Lyme disease can cause physical issues such as nerve pain, nausea, cardiac problems, constipation, frequent urination, and seizures.
Staying informed about protecting yourself from Lyme disease is important, as the risks to your health are too. Make sure you know where you are the most at risk to be bitten by a tick and how to prevent it, especially as the weather begins to warm up.
Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed as a case of “summer flu.” This year, there's a good chance it will be misdiagnosed as a mild case of COVID-19. And without widespread COVID testing, that assumption will stick.
This means that a case of Lyme may very well go untreated in its early stages, the time antibiotics are most effective. Click the link in bio to learn more about how to protect yourself from a misdiagnosed case of Lyme disease this season.
Anytime you’re outside enjoying the summer months, do a quick tick check before you come indoors and if you find a tick on your body - you can send it off a lab to be tested. We also recommend using a repellent for further prevention. Make sure to always check your pets after being outside, even if it’s just in a yard! Also, make sure to always give them flea/ tick medicine.
Despite your preventative measures, you were bitten by a tick. So, what do you do? How do you remove it?
Step 1. Do not panic! Easier said than done but panicking at the moment can lead to an error that could be vital to your health and treatment.
Step 2. Removal. Use pointed tweezers to grab the tick as close to its mouth as you can (the insertion site to the skin.) Slowly pull the tick straight out until his mouth is released from your skin. Avoid pushing on the body of the tick, this could push bacteria into your body.
Step 3. Keep the tick. This is so important, keeping the tick is incredibly helpful when assessing your risk for tick-borne diseases. Save the tick in a plastic bag and record the location and date of the bite.
Step 4. After removing the tick, check to be sure you got it all. If there are fragments of the tick still in your skin, leave it alone. It will come out on its own and picking could further irritate the skin.
Step 5. Wash area with soap and water.
Step 6. Call our doctor in Peabody MA.
Let our doctor know a tick bit you and that you have the tick. They should order a TBD panel of blood tests and send the tick sample to the lab to be tested as well. Getting the tick results back usually takes 1-2 weeks. Typically, you will give you a course of antibiotics (usually doxycycline) to kill any acute TBD you could have been exposed to while you wait for the results, as time is of the essence.
We should always stay mindful of ticks hiding in the grass and trees.
If you suspect you have Lyme disease, or you think you’ve been bitten please don’t hesitate to call us at (978) 594-8980 or schedule online!
Our doctors can help!