Lyme Disease Awareness Month: Little Tick, Big Deal

With warmer weather on its way, Maine’s ticks are coming out to play. May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month (LDAM) and the Maine CDC reminds everyone to protect themselves from tickborne diseases.

The LDAM theme this year is “Little Tick, Big Deal.” Make tick bite prevention a big deal every day by taking these steps:

  • Know when you are in tick habitat.

  • Wear light-colored clothing that covers arms and legs.

  • Use an EPA-approved repellent such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on skin. Use permethrin on clothing.

  • Check for ticks daily and after any outdoor activity. Check family members and pets too. Take a shower after being out in tick habitat to wash off any crawling ticks.

  • Remove clothes when you get home and put them in the dryer before washing. Use high heat for 10-15 minutes to kill any crawling ticks.

If You Get a Tick Bite:

Remove the tick quickly.

Use a tick spoon or fine-tipped tweezers. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove a tick.

Watch this video from U.S. CDC on how to safely remove a tick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Ny5YJh6Ws. For more information visit https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html.

Check for symptoms.

Look for symptoms for up to 30 days after a tick bite. Early symptoms include:

  • Fever and chills

  • Feeling very tired

  • Muscle or joint soreness

  • Headache

  • Bullseye rash. This is a non-itchy rash that slowly expands in size. This rash can show up anywhere on your body, not just where the tick bit you. Make sure to check all over your body.

  • For more information, check out this Fact Sheet from U.S. CDC: What to do after a tick bite

Call a health care provider.

If you see a bullseye rash or start to feel any of these symptoms, talk to a health care provider. Make sure to mention any recent tick bites or time spent in tick habitat.

For more information on tickborne diseases, visit www.maine.gov/dhhs/vectorborne.

Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with Lyme or other tick-borne disease?

The Downeast Lyme and Co-Infection Support Group, hosted by Jennifer Sala, twice monthly on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Healthy Acadia’s Inspire Recovery Community Center, 24 Church Street, Ellsworth.

A support group inspired by the unbelievably difficult struggle that is life with Lyme and other tick-borne diseases – from bacterial to viral to parasitic. Jen encourages those with a tick-borne disease diagnosis, and those who care about them, to stop in (even if your favorite person with a Lyme/co-infection diagnosis doesn’t want to come themselves). For more information call 207-412-2288.

POSTTracey Carlsontick, tick safety, deer tick, Lyme disease awareness month, lyme disease