VIOLA - ’Tis the Season

Deck the trees with lots of deer ticks

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Tis the season to be careful

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In the beginning of December, a friend asked for advice after finding an embedded tick under his arm. Within minutes, the discussion became heated. People insist that “You can’t get a tick bite in winter—ticks are dormant now!”

Offering advice on tick care when living in an area known as Ground Zero for Lyme disease shouldn’t be that difficult.–but it is.

February 2, 2018, was a Friday. I was leading a class and my upper arm was itching. Since I was holding weights in both hands I wasn’t able to do anything about it.

When the class was over and my hands free, I mindlessly scratched while chatting with the participants. One of the gals walked by and said, “Let me see.” 

Pulling up my sleeve, she announced, “It’s an embedded tick.”

Even seeing the deer tick embedded in my arm, people were skeptical. “It’s winter,” someone pointed out. “There aren't any ticks out!”

Yes, there are. When the sun heats up the south side of the hills, melting the snow cover, ticks that were lying dormant emerge and look for unsuspecting people kicking through the piles of damp leaves and brushing up against the grasses.

Maybe you’ve been out cutting wood, checking on your fences, or cleaning up your garden. Maybe you’ve been lying on the couch cuddling with your dog or cat who has been romping through the fields. There isn’t a “tick-free” month. Granted, there will be more ticks in spring and fall, but they're here in summer and winter as well. Get used to it.

In 2018, Wisconsin had 3,105 estimated cases of Lyme disease. The average number of reported cases has more than doubled over the past ten years. And Lyme disease has shown up in winter in at least 11 states. 

November 25, 2019, was a Monday. Dane came over after work with a head full of red scaly spots. The itching was driving him crazy, and through the week, it spread to his hands. By Friday, he was miserable. Angry-looking hives appeared on his forehead and neck, and he had a low-grade fever. Nothing helped—not Benadryl, Selsun Blue shampoo, or Tylenol.

By Saturday, his hands were red and swollen and spots were on his arms. We paid a visit to Urgent Care, and while the physician assistant was prescribing a fungal shampoo and cortisone cream, we asked if the rash could be Lyme. They took a blood test.

Two hours later, the results came back positive. On Monday, Dane saw his doctor, who then ordered a Western Blot test. The test bars came back all lit up like a Christmas tree—which in a way is a gift, because it suggests a clear course of treatment. Dane started taking doxycycline and within a few days his rash started healing.

Recently, talking with one of the only Lyme-educated physicians in our area who yearly attends the National Lyme Conference, I asked him what was new. We ended up in a lengthy conversation, during which I asked, “If you’ve had Lyme and tested positive, is it true that you’ll always test positive for Lyme?”

“Absolutely not,” was his answer, followed by a lengthy talk about case studies and research. The misinformation on tick-borne illness is substantial. Only 10 percent of people will get a bullseye rash—truly a gift. Thirty percent will present with some kind of rash, and a whopping 60 percent will not even know they've been bitten by a tick.

Common symptoms of a tick-borne illness range from fever to joint pain, fatigue, headache, sleeplessness, memory challenges (brain fog), chills, neck pain, and feeling like you have the flu.

If left untreated, Lyme can cause serious heart and neurological complications. And those minuscule spirochetes are able to make mincemeat out of your joints. Not my type of holiday pie.

Somehow, I forgot about the deer tick my classmate had found in my arm in early February that year. In May, I was taken to the emergency room. My head hurt so bad I couldn’t stand, my joints were on fire, my eyesight blurry, and the fatigue overwhelming. It wasn’t until they tested me for Lyme that I remembered the tick from three months before.

Your chances of getting Lyme disease can be lessened by wearing treated clothing when you go outdoors, tucking your pants legs into your socks, performing nightly tick checks, and staying in the middle of the trails when out hiking. 

Anyone who didn’t receive the gift of a bullseye or other rash to announce their Lyme will tell you an undiagnosed, tick-borne illness isn’t fun. Do yourself a favor this holiday season and be aware that ticks can be active on sunny winter days. 

Don we now our tick apparel,