How to Prevent Spread of Lyme Disease

CLEVELAND - May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

According to the CDC, about 476,000 new cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed in the United States every year. 

And now that number seems to be rising. 

“In the last several years, the CDC changed the requirements for reporting a Lyme disease case and made it a little bit easier for health departments, physicians, and clinicians to report a case. And so, we see a fairly big jump with that change. But also with climate change, we know that ticks are surviving milder winters and have a longer season to complete their life cycles and reproduce,” explained Christopher Bazzoli, MD, emergency medicine physician at Cleveland Clinic.

Dr. Bazzoli said Lyme disease is transmitted through black legged ticks, which are primarily found in the Midwest and eastern portions of the country.

They are most active from March until October and live in wooded and brushy areas with high grass.

To prevent tick bites, Dr. Bazzoli said it’s best to wear long sleeves when spending time outdoors. 

The key is to cover as much of your skin as possible.

He also recommends applying an EPA registered repellent spray with 20% DEET.

“Some people don't like the smell or the texture of DEET, and that’s okay. We've got several great alternatives, such as picaridin-based repellents, which is actually a derivative of the black pepper. And again, at the 20% concentration, very effective at repelling ticks, as well as mosquitoes,” he said.

Dr. Bazzoli said it is also crucial to do tick checks twice a day. 

If you do find one, it’s important to remove it right away. 

Lyme disease symptoms can develop within a couple of days up to several weeks after being bitten and may include a fever, headache, chills, body aches and a bullseye rash.