AVOIDING SUMMER BUGS
By "DocNurse" Norma Stephens Hannigan
As summer rolls along, it is a great time to relax, enjoy the family and vacation – or maybe not. Many of you are still working, seeing the country through your windshield, while racing to deliver your next load, and the bugs are certainly not taking any time off (your windshield is evidence of that). Around the country, there are different insect-borne diseases that can ruin your summer – and beyond – unless you protect yourself from them. We will talk about two of them here – West Nile disease and Lyme disease.
West Nile disease, which comes from a virus found in birds, is present in many states but, according to the most recent information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people have been affected only in 12 states (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas). The majority of people who come in contract with the virus don’t have any symptoms and do not feel sick – even if they have the virus. The worst case scenario is an infection which invades the brain and can cause paralysis or death. Some people will get mild symptoms such as fever, headache, a rash on the stomach, chest and back, nausea and vomiting and may have swollen glands. This may last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
The virus is spread through mosquitoes – they are the middle-man between birds and humans in transmitting the West Nile virus. A mosquito takes a drink of blood from an infected bird and passes it on while biting a person. It can also be transmitted through infected blood transfusions, organ donations, breastfeeding, or from mother to baby during pregnancy, but this happens very rarely. The good news is that blood is checked for West Nile virus before it is donated (unfortunately, it’s not 100% foolproof and the blood may still be contaminated). Also, you don’t spread the virus by touching or kissing other people. Anyone bitten by an infected mosquito can get the virus. Those over 50 years old are more likely to get severely ill with West Nile disease.
The best way to avoid the virus is to not let those mosquitoes even think about biting you! Wearing long sleeves and pants is helpful, but you should also spray your clothing with insect repellent before going out. Mosquito netting and screens can also keep the bugs from getting to you. Be especially aware of their presence if you are around standing water, a breeding ground for mosquitoes. If you find a dead bird, don’t touch it with your bare hands (in fact, it might be a good idea to report it to the local health department, if you are able). The more public health officials know about the spread of the disease, the more they can do to prevent it.
There is no specific medication for West Nile disease. Controlling pain and fever are the best you can do while you wait for it to naturally resolve on its own. Of course, if you are very sick, you should be seen by a health care professional because you may need special care that you can’t provide for yourself at home, so go see your doctor.
Another potentially dangerous insect-borne ailment is Lyme disease. Lyme disease is caused by bacteria, and cases have been reported in just about every state, but the greatest concentrations occur in the Northeast from Maine to Maryland, North Central, especially Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in Northern California.
Symptoms of Lyme disease are extreme fatigue, fever, chills, joint and muscle aches. As you can see, there are other diseases – flu, for example – that cause these same symptoms. One sign that is a little more specific to Lyme disease is the presence of a “bull’s eye” rash – it starts around where a tick bit you and spreads out over a few days. Most people with Lyme disease will have this rash. Most of the time, the disease can be cured with antibiotics. The problem is that sometimes, especially if a person doesn’t have the characteristic rash, the diagnosis of Lyme disease may often be missed. Even when treated with medication, there are some people who will have lingering effects of joint pain, difficulty thinking, heart problems, arthritis, and numbness and tingling for years after the initial infection.
Lyme disease is spread by Blacklegged ticks, also known as Deer ticks. Transmission is similar to that of West Nile disease, except in this case, it’s a tick instead of a mosquito that feeds on an infected animal and then attaches to a human being to feed on it. The tick attaches with its mouth parts and stays on the body for several days if allowed to. It generally must be attached for 36-48 hours in order to spread the infection. The months when a person is most likely to get infected are May, June and July. Men, women and children can all get Lyme disease – those ticks aren’t choosy!
Just like preventing mosquito bites, the best way to avoid getting Lyme disease is the use of insect repellent and long-sleeved shirts and pants (these things will help keep ticks from getting to your bare skin and then attaching to it). If possible, avoid places where there are lots of fallen leaves or low-hanging branches, because that’s where ticks live, and from there they jump onto their hosts (that would be you). When you must be in wooded, leafy areas, or even your own back yard, make sure to check yourself with a mirror or have someone check you for ticks when you go back inside – especially on the scalp, armpits and groin.
If you find a tick on yourself, remove its entire head and mouth parts, along with its body, using tweezers. Don’t squeeze the body. There is no need to use petroleum jelly or alcohol as we used to hear in the old days because those things actually make the tick inject more saliva and increase the risk of you getting infected. If you see some mouth parts left behind, gently remove them. Do not panic. You simply need to make sure that the area doesn’t look infected after removing the tick or that you don’t develop any symptoms of Lyme disease. Report these to your health care provider if they do occur. Don’t be afraid to tell your health care provider if you had a tick or mosquito bite – he or she might not think to ask you and that could be very valuable information in making the correct diagnosis.
~ Dr. Norma Stephens Hannigan, who recently graduated with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, teaches at Columbia University in New York and has treated many truck drivers at the various clinics she has worked over the years. She currently writes from her home in Newburgh, New York.