Bad tick season approaching, UW Health experts say
Encephalitis Virus or Lyme Disease Infected Tick Arachnid Insect on Skin Macro
MADISON, Wis. - As the warm weather is making its way through Wisconsin, the tick population is growing and experts are predicting a bad tick season. However, the University of Wisconsin Health is offering tips to residents on how to track and treat tick bites.
Ticks pose a threat beyond annoying bite pain; they can carry serious diseases. In Wisconsin, the disease most associated with them is Lyme disease.
According to a news release, Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is spread through the bite of an infected black-legged tick, commonly called deer ticks. In many places in Wisconsin, more than one in five ticks are infected with this bacterium.
Just because you are bitten by a deer tick doesn’t mean you will get Lyme disease, according to Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control at UW Health. Signs of Lyme disease can range from common symptoms like a bullseye rash, headaches and fatigue to more atypical presentations including inflammation of joints, heart rhythm abnormalities, or a rare neurological condition including meningitis.
Physicians in Wisconsin are familiar with the different manifestations of Lyme disease, according to Dr. Joseph McBride, an adult and pediatric infectious disease physician at UW Health.
However, given the plethora of outdoor activities in Wisconsin, many will venture out, so UW Health is offering the following tips for heading into the woods, on the trail or the backyard:
- Wear insect repellant that contains 20 to 30% DEET
- Spray clothes with permethrin, a pesticide that kills flies, ticks and mosquitos
- Inspect yourself after being outside and make sure to check areas like armpits, behind knees, waistline, ears and hair
- Check your pets for ticks. You can’t get sick from your pet, but ticks could change hosts and jump to you instead
- Take a shower as soon as possible after being outside
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To learn more about ticks and how to identify them, download The Tick app, which was developed at UW‒Madison.