Physical Therapy in Astoria, NY

With summer around the corner and all the time you’ll be spending being active outdoors you may be asking yourself are you putting yourself at risk for Lyme disease? This question can be answered by the risk factors associated with Lyme disease and how the disease is acquired.

The northeastern United States including New York has a high prevalence of Lyme Disease. The biggest risk factor associated with contracting Lyme disease is ticks, specifically deer ticks, and ticks are abundant in very grassy and wooded areas. This means if you are out on a hike or camping or even out for a casual round on the golf course you are very susceptible to a tick attaching itself to you. Making sure to cover up all areas of the body such as your legs and arms, you are preventing potential ticks from coming into contact with your skin.  Another big factor to Lyme disease is time. If you do have a tick on you, you must remove the tick in a timely manner. The reason being is that bacteria from a tick bite can enter your bloodstream in about 48 hours and the quicker it is removed, the lower you chances of contracting Lyme disease.

If you think you may have contracted Lyme disease see a doctor immediately! Some of the signs and symptoms are a rash, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, and neurological problems. There are many things you can do to prevent Lyme disease and the number one thing is to be conscious of your surroundings and make sure you are wearing the proper clothing. In addition be sure to check over your body when you get home  to be certain that no ticks have attached themselves to you. If they have, time is of the essence!

With all of this in mind you should be aware of if you are putting yourself at risk as in how much time you are spending outdoors and if you are properly covering yourself up when outdoors in known tick areas.