Lyme Disease Concerns Still Present During Hudson Valley’s Fall
Fall has come to the Hudson Valley, and with it, a continued risk of tick bites and Lyme disease.
While the majority of Lyme disease cases are reported in June and July, between 2001 to 2015, there were still roughly 27,000 cases that began in September and October, many from the Northeast, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria typically transmitted by a deer tick’s bite. These ticks are often carried by deer or mice in heavily wooded or grassy areas, and the Lyme Disease Association, Inc estimates that nearly half of all ticks carry the disease. Symptoms of Lyme disease can include headache, fever, joint pain and a bullseye-shaped rash.
The popularity of hiking and other outdoor activities in the Hudson Valley put the region at a much greater risk of contracting the disease. The CDC reported that from 2000 to 2014, there were over 71,000 reported new cases of Lyme disease in New York state, nearly half of those coming from the Hudson Valley. Dutchess, Orange, Ulster and Westchester counties were four of the five counties with the highest number of new Lyme disease cases in the state.
While it may be difficult for many people to avoid the woods all together, The Lyme Disease Association, Inc. says that steps can be taken to avoid tick bites. These recommendations include:
-Walking in the middle of trails
-Wearing long pants tucked into socks and long sleeved shirts
-Wearing light-colored clothing to easily spot ticks
-Applying DEET-based insect repellents before going outdoors
-Wearing a hat and tying hair back
-Always performing a tick check immediately after outdoor activity
The longer a tick is attached, the CDC says, the higher the chances are of being infected with the disease. However, improper removal of a tick may greatly increase the risk of contracting Lyme disease or other infectious diseases. To safely remove a tick at home, specialists recommend using sterilized tweezers to pull the tick from as close to the skin as possible, then seeing a physician for possible testing. The Lyme Disease Association, Inc. warns that many popular methods of tick removal are not safe, such as squeezing the tick, covering it in peanut butter or burning it. Specialists claim that these remedies can aggravate the tick enough to inject its host with whatever diseases it may be carrying.
Following these steps will help drastically reduce your risk of contracting Lyme disease and keep you and your family healthy this fall.
