Durham Region Health Department has advised residents to take precautions to protect themselves from Lyme disease as ticks are active this time of year.
It said it is currently not able to accept tick submissions for identification and potential testing.
“If you find a tick crawling or feeding on you or a family member, keep the tick and call the Durham Region Health Department and a public health inspector will call you to advise you what to do,” it said.
“If you have any symptoms related to Lyme disease contact your health care provider immediately for advice about treatment,” it added.
Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that affects people and animals. It is spread by the bite of an infected tick.
There are many different types of ticks. Currently, in Ontario, only the black-legged tick can spread Lyme disease. Not all black-legged ticks are infected. Lyme disease cannot spread from person to person.
Protect yourself against Lyme disease
Black-legged ticks are usually found in or near wooded or forested areas, in leaf litter, or on bushes and tall grass.
Ticks need blood to survive and they can become infected when they feed on infected wild animals such as birds, rodents or deer. Only then can they spread the infection to humans or pets.
Black-legged ticks are very small. Immature ticks can be the size of a poppy seed and adults the size of a sesame seed.
They often attach to areas of the body where they are hard to see, such as the groin, armpit and scalp.
Ticks cannot fly or jump. Instead, they climb onto grasses or bushes and wait for a host (person or animal) to brush by. A tick will quickly attach and then find a suitable place to bite.
Signs and symptoms
Someone with Lyme disease may experience any of the following symptoms:
- Expanding rash at the site of a recent tick bite that may look like a “bulls eye”.
- Fever
- Feeling of discomfort
- Headache
- Joint and muscle pain
- Neck weakness or stiffness
- Fatigue
- Eye irritation
- Behavioural changes
- Sleep trouble
If left untreated, more severe symptoms may occur. Severe symptoms may include:
- Headaches
- More skin rashes
- Facial paralysis
- Muscle, joint, tendon and bone aches that come and go
- Heart issues (palpitations, abnormal heartbeat)
- Neurological symptoms (dizziness, mental confusion or trouble thinking clearly, and memory loss, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, nerve pain, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet).
- Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, most commonly in the knees and sometimes in other joints such as the ankle, elbow and wrists.
I found a tick on my back earlier this this summer. Initially I did not know what it was, i pulled it off completely, nothing was left on my back. I placed the little bugger in a plastic baggie and went directly to emergency at Bowmanville. This proved to be a complete waste of time, the doctor in charge gave me a scrip for ONE antibiotic pill and it was basically “don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out”.
I called my doctor the next day and he was shocked that bloodwork was not taken. He immediately forwarded a requisition to me for blood work and a scrip for 2 weeks of antibiotics. Long story short, blood work was negative as was followup bloodwork 6 weeks later.
Moral of the story, if you find a tick on your body don’t f*** around, call your doctor right away!