PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management have teamed up to encourage Rhode Islanders to take precautions to protect against Lyme disease when heading outdoors.
“Our comprehensive approach to Lyme disease in Rhode Island entails getting prevention messaging throughout the state, with a focus on those communities that are most affected by Lyme, while also working to ensure that everyone who is experiencing the symptoms of Lyme disease gets thorough, quality care,” Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, DOH director, said in a statement. She also encouraged people to use repellant, check for and remove ticks. “When it comes to Lyme disease, an ounce of prevention is absolutely worth a pound of cure.”
“We encourage people to get outside and connect with nature. But equally important is doing so safely,” DEM Director Janet Coit said in the statement. “Being aware of the risk of Lyme disease and taking precautions to protect yourself against ticks are key while outdoors.”
Approximately 900 Rhode Islanders are infected with Lyme disease each year. In 2014, Rhode Island had the nation’s fourth-highest rate of Lyme disease. With more wooded and brushy areas with high grasses, Washington County consistently has the state’s highest rate of Lyme disease. Ticks carrying Lyme disease are most prevalent in Rhode Island from May through September. In order to transmit Lyme disease to a human being, a tick must be attached to the skin for 36 hours or more.
The agencies provided tips to protect against Lyme disease:
- Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaves; if you can’t avoid such areas, spray your clothes with Permethrin;
- Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts when outdoors;
- Wear light-colored clothing, so that ticks can be more easily identified;
- Tuck your pants into your socks to keep ticks from crawling under clothing;
- Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors – ideally within two hours – to wash off and find any ticks;
- Check yourself, your family and your pets daily for ticks, as ticks removed within a 24-hour period are much less likely to transmit Lyme disease;
- Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror if you have been in a grassy or wooded area. Parents should check children carefully for ticks, including hidden locations like under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist and on the scalp, in hair.
- If you find a tick, remove it with fine-tipped tweezers. Deer ticks, which carry Lyme disease, can be as small as a poppy seed and difficult to see during the spring and summer months.
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria spread through the bite of an infected tick that has been attached for at least 36 hours. Symptoms of new onset Lyme disease can include fever, a bulls-eye rash anywhere on the skin, facial or Bell’s palsy (loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face), severe headaches and neck stiffness due to meningitis (inflammation of the spinal cord), pain and swelling in the large joints (such as knees), shooting pains that may interfere with sleep, and heart palpitations and dizziness due to changes in heartbeat. If you experience any of these symptoms and have been bitten by a tick, contact your doctor about concerns for Lyme disease.
In addition to Lyme disease, ticks in Rhode Island also carry anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Powassan. An extremely rare, new tick-borne disease in southern New England, Powassan causes brain inflammation and serious illness.
