WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — The beginning of July means summer is now in full swing and along with it is tick season.
You’ve likely seen posts on your social media pages with the tales of parents or neighbors who have spotted the tiny little arachnids on themselves, their kids or their pets and expressing concern over Lyme disease, which is becoming more of an issue.
“I think the thing that has been so surprising to people over the last couple of years, especially people who have been residents of Ohio for a long time, is 'wait a second, I didn't have to worry about ticks when I was a kid, I didn't have to worry about putting on bug spray when I went outside' and you're right you didn’t,” said Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with University Hospitals.
“We’ve only had Lyme disease in Ohio for about five years now, other than the occasional sporadic case that would come across from Pennsylvania or from somebody traveling but now we have it here.”
“I’ve met the parents of the kids that come to my clinic and they've been like ‘wait, wait, what's going on?’ Yes things have changed we now have Lyme disease here in Ohio which we did not prior to 2019 and it is on the rise. We're seeing it sooner in the year, we're seeing more cases so it is something that we have to be aware of here in Ohio and we didn't use to have to."
Chris Petrow of Eastlake can relate to that. He likes to take his boxer Allie for walks in the MetroParks, “we have an older dog so we like to keep her active as much as we can,” he said.
But early in June, he noticed a little bump on his arm that kept getting bigger.
“At first it was just a little dot, you know looked like a pimple or something and then it got bigger and bigger and then all of a sudden after four or five days it had the target appearance that they talk about,” he said of the bullseye type marking that can occur around the bite area.
With the spot growing, he went to urgent care, where he was put on an antibiotic and eventually to the emergency room, where he was put on something stronger. Tests last week came back positive for Lyme disease.
Edwards said he did the right thing in taking immediate action.
"If you get treatment at that point, you can avoid symptoms. You often won't get a fever the muscle aches, the headaches, the cardiac complications, the joint complications,” she said. “Treated early Lyme disease is no problem."
There is one caveat she wanted parents to be aware of as their kids are at play this summer.
“Kids generally don't have the bullseye rash, kids often don't present with early symptoms of Lyme disease and they often don't present until late Lyme which is usually arthritis,” she said. “So that kid that's been outside playing all summer and then in September suddenly swells up his left knee that very well could be Lyme disease. So always make sure that your pediatrician is aware if your kid is one of those outdoor, morning til dusk type kids, that they test for Lyme disease even if its just the arthritis by itself.”
The Ohio Department of Health has a Be Tick Smart campaign to inform the public of how to keep your family safe and also how to properly remove a tick if you find one on your skin. The site also tracks cases of Lyme disease across the state.
Petrow's case, just confirmed, will likely be the first of the season in Lake County. As we walked with Allie, he suspected how it likely happened.
"Typically, when they're here sniffing the edges, that's where they'll pick up the ticks that fall off of the deer,” he said of the higher grass and brush off the side of a trail. “So as they touch the little leaves and stuff like that, that's where they get it. “They get it on their face; they come up to you for some love and when you give them the love, they give you the tick."
Petrow never saw the tick that bit him. He thinks he likely washed it off in the shower without ever seeing it, but only after the damage was done.
"It's really something that people need to know that it's here and you know you can get it,” he said.
If you’re going to be outside where ticks may be present, you’re encouraged to wear a long-sleeved shirt tucked into long pants, preferably light in color, so the ticks can be more easily spotted.
“Basically what you're doing is you're giving the tick very little ground to take hold,” said Edwards, “because it has to bite directly to your skin.”
She also encourages the use of a repellant containing DEET.
“DEET is a two or three for one so you get mosquito protection,” she said. “You get tick protection, some biting flies, things like that."
She said it’s primarily in wooded areas and areas where the grass is un-mowed that the threat from ticks lies.
“So if you're just playing in your suburban lawn, that's not where we're worried. If you're going into the MetroParks, if you're going off trail, if you're going backpacking, hunting, that's going to be higher risk.”
