The Tick Thats Becoming More Prevalent In Ri Could Cause A Red Meat Allergy
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
The Amblyomma americanum tick â also known as the lone star tick. Photo: CDC Gathany/Vickers
One Rhode Island man said he believes it was a lone star tick bite last summer that caused him to go into anaphylactic shock when he ate a beef burrito in the weeks following and now he says he cant eat meat or even wear wool.
Alpha-gal Syndrome also called alpha-gal allergy, red meat allergy, or tick bite meat allergy is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . AGS may occur after people eat red meat or are exposed to other products containing alpha-gal.
Growing evidence suggests that AGS may be triggered by the bite of a lone star or blacklegged tick, the CDC continues. More research is needed to understand the role ticks play in triggering this reaction, and why certain people develop AGS.
A University of Rhode Island expert said the lone star tick is well established in Rhode Island and spreading.
It used to be black-legged ticks on Long Island in the 1980s and now the lone star tick has set up shop in some fairly metropolitan areas, including Staten Island, said URIs Dr. Thomas Mather.
This tick is definitely is definitely on the inroads here, said Mather of it in Rhode Island. Its a sad thing. Its a much more aggressive biter.
One Mans Story
Labyrinthitis And Vestibular Neuritis Treatment
With time and vestibular physical therapy, there is gradual improvement and the prognosis is generally good.
If the doctor believes the persons condition is due to shingles, an anti-viral medication may be prescribed. Although prednisone or other types of steroids may be given and could help hasten recovery, it is not conclusively proved that these medications benefit in the final outcome.
Anti-nausea medications and medications used to treat the dizziness/vertigo should not be taken more than several days after symptom onset, since their use can delay normal compensation.
Tinnitus Caused By Lyme Disease
- Post category:Tinnitus Causes
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that is transmitted from the bite of a back-legged tick. It is one of the most common vector-borne diseases in the USA. Its so common that the CDC estimates that 476,000 Americans are affected by it, every single year. The focus of this article will be on whether Lyme disease can cause Tinnitus, how it causes it and what can be done about it.
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Key Points For Healthcare Providers
Lyme Disease And Leaky Gut Syndrome
Small intestine hyperpermeability more commonly known as leaky gut syndrome is a condition where the spaces between the cells that line the small intestine become enlarged. This allows bacteria and food particles to enter the bloodstream triggering the immune system to respond by releasing inflammatory cytokines. The outer layer of bacteria that enters the bloodstream contains fat and a carbohydrate called lipopolysaccharide that causes the immune system to react. Food allergies, alcoholism, stress, infections , toxicants, certain medications, and mast cell activation syndrome are some of the causes of increased intestinal permeability. Paradoxically, leaky gut syndrome also leads to an increase in food allergies since food proteins pass through the inflamed small intestine into the bloodstream creating an antibody response.
Leaky gut syndrome can lead to systemic inflammation which contributes to fatigue, headaches, joint pain, ADHD, brain fog, and autoimmune conditions. Since many of the symptoms related to Lyme disease are caused by inflammation, successfully treating leaky gut syndrome is crucial to reducing the systemic inflammatory burden.
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What To Do If You Find A Tick
If you see a tick, try to remove it from your childs body. If the tick was on the body for less than 36 hours, it may help prevent infection.
To safely remove a tick:
- Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick at its head or mouth, close to the skin.
- Pull firmly on the tick until it releases the skin. Try to ease out any parts that get stuck in the skin.
- Wash the bite area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water and apply an antiseptic lotion or cream.
What To Do If You Have A Blacklegged Tick Bite
Remove the tick by pulling it directly out with fine-tipped tweezers. Lift upward with slow and even pressure. Dont twist when removing it. Dont crush it or put soap or other substances on it. Dont apply heat to it.
Place the tick in a resealable container. See if you can identify what kind of a tick it is.
Immediately after removing the tick, wash your skin well with soap and water or with rubbing alcohol.
Not all ticks carry Lyme. The Lyme bacteria is transmitted only by blacklegged ticks in their nymph or adult stage.
Save the tick to show your doctor. The doctor will want to determine if its a blacklegged tick and if theres evidence of feeding. Ticks enlarge as they feed. Your risk of getting Lyme from an infected tick increases with the length of time that the tick fed on your blood.
Summary:
Pull the tick out with tweezers and save it in a resealable container for identification.
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How To Protect Yourself Against Ticks
- Wear light-coloured clothing. It makes ticks easier to see and remove before they can attach to feed.
- Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, closed footwear and tuck your pants into your socks.
- Use a tick repellent that contains DEET. Apply it to your skin and outer clothing.
- Examine yourself thoroughly for ticks after a day out and use a mirror to check the back of your body.
With files from Leslie Young and Kevin Nielsen
Otologic Signs And Symptoms Of Lyme Disease
Sporadic case reports associate Lyme infections with sudden hearing loss, autoimmune inner ear disease, and bilateral vestibular loss. It seems likely that the damage of Lyme to the ear is through injury to the eighth nerve, rather than through damage to hair cells or inflammation within the inner ear.
Sowula et al reported that otological symptoms occurred frequently in tick-borne diseases. They reported in patient’s with Lyme in Poland, “The most common complaint was tinnitus accompanied by vertigo and dizziness , headache , unilateral sensorineural hearing loss . The patients also had tick-borne coinfections, among them the most common was Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana .”Others have reported hearing loss accompanied by cochlear inflammation and polyneuritis , as well as isolated sudden hearing loss . According to Bakker et al , “Neuroborreliosis seems to be a rare cause of sudden SHL, and routine screening of patients for borrelia antibodies in serum should therefore not be recommended.”
While it has been suggested that Lyme can cause vestibular loss, the evidence is slight. In areas where Lyme is endemic, positive blood tests for Lyme can wrongly be used to infer that Lyme caused vestibular loss. When vestibular loss occurs, it is presumably from vestibular nerve radiculopathy .
Rare findings are infectious vasculitis, including for example, MRI enhancement of the basilar artery.
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When Do Symptoms Of Lyme Disease Appear
Stage 1: Early Localized Disease
Symptoms with early localized Lyme disease may begin hours, a few days or even weeks after a tick bite. At this point, the
infection has not yet spread throughout the body. Lyme is the easiest to cure at this stage.
Symptoms may include:
- skin rash, which may or may not look like a bulls eye
- flu-like illness, including chills and fever
- fatigue
- muscle soreness and joint pain
- swollen lymph nodes
- sore throat
Stage 2: Early Disseminated Lyme
Early disseminated Lyme may occur several weeks or months after the tick bite. Bacteria are beginning to spread throughout the body. In addition to flu-like symptoms, this stage is often characterized by increase in symptoms such as:
- chills
- pain, weakness or numbness in the arms, legs
- vision changes
- heart problems, such as palpitations, chest pain
- rash may appear on body
- facial paralysis
Stage 3: Late Disseminated Lyme Disease
Many have asked, do you ever get rid of Lyme disease? Can Lyme disease return? If Lyme disease isnt promptly or effectively treated in the first two stages, late disseminated Lyme occurs weeks, months or even years after the tick bite. The Lyme bacteria have spread throughout the body and many patients develop chronic arthritis as well as an increase in neurological and cardiac symptoms. Symptoms may include:
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What Is Lyme Carditis
Lyme carditis is a rare infection that occurs when Lyme bacteria enters your heart tissue. The bacteria affects your heart’s electrical system.
Your heartbeat slows, and electrical signals have trouble traveling from your heart’s upper chambers to the lower chambers. Doctors call this condition heart block.
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Early Detection Is Key
Lyme disease is easiest to treat at the early or acute stage, within the first 30 days of exposure. This is why its so important to take precautions to prevent tick bites, both during and outside of tick season. Protect yourself when near potential tick habitats, always perform tick checks after outdoor activity , and dont delay seeking medical attention if you notice any symptoms that might be related to tick-borne illness. Its important to get tested as soon as possible for the best chances of recovery.
Which Areas Are More Likely To Have It
The tick that causes Lyme disease has been moving from the Northeast and upper Midwest into the Southern and Western U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Cases in California and Florida are on the rise. After a drop between 2017 and 2018, the numbers jumped a little bit in 2019.
But most Lyme cases in 2019 were in 15 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Washington, DC, is also a hotspot.
In 2019, Pennsylvania had the most Lyme infections, with 6,763. New York was next, with 2,847 cases.
In the Southern U.S., where itâs hotter, ticks stay under leaves so they don’t dry out. This means people donât get Lyme from Southern ticks very often because they don’t usually come out to bite.
Even though people only report about 30,000 cases of Lyme infection in the U.S. each year, there are actually around 476,000 a year. The same tick also can spread other diseases, including babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and Powassan virus. Those diseases are also on the rise in the U.S.
Whoâs likeliest to get Lyme disease?
Boys up to age 15 and men between the ages of 40 and 60 are the most likely to get Lyme disease. Thatâs because they tend to play outside and go camping, hunting, and hiking.
Why are there more ticks now than there used to be?
There are several reasons why Lyme is spreading. Some of these are:
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Does Lyme Cause Thyroid Problems
Some evidence suggests that Lyme disease can lead to thyroid problems. As seen above, one of the late-stage symptoms of this chronic illness is hormonal imbalances and deficiencies.
Researchers know that chronic illness and prior infections can cause thyroid problems like hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease. Inflammation of the thyroid gland is the hallmark sign of autoimmune thyroid disease. Because Lyme disease is a system-wide infection, leading to tissue inflammation in whatever organ it infiltrates. When the thyroid becomes inflamed, it struggles to produce enough thyroid hormone. The body needs thyroid hormones to regulate metabolism in the form of blood pressure, blood temperature, and heart rate.
It is relatively common for people with Lyme disease to develop Hashimoto’s. Some doctors may test their patients for Lyme disease if they have Hashimoto’s and struggle to manage symptoms. There is a lot of overlap between Lyme disease and Hashimoto’s disease, adding to the complexity of these two health conditions.
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Summer is the season to head outdoors, but the looming threat of tick bites has many uneasy about a hike in the woods, with good reason. We are right smack in the middle of peak season for ticks, which means the chance of contracting Lyme disease from a single tick bite is relatively high, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, where 70 percent of the ballooning deer tick population is infected with the health-compromising disease.
Lyme disease is scary in part because the signs can be easy to miss, and undetected cases can progress from treatable to chronic without a patient ever seeing a tick. People on the lookout for the tell-tale bullseye to necessitate a trip to their health care provider may miss the critical treatment window. The reality is that 30 percent of people with Lyme disease never get that bullseye, and because the rash can move locations and is usually not itchy or painful, some people who have a skin reaction never notice it.
So how can you enjoy the outdoors with your family this summer and still avoid Lyme disease? Tick vigilance is a great first step long sleeves and pants, insect repellent containing DEET and Permethrin for clothes and shoes will go a long way in warding off these pesky parasites. Still, there is always a risk of picking up a tiny hitchhiker when you head outside, so its important to understand the symptoms of an infected bite.
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Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented
There’s no sure way to avoid getting Lyme disease. But you can minimize your risk. Be aware of ticks when you’re in high-risk areas. If you work outdoors or spend time gardening, fishing, hunting, or camping, take precautions:
- Wear closed shoes or boots, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants. Tuck your pant legs into your shoes or boots to prevent ticks from crawling up your legs.
- Use an insect repellent containing 10% to 30% DEET .
- Wear light-colored clothing to help you see ticks more easily.
- Keep long hair pulled back or wear a hat for protection.
- Don’t sit on the ground outside.
- Check yourself for ticks regularly both indoors and outdoors. Wash your clothes and hair after leaving tick-infested areas.
If you use an insect repellent containing DEET, follow the directions on the product’s label and don’t overapply it. Place DEET on shirt collars and sleeves and pant cuffs, and only use it directly on exposed areas of skin. Be sure to wash it off when you go back indoors.
No vaccine for Lyme disease is currently on the market in the United States.
Outlook For Early Disseminated Lyme Disease
If you receive a diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics at this stage, you can expect to be cured of Lyme disease. Without treatment, complications can occur. Treatments are available for the complications.
In rare cases, you may experience a continuation of Lyme disease symptoms after antibiotic treatment. This is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome .
Some people who were treated for Lyme disease report muscle and joint pain, cognitive difficulties, sleep issues, or fatigue after their treatments were finished.
The cause of this is unknown. However, researchers believe it may be due to an autoimmune response in which your immune system attacks healthy tissues. It may also be linked to an ongoing infection with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
The practices below can reduce your likelihood of contracting Lyme disease and having it progress to the early disseminated stage.
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How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed
Your doctor will diagnose you based on your symptoms and whether youâve been exposed to a tick. They might also run a blood test. In the first few weeks of infection, the test may be negative because antibodies take a few weeks to show up.
Hopefully soon, there will be tests that can diagnose Lyme disease in the first few weeks after youâre exposed. The earlier you get treated, the less likely itâll get worse.
What Are The Stages Of Lyme Infection
There are three stages:
- Early localized Lyme: Flu-like symptoms like fever, chills, headache, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, and a rash that looks like a bulls-eye or is round and red and at least 2 inches long
- Early disseminated Lyme: Flu-like symptoms like pain, weakness, or numbness in your arms and legs, changes in your vision, heart palpitations and chest pain, a rash , and a type of facial paralysis known as Bellâs palsy
- Late disseminated Lyme: This can happen weeks, months, or years after the tick bite. Symptoms might include arthritis, severe fatigue and headaches, dizziness, trouble sleeping, and confusion.
About 10% of people treated for Lyme infection donât shake the disease. They may go on to have three core symptoms: joint or muscle pain, fatigue, and short-term memory loss or confusion. This is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. It can be hard to diagnose because it has the same symptoms as other diseases. Plus, there isnt a blood test to confirm it.
Experts arenât sure why Lyme symptoms donât always go away. One theory is that your body keeps fighting the infection even after the bacteria are gone, like an autoimmune disorder.
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