Roanoke – Before exploring the great outdoors, doctors are urging you to take steps to prevent getting a tick bite leading to Lyme disease.
“Come in, take your clothes off and just throw them in the washer. If you went hiking for a long time when you come back but you have to use precautions like long sleeve shirts, long pants tuck them into your shoes, insect repellent spray, when you come back just take off the clothes throw them in the wash and then have your body examined,” Muddasar Chaudry, Medical Director for infectious disease at LewisGale Medical Center.
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According to CDC, in 2022 there were more than 1,400 reports of Lyme disease in Virginia and over 62,000 nationwide. Medical experts say the tick has to be attached for over 36 hours or longer for it to transmit the Lyme disease, and the earlier you can catch it, the better.
“The first symptom that usually comes on in most people is a rash. A typical rash that’s called a target lesion because it’s like a target,” Chaudry said.
Doctors say unless you have a rash it can be hard to know if you have Lyme disease, but there are other signs.
“It’ll start off just like a flu-like symptom, they can start to feel ill having body aches, not feeling right, they’re not going to have high fever or anything,” he said.
A big misconception about Lyme disease is if it will ever go away, doctors said with the right treatment, it should.
“A lot of patients will come to me with Lyme disease and say, will it ever clear? And I tell them yes, it’s a bacterial infection. Once you use the course of antibiotics and its effective, it should clear,” Chaudry said.
Doctors said, if you find a tick or a tick bite on you to contact your doctor immediately.