Episode Details

Host/Producer: Rhonda Feiman Co-Producer: Petra Hall Technical Assistance: Joel Mann Healthy Options: For Well-being & Being Well This month: -The different ticks appearing in Maine, and the tick diseases being found now. -The vital importance of keeping tick OFF of us! -Poppy-seed size of ticks right now, as nymphs in May, and sesame seed size as adults, and raisin-sized when engorged -Tick-borne pathogens & their afflictions: Anaplasmosis, Babeosis, Lyme (Borellia), Alpha Gal, Erhlichia, Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever, Relapsing Fever (& Powassan Virus, which can cause severe to fatal illness in just 15 minutes after a bite) -The importance of clinical diagnosis, vs. relying solely on the imperfections in analyzing test results, and the significance of a LYME disease rash- which does not present in every tick bite -How to check for ticks in a timely fashion, so an embedded tick has less time to transfer disease from its bite; we do not know how the length of time required for a tick to transmit infection -How to remove a tick safely & what is a risky tick bite (tick broken off, tick on for several hours/days, tick being “annoyed” and spitting bacteria etc. back into the wound from its salivary gland) -Sending ticks for identification as to the type of tick & possible disease carried -What is a PCR test, and what it can show (or not), the issues of interpreting antibody tests, and when to test for Lyme & co-infections -What treatments are commonly used, and the challenges of diagnosing tick-borne illness -How to protect yourself (and your pets) from ticks when being outdoors (high percentage of tick bites recorded, from your own backyard, yardwork, gardening, clearing brush). -Permithrin-treated clothing and effective repellents used on the skin for tick protection -How to make your backyard less habitable for ticks, and migrating birds can carry ticks & spread them onto our property; best to not use bird feeders from April through October Guest(s): Dr. Beatrice Szantyr, Internist and Pediatrician who lectures on Lyme disease and related tick-borne disorders in Maine and nationally, to both professional and community groups. She is an active member of the Maine CDC Vector Borne Disease Work Group, and a member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.  Dr. Szantyr also had served on the 2022 Federal Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, Access to Care and Education Subcommittee. FMI: EPA info on effective repellents www.epa.gov/insect-repellents? EPA info on repellent-treated clothing www.epa.gov/insect-repellents/repellent-treated-clothing? University of Maine Tick Lab?- Protect Yourself from ticks & tick-borne diseases (Identify a tick for free; $20 to ID diseases the tick may contain) extension.umaine.edu/ticks/ Tick testing Amherst MA. (tests for more diseases): www.tickreport.com Maine Tracking Network- Tickborne Diseases Improving public health with better information: data.mainepublichealth.gov/tracking/home Columbia University Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center www.columbia-lyme.org/ Powered by patients. Home of Lyme Times and My Lyme Data: www.lymedisease.org/ TickEncounter  The University of Rhode Island?Tick-borne Disease prevention Education web.uri.edu/tickencounter/ This article is brief enough for a patient to bring to a doctor’s visit for them to consider: The Management of Ixodes scapularis Bites in the Upper Midwest wmjonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/110/2/78.pdf PARTICULARLY FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS (& FMI for clients): LymeCME- Free, Evidence-based, AAFP-Accredited Courses Physicians Can Trust www.lymecme.info/ ****************************************************** Previous HEALTHY OPTIONS PROGRAMS on ticks & Lyme can also be found at: archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2024/05/healthy-options-5-1-24-lyme-disease-other-tick-borne-illness-update-for-2024/ archives.weru.org/healthy-options/2023/05/healthy-options-5-3-23-lyme-disease-tick-borne-illness-and-how-to-be-tick-conscious-to-prot