What type of victim is usually affected by Lyme disease?

Lyme disease can affect people of any age. People who spend time outdoors in activities such as camping, hiking, golfing, or working or playing in grassy and wooded environments are at increased risk of exposure. The chances of being bitten by a deer tick are greater during times of the year when ticks are most active.

Who is most commonly affected by Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is most common in children 5 to 9 years old, and adults between 55 to 69 years old. This is likely due to outdoor activities that expose them to ticks.

What age group is most affected by Lyme disease?

People of any age can get Lyme disease, but the illness is most common in persons under 16 years of age or persons older than 30 years of age.

Who does Lyme disease spread?

The Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, is spread through the bite of infected ticks. The blacklegged tick (or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis) spreads the disease in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and north-central United States.

What areas are high risk for Lyme disease?

Researchers have identified the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Midwest of the United States as areas of high infection risk for Lyme disease, according to study results published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Lyme Disease Explained

Why do people get lymes disease?

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and rarely, Borrelia mayonii. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans.

Does Lyme disease affect a certain ethnic group?

The reported incidence of Lyme disease among African Americans in the United States is substantially below that of Whites (1–3). The disparity in incidence of the disease between Whites and African Americans has been attributed to differences in risk of exposure, primarily due to area of residence (2).

Is Lyme disease a STD?

The short answer is no. There's no direct evidence that Lyme disease is contagious. The exception is pregnant women, who can transmit it to their fetus. Lyme disease is a systemic infection caused by spirochete bacteria transmitted by black-legged deer ticks.

How likely are you to get Lyme disease from a tick?

The chance of catching Lyme disease from an individual tick ranges from roughly zero to 50 percent. Risk of contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite depends on three factors: the tick species, where the tick came from, and how long it was biting you.

Which animals carry ticks?

Wild animals that commonly have ticks include deer, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, birds, and lizards. Ticks can also find their way onto your cat or dog and subsequently find their way into your home and around your family, making you a potential host.

How does Lyme disease present in teenagers?

Symptoms can begin anytime from weeks to years after an infectious tick bite. In kids and teens, this is almost always in the form of arthritis, with swelling and tenderness, particularly in the knees or other large joints.

Do all black legged ticks carry Lyme disease?

Even if a blacklegged tick bit you, there's still a good chance you're OK. That's because only a fraction of blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

Can Lyme disease be cured?

Although most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with a 2- to 4-week course of oral antibiotics, patients can sometimes have symptoms of pain, fatigue, or difficulty thinking that last for more than 6 months after they finish treatment. This condition is called ”Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome” (PTLDS).

Can you feel a tick bite?

A person who gets bitten by a tick usually won't feel anything at all. There might be a little redness around the area of the bite. If you think you've been bitten by a tick, tell an adult immediately. Some ticks carry diseases (such as Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever) and can pass them to people.

Does Lyme disease affect sperm?

All the women with Lyme disease tested positive for Lyme, while about half of the men with Lyme disease tested positive for the Lyme spirochete in semen samples. Furthermore, one of the heterosexual couples with Lyme disease showed identical strains of the Lyme spirochete in their genital secretions.

What does Lyme disease look like on the skin?

Most Lyme disease skin lesions are uniformly red without the rings or target appearance. They are distinguished from other skin rashes by their round or oval shape and sharply demarcated borders. Skin lesions often hide in difficult to see places such as behind the knee or in the groin or armpit.

What happens if you get Lyme disease?

When you do get infected, the bacteria travel through your bloodstream and affect various tissues in your body. If you don't treat Lyme disease early on, it can turn into an inflammatory condition that affects multiple systems, starting with your skin, joints, and nervous system and moving to organs later on.

Can you get Lyme disease twice?

Reinfection: You can get Lyme disease again if you are bitten by another infected tick, so protect yourself from tick bites. People treated with antibiotics for early Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely.

Is lymes disease preventable?

Prevention is key. Like most communicable diseases, Lyme disease is largely preventable, says Dr. Shmerling. Avoid being bitten by a blacklegged tick (also known as a deer tick) and you won't get Lyme disease.

Can Lyme be fatal?

Lyme disease appears to rarely be fatal. Many of the fatal cases reported have been in patients co-infected with other tick-borne pathogens such as Ehrlichia species and B microti, and in Europe, tick-borne encephalitis.

Is Lyme disease lifelong?

If treated, Lyme disease does not last for years. However, for some people, the after-effects of the disease can linger for months and sometimes even years. Alternative medicine providers call this condition "Chronic Lyme disease," but this title is simply wrong.

What are the 3 stages of Lyme disease?

Do ticks wash off in the shower?

Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease and may be effective in reducing the risk of other tickborne diseases. Showering may help wash off unattached ticks and it is a good opportunity to do a tick check.

Do female ticks carry Lyme disease?

No. Most ticks don't carry any diseases, but because ticks feed on different hosts at different points in their life cycle, they can pick up and spread diseases like Lyme more quickly if they are infected. Only female ticks spread disease, since only females feed on the blood of their hosts and become engorged.

Can you prevent Lyme disease after a tick bite?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that in certain cases, a single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline can reduce the risk of acquiring Lyme disease after a high-risk tick bite.