Lyme disease season
Ticking Away
It’s that time of year again.
As we head into late spring and early summer, your chance of inadvertently picking up a tick that carries the B. burgdorferi bacterium that causes Lyme disease is higher than at any other time of the year. Deer ticks are more likely to transmit the bacterium during their lymphal stage of development, which occurs right about now.
But according to a Lyme disease Hazard Information Bulletin published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), if you’re a hiker in Connecticut your risk is quite different than that of an avid gardener in Colorado.
Location, location, location
According to a map in the OSHA bulletin, folks in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana have very little chance of getting Lyme disease. At slightly greater risk are those on the west coast (where the disease is spread primarily by the western black-legged tick) and in the southeast, especially along the gulf coast. States where risk is highest include Wisconsin, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and all of New England.
Anyone who lives in a high-risk state and spends a lot of time outdoors is at higher risk, of course. And the OSHA bulletin lists these jobs that carry particular risk: construction work, landscaping, forestry, brush clearing, land surveying, farming, railroad work, oil field work, utility line work and park/wildlife management.
So if you frequently spend time outside, say, clearing brush in Texas, remember to wear long-sleeved shirts and tuck your trousers into your socks. Not a very stylish look, but a safe one. And there are several oils you can use to help repel ticks, including lavender, citronella, cedar, rose geranium, American pennyroyal, eucalyptus and tea tree oil. Commercial insect repellants that are billed as “natural” typically contain one or more of these oils.
After an extended stint outdoors, always check your body for ticks. This is a bit difficult because ticks in the lymphal stage are only as big as the head of a pin, and while they may attach anywhere on the body, they prefer hidden areas with hair, such as the armpits, groin and scalp.
If all precautions fail
The bacterium that causes Lyme disease sounds like a bio-villain in a science fiction movie: It’s a spirochete form (a spiral shape that aggressively embeds in muscles, tendons and even the heart and brain), and it’s also pleomorphic, meaning it can change shape, making it hard for the immune system to detect it.
This dastardly creature prompts symptoms – such as fever and lack of energy – that are often mistaken for the flu. Other symptoms include unusual joint and muscle pain, stiff neck, confusion, severe headaches and heart palpitations.
Antibiotics provide the standard treatment for Lyme disease. And as always when antibiotics are used, acidophilus and other probiotics are helpful in keeping the beneficial gut flora in the intestines alive. Also, because the immune system is seriously stressed by Lyme, nutrients that enhance immune system function are very important. And sugar intake should be avoided for two reasons:
- Sugar impairs the immune system
- Lyme disease spirochetes thrive on sugar
A controversial natural treatment for Lyme disease calls for injections of bee venom. Some anecdotal evidence indicates this regimen may be effective, but according to an excellent article about Lyme disease by D.J. Fletcher and Tom Klaber (available on Dr. Joseph Mercola’s web site), physicians who deviate from the established protocols for Lyme care apparently put themselves at risk for investigation by state licensing agencies.
In any case, if Lyme disease symptoms appear, immediate medical care is needed. Some Lyme patients may fight their infection for months or even years if the bacterium isn’t addressed in the early stages.
Sources:
“Lyme Disease” Hazard Information Bulletin, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, osha.gov
“Lyme Disease: The Unknown Epidemic” D.J. Fletcher and Tom Klaber, Mercola.com, 7/25/01, mercola.com
“Ticked Off” Amanda Ross, Health eTips, 8/12/04, healthiernews.com
