The bacteria enter your skin through the bite and eventually make their way into your bloodstream. In most cases, to transmit Lyme disease, a deer tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours. If you find an attached tick that looks swollen, it may have fed long enough to transmit bacteria.
Removing the tick as soon as possible might prevent infection. Where you live or vacation can affect your chances of getting Lyme disease. So can your profession and the outdoor activities you enjoy.
The most common risk factors for Lyme disease include:. The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid areas where deer ticks live, especially wooded, bushy areas with long grass. You can decrease your risk of getting Lyme disease with some simple precautions:.
Use insect repellents. Parents should apply repellant to their children, avoiding their hands, eyes and mouth. Keep in mind that chemical repellents can be toxic, so follow directions carefully. Apply products with permethrin to clothing or buy pretreated clothing.
Check your clothing, yourself, your children and your pets for ticks. Be especially vigilant after spending time in wooded or grassy areas. Deer ticks are often no bigger than the head of a pin, so you might not discover them unless you search carefully.
It's helpful to shower as soon as you come indoors. Ticks often remain on your skin for hours before attaching themselves. Showering and using a washcloth might remove unattached ticks. Gregory Poland, director the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, says there was a vaccine for humans, but it was withdrawn.
It's illogical. It's the bite of an infected blacklegged tick or deer tick that's responsible for making so many people sick with Lyme disease. There are no plans at this time for a new Lyme vaccine in the U. A vaccine, VLA15, is being developed in Europe. Although no cases of Lyme disease have been linked to blood transfusion, scientists have found that the Lyme disease bacteria can live in blood from a person with an active infection that is stored for donation.
Individuals being treated for Lyme disease with an antibiotic should not donate blood. Individuals who have completed antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease may be considered as potential blood donors. The Red Cross external icon provides additional information on the most recent criteria for blood donation. Lyme disease is spread through the bite of a blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus that is infected with Borrelia burgdorferi.
In the United States, most infections occur in the following endemic areas:. Maps showing the distribution of human cases are based on where people live, which because of travel, is not necessarily where they became infected. Cases are sometimes diagnosed and reported from an area where Lyme disease is not expected, but they are almost always travel-related.
The lone star tick is primarily found in the southeastern and eastern United States. Lone star ticks do not transmit Lyme disease. However, you are correct to be concerned about this very aggressive species. The rash usually appears within seven days of tick bite and expands to a diameter of 8 centimeters 3 inches or more.
The rash should not be confused with much smaller areas of redness and discomfort that can occur commonly at tick bite sites. In contrast, Lyme disease in North America is caused by a specific type of bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi , which is transmitted by two species of blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus.
While blacklegged ticks exist in the southern U. This is misleading information. During the first few weeks of infection, such as when a patient has an erythema migrans rash, the test is expected to be negative. If you are pregnant and suspect you have contracted Lyme disease, contact your physician immediately. Untreated Lyme disease during pregnancy can lead to infection of the placenta. Spread from mother to fetus is possible but rare. Fortunately, with appropriate antibiotic treatment, there is no increased risk of adverse birth outcomes.
Lyme disease during pregnancy external icon. Infect Dis Clin North Am. Blacklegged ticks can spread germs that cause Lyme disease and several other tickborne diseases. A person who has more than one tickborne disease at a time is said to have a co-infection.
The frequency of co-infections varies widely from place-to-place and over time. The most common co-infections that occur with Lyme disease are anaplasmosis and babesiosis. In general:. Lyme disease and anaplasmosis are treated with the same antibiotic, so a person getting treatment for Lyme disease will be treated for anaplasmosis at the same time, regardless of whether additional tests were run.
Babesiosis is a parasitic disease that is treated with different medications. If your Lyme disease symptoms do not seem to be going away after taking antibiotics, see your healthcare provider.
Although some providers test patients for Bartonella or Mycoplasma co-infections, there is no evidence that these germs are spread by ticks. CDC recommends finding a board-certified infectious disease specialist, internist, or pediatrician affiliated with a university teaching hospital.
Learn more about how to select a healthcare provider. Your state health department is typically the best source of information about tickborne diseases that occur your area.
Probably not. Second, the IgM Western Blot test result is only meaningful during the first four weeks of illness. If you have been infected for longer than 4 to 6 weeks and the IgG Western Blot is still negative, it is highly likely that the IgM result is incorrect e. This does not mean that you are not ill, but it does suggest that the cause of illness is something other than the Lyme disease bacterium.
Pain levels were similar to those of post-surgical patients, and fatigue was on par with that seen in multiple sclerosis. An LDo published survey of over 3, patients with chronic Lyme disease found that patients suffer a worse quality of life than most other chronic illnesses, including congestive heart failure, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and arthritis. Similar results have been found in other studies.
Cameron, Many of the symptoms associated with Lyme disease are common in other diseases. The CDC surveillance criteria for confirmed cases specifically exclude most of the symptoms that patients report, including fatigue, sleep impairment, joint pain, muscle aches, other pain, depression, cognitive impairment, neuropathy, and headaches.
However, these common symptoms can be severe and may seriously affect quality of life. Johnson Find out more about LDo peer-reviewed published surveys. The chart below shows the severity of ten common chronic Lyme symptoms. CDC currently recommends a two-step testing process for Lyme disease. Both steps are required and can be done using the same blood sample. If this first step is negative, no further testing is recommended.
The overall result is positive only when the first test is positive or equivocal and the second test is positive or for some tests equivocal.
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