Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common disease spread by ticks in the United States. A spiral shaped bacteria carried by deer ticks causes lyme disease. Deer ticks are small (pinhead size), dark brown or black ticks. The larger (grapefruit seed size) wood ticks do not carry Lyme disease. Even though approximately 7000 cases of Lyme disease are reported in the United States every year, complications from the disease are rare and the disease is very treatable if diagnosed early.
Lyme disease occurs in stages. Stage one occurs 3-32 days after the initial tick bite and is characterized by a red ringed rash that starts where the person was bitten. Flu like symptoms may accompany this rash. The second stage occurs 2-12 weeks after the tick bite. The main symptoms of the second stage may include stiff neck, weak facial muscles, or numbness of the extremities. If untreated the illness may progress to the third stage in which the child may suffer from recurrent chronic attacks of arthritis. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics.
To prevent Lyme disease, be sure your children wear protective clothing when hiking, camping or playing in tall grass or in the woods. Children should wear long pants tucked into their socks and wear insect repellant spray. Tick checks should be done nightly. Children cannot detect the feel of a tick on the skin nor can they feel the bite. Ticks like to congregate on the body in body creases such as elbows, behind the knees, the neck, the groin area and in hairy regions of the body. Removing ticks before they have been attached for more than 18 to 24 hours will prevent the spread of Lyme disease. Tiny ticks can be scraped off with a credit card, knife blade or fingernail. Do not squeeze ticks to remove them as this can actually inject the bacteria from the tick into the child. Covering the tick with petroleum jelly or finger nail polish does not cause the tick to fall off. A hot match applied to the back of the tick may cause the tick to inject the harmful bacteria into its victim.
If your child has bitten by a deer tick and it remained attached over 18 hours call your pediatrician. If you have discovered a tick on your child and he or she exhibits symptoms of a rash, the flu, weak muscles, or stiff neck, contact your child's doctor immediately.