Ticks and Lyme disease lurk in Iowa

Doctors recently spent a couple of days diagnosing a disease that caused our Cedar Rapids neighbor to have fever, lethargy, muscle weakness, anemia, and joint pain. After a few days of hospitalization they tested her for Lyme disease. Bingo. Positive. She’s now home responding well to antibiotics.

Years ago I had similar lingering symptoms. They were not severe, so I felt they’d soon pass and I’d be fine. That didn’t happen, so I visited my family physician. She ran a Lyme disease test. Positive. A few days of taking amoxicillin knocked the bacteria out of my system and good health returned.

Two years later the symptoms returned, but this time I recognized them and my physician immediately put me on antibiotics. Again good health returned. I was lucky twice. Many Lyme disease patients are less fortunate and suffer long term painful symptoms despite treatment.

Bacteria causing Lyme disease are injected into a person when a tiny Black Legged Tick bites. This creature is so tiny that I never saw the ones that bit me. Most victims don’t, but often symptoms arise following a bite. They may include a rash, headache, fever, swollen lymph nodes and extreme lethargy.

Avoiding ticks isn’t easy, but understanding how they access a person helps prevent a bite and resulting illness. Ticks are suburban animals common in gardens, lawns, golf courses, and parks. Mowing the lawn or weeding the garden can put a person at risk.

While mosquitoes and flies bite as soon as they land, ticks don’t. They are patient and wait on the tip of a grass blade or twig for a victim to walk by. Ticks grab hold, often on socks or lower pant legs, and frequently spend hours walking on their victim’s skin before biting. An unattached tick won’t spread Lyme disease, giving a person time to find and remove it.

I spend much of my waking hours outside gardening, fishing, camping, and birding. After my second bout of Lyme disease I take these precautions:

Immediately after returning home I remove my clothes, toss them in the laundry, check myself over, and take a sudsy shower. Odds are good an unattached tick will wash down the drain. Laundering kills any lurking in clothing.

I once sprayed my clothes with permethrin, a chemical meant to be applied to clothing, not skin. It kills ticks. A few years ago I bought several sets of clothing from a company that impregnates the fabric with permethrin. I wear them during warm months. The company claims the permethrin is effective for 70 washings. I find it more convenient to wear them than to remember to spray.

Sometimes I spray exposed skin with a DEET based repellent, which deters ticks and biting insects. It’s a second line of defense.

Since taking these precautions I’ve spent hours in tick habitat and not found one on me. However if Lyme symptoms appear I’ll be on the phone instantly to my physician seeking a test or immediate treatment.

Rich Patterson has a background in environmental science and forestry and co-owns Winding Pathways, which encourages people to “Create Wondrous Yards.”