Tick season arrived early this year, with an unusually high number of bites reported across the Northeast. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an alert last month warning that emergency room visits for tick bites reached their highest weekly rates since 2017 in most of the country, including New York.
Likewise, in the Long Island area, doctors have seen an increase in tick bites.
“We are already seeing tick activity in Suffolk County and throughout New York state,” said Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. “The timing of appearance appears to be a little earlier than in previous years.”
Health experts say warmer winters are helping ticks expand their range and stay active longer. This includes the lone star tick, a common pest in the South that is becoming more prominent in Long Island counties.
“In recent years, there has definitely been a change in tick bite patterns,” said Dr. Conan Tu, an internist at Optum Medical Care of New York & New Jersey, based in Bethpage. “We have seen an overall increase in bites and also a change in ticks affecting us.”
Tick-borne diseases
Long Island has long been a hotspot for Lyme disease, a common tick-borne condition that affects about 476,000 Americans each year, according to the CDC. However, other tick-borne diseases have also become increasingly common in the area.
The blacklegged tick — also known as the deer tick — can transmit Lyme disease, as well as other less common diseases, including babesiosis, a malaria-like condition that can become serious in older adults or people with weakened immune systems. Although babesiosis is rare, Suffolk County is considered one of the epicenters of the disease in the country.
In recent years, the lone star tick has gained ground on Long Island, particularly in New York’s East End. Identifiable by a white spot on its back, this tick is attracting attention because it can trigger alpha-gal syndrome, a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat. Doctors point out that the allergy develops after exposure to chemicals present in the tick’s saliva.
“While allergic symptoms may be mild, some people with alpha-gal syndrome experience a life-threatening reaction when consuming red meat,” says Tu, noting that the death of a man in New Jersey last year was attributed to this syndrome, which resulted from a tick bite.
What to do if you find a tick
The vast majority of tick bites do not cause medical problems, especially if the tick is removed quickly.
“To get Lyme disease, the tick typically must remain attached for at least 24 to 36 hours,” Handel says. Babesiosis usually requires an even longer adherence time, often about 3 days.
That’s why checking thoroughly for ticks after being outdoors is one of the most important prevention strategies. “The risk of infection or reaction is very low if the tick is removed within 24 hours,” says Tu.
If you find a tick attached to the skin, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it by the head, as close to the skin as possible, and pull it out in a straight line.
Handel recommends storing the tick in a sealed bag so you can take it to a health care professional to help determine next steps.
A tick bite alone does not always require medical treatment. However, if the tick has been attached for more than 24 hours, if it appears swollen (full of blood), or if you have symptoms, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
In some cases, a single dose of doxycycline given soon after a blacklegged tick (known as a deer tick) bite can reduce the risk of developing Lyme disease by about 90%, according to Handel. If an infection does occur, both Lyme disease and babesiosis can be treated with a course of antibiotics.
Symptoms can vary depending on the person and the type of infection, but doctors say there are several warning signs that should prompt you to seek medical attention, especially between spring and fall.
“The sudden onset of fever accompanied by other symptoms should make you suspect a tick-borne illness,” says Handel. Possible symptoms to watch for include fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, neck pain, and swollen lymph nodes.
Lyme disease is often associated with a bull’s-eye rash (a central circle surrounded by a ring), although not everyone gets it.
“When present, the classic bull’s-eye rash helps identify Lyme disease,” explains Handel. Blood tests may not be positive until several weeks after infection, so doctors often start treatment based solely on symptoms and a history of tick exposure.
Multiple levels of protection
– Experts recommend combining several prevention strategies when spending time outdoors. Ticks thrive in tall grass, brush, leaf litter, and wooded areas, so hikers should walk in the center of trails whenever possible.
– Other protective measures include wearing long sleeves and long pants, tucking the bottoms of your pants into your socks to create a barrier, and choosing light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot.
– Apply insect repellents containing DEET to exposed skin and spray permethrin on clothing and shoes; This spray, which kills ticks on contact, remains impregnated in clothing even after several washes.
– Checking the entire body for ticks is perhaps the most important part of a comprehensive protection strategy. Be sure to examine areas where these parasites like to hide, such as behind the ears, on the scalp, at waist level, in the groin area, and in skin folds.
«If you go hiking with your dog, check him too; not only to protect your pet, but to prevent ticks from getting to you,” says Tu.
Tick bites are preventable, and a comprehensive protection strategy will help keep you safe all season long.
