptoms for years, especially if it’s diagnosed late. (Which often happens because the symptoms overlap with many other conditions.)
Although Lyme disease is by far the most prevalent in the Northeast and Midwest, the disease is becoming more common throughout the United States as the geographic range of ticks expands. Nationwide case counts have nearly doubled in under two decades, and ticks can be found in a wide range of outdoor areas.
Experts say that 2021 could be a severe year for Lyme disease, given the effects of an unusually warm winter on both ticks and their mammalian hosts, and because people are still spending more time outdoors due to the pandemic.
There are simple steps you can take to reduce the risk of tickborne illnesses for both adults and children.
What can I do?
Depending on how common Lyme disease is where you are, and how much time you’ll be spending outdoors, here are some ways you can reduce your risk. You don’t have to do all of the below things—each of these options has been shown to significantly reduce your risk.
Experts recommend using repellants. There are now effective natural inspect repellants such as REPEL, an EPA-registered DEET-free repellant that uses 30% lemon eucalyptus oil and has been found to effectively repel ticks and mosquitoes.
If applying repellent before each outing isn’t appealing, an alternative is to pre-treat your clothes and gear with permethrin to make it repel ticks and insects.
Without using sprays, simply covering exposed skin with long pants, socks and shoes, and hats also helps.
Taking a shower or bath within two hours of returning home from natural areas reduces your risk of Lyme disease by 42%.
This one’s more arduous, but if you come home from a long outing in nature and are concerned about ticks, checking your body for ticks after coming home from a nature outing can cut the risk of Lyme disease by over half (55%). Lyme disease takes a day or longer to be transferred from a tick to host, although other tickborne diseases may be transmitted in as little as two hours—so check as soon as you can, and know that any checking is better than none.
When looking for ticks, know that young ticks are smaller and may resemble a poppy seed with legs, while adult ticks are larger and easier to see. Tick bites are usually painless and may or may not eventually result in a bulls-eye or other rash. If you’re checking yourself and don’t have a loved one to help, you can also run your hands over your body to feel for a small, hard nodule.
If you have a dog or cat, a flea and tick collar or other tick prevention device may help keep them and your family safe; check with your veterinarian.
If You Find a Tick
Know that not all ticks carry the bacteria that cause Lyme or other diseases.
Remove it as soon as possible--but not before taking a minute to review the CDC’s instructions for how to do so without squashing the tick into your body. You’ll need a pair of fine-tipped tweezers--which is no problem because of course you keep a first aid kit in your bag, vehicle, or home. Clean the area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water afterwards to get rid of any bacteria.
If you’ve found a tick on your body, check out the common symptoms of tickborne illnesses and be alert during the next month for symptoms such as a rash, fever and chills, and body aches and pains. Lyme disease and other tickborne illnesses can be easily confused with chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and even depression, which makes it hard to diagnose. But when Lyme disease is identified and treated early, antibiotics can usually help people recover quickly and completely.
Luckily, Lyme disease is not an emergency or new pandemic, and there’s no need to avoid spending time in nature, even in the hotspots in the Northeast and Midwest. The other good news is that clinical trials for Lyme disease vaccines are underway, so hopefully we’ll soon have an even easier way to stay safe. Until then, consider wearing a repellant or taking other steps that work for your family!
About Littldata: My goal is to help parents figure out their family logistics by sharing calendars, maps, lists, and spreadsheets–as well as research-backed blog posts and data graphics. This post uses Amazon Affiliate and referral links.