The tick season has arrived and the risk of contracting Lyme disease is increasing each spring here in the Northland.

Dr. Peggy Naylor contracted Lyme disease.

I had some flu like symptoms...but I figured I had the flu," Naylor said.

Naylor's wooded backyard attracts wildlife and tiny hitch hikers called the black-legged or deer tick. Peggy and her husband were both bitten by ticks and contracted Lyme disease.

Neither of us saw a tick...neither of us had a bull's eye rash," Naylor said.

When a rash does develop, it typically appears between 3 to 30 days after an infectious tick bite. Early symptoms can include fever, headache, chills, muscle and joint pain, and fatigue.

To protect yourself against Lyme disease, the first line of defense is our clothing.

Tuck your pant legs into your socks--your boots so that ticks (will) have a harder time....finding their way underneath your clothing," said Bob Hanson operations manager at Gander Mountain.

Sporting goods stores offer suits of netting to ward off ticks, including chemically-treated shirts. Repellents containing up to 30 percent DEET can be used on skin and clothing. Permethrin based products are highly effective.

"It goes on the clothing, not on the skin," said Dr. Kevin Stephan. "That will actually discourage the ticks into feeding as well.

Daily tick inspections are critical for you, your children and your pets.
If clothing, repellents and inspections fail, and you find a tick--don't panic.

"They have to be embedded and they have to be feeding for awhile in order to give you the disease," said Stephan.

When removing an embedded tick it's best not to squeeze it by its body--this could inject the infection into your bloodstream.

"The safest way to do it is to grab the mouth parts of the tick with a sharp tweezers and apply gentle traction, so that you pull the tick slowly," said Stephan. "Try not to break the head off from the body."

If a feeding tick is found Dr. Stephan prescribes a brief course of antibiotics. A single dose has been found to be 95 percent effective in preventing the transmission.

"Some doctors believe that you have to treat to many patients with tick bites to prevent cases of Lyme for it to be worthwhile," said Stephan. "With as many cases as I am seeing in my practice, it really would seem to make sense

Tick proofing your environment may also reduce the threat of tick bites. Keep grass trimmed, remove brush and set up a rock or wood shavings perimeter to discourage the creepy crawlies. Set up play areas in sunny locations, where ticks are less plentiful and remain vigilant.

After aggressive medical treatment Dr, Naylor is back to her old self, and hiking the trails near her Duluth home.

"I'm much more aware of first of all the protective clothing, and the bug spray and just having the long socks the long pants when I go into the woods," she said.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/Lyme/