Living under the care of western medicine practices we are brought into this world by our parents and during our early years of growth we are also under the watchful eye of our pediatrician. These pediatrician visits have become known as “well baby check-ups”.
The need for these visits are indeed necessary as the immune system of the newly growing infant/child is incomplete. The doctors can check for signs and symptoms and these visits prove quite useful towards preventative care. As we move from the infant/child age, our medical care moves towards a more reactive care. I don’t want this to sound that use of medication is not preventative, although there is a shift developing towards preventative measures. Wellness programs are being developed, nutritional awareness and so on are popular.
Therefore, it stands to reason that preventative measures should be taken when we talk about protecting oneself or family when outdoors. Lyme disease is on the rise and there are proven proactive measures one can take to protect oneself and their family. Mosquito Squad of Franklin & Framingham has the ability to kill adult ticks with our proven treatment program which is complemented by a tick tube program that will aid in the decreasing the next generation of ticks.
You do need to be reactive if you do have some symptoms and suspect that you may have Lyme Disease. I recently asked my doctor about this. He is a Northshore Primary Care Physician knowledgeable on the subject. Here’s what he said.
Overall, most people are treated for Lyme empirically, which means that it is based on a clinical scenario and not a positive test result. One scenario is tick bite then symptoms of Lyme (joints, fatigue, fever, headache, etc.). Another is the classic bull’s eye rash although not everyone gets the classic rash, there are variations and only 50% get the rash (an estimate). If someone has less classic symptoms, then you can do labs but they are notoriously unreliable. A Western Blot test is done, then if + or indeterminate, an ELISA is done to confirm. There is a lot of controversy with Lyme in terms of the reliability of testing and treatment. There is a PCR test which attempts to pick up the organism rather than the immune system’s response, but that does not seem to be ready for widespread use. Another newer test CD 57 shows promise and may end of being the best to look for chronic Lyme.Part 2 from Doctor after follow-up questions:
If a blood test for Lyme is +, then the public health department is notified and they send a form to be completed. I’m not aware of local studies. A number of years ago a study was done by public health or someone to determine what % of ticks had Lyme in them. There was a wide range from 5% to over 20% and it could even vary from one side of the street to another whether there was a different microclimate…
If you want to take preventive measures to fight tick bites, give us a call. Our barrier treatment program protects your yard so you don’t have to fuss with misting your body every time you go outside.