Health by Robert MacMillan, MD The inspiration for this article came to me last night while getting ready for bed. I had an itch on my hip and, when starting to scratch it, I felt a small lump. On looking at the spot, I immediately recognized it as a tick which I probably got when cleaning up my lawn and taking the sticks into the adjacent woods two days earlier. I removed it carefully with tweezers, watched as it crawled across the table and then disposed of it. I was certain that it was a blacklegged tick. I am to see my family doctor later today for appropriate treatment. Two summers ago, when I was getting dressed, my wife noticed a blackish spot on my back. With the aid of a mirror, I saw it andmy first thought was that it was a possible melanoma. Later that day after considerable worry, my son, a family physician, was visiting and examined it more closely. With his usual sense of wit, he toldme that he had good news and bad news. The good news, he said, was that it was not a melanoma. The bad news was that it had “legs.” I hadn’t thought much about ticks until then as, up until recent years, doctors didn’t see them or even know about Lyme disease. Now the problem is rapidly expanding to most parts of Canada, especially southern British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and the Eastern provinces. Kingston, Ontario, where I live, has one of the highest rates of tick infestation and Lyme disease in the country. Cases of Lyme disease reported in Canada have risen from 144 in 2009 to 2,025 cases in 2017. It is important for all of us to be aware of the modern prevention and treatment for ticks and Lyme disease. The Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as each of the provincial health agencies, publish a tick and Lyme disease map each year showing the expanded areas of greatest risk. Ticks survive on the ingestion of blood and, accordingly, they are most frequently a problem in habitats which support mammal hosts, especially deer. There are many types of ticks, but the one that causes Lyme disease is called the blacklegged tick or deer tick. This type of tick carries a particular strain of bacteria which can then be transmitted to persons bitten by the insect. If the tick has been feeding on the individual for more than 24 hours, the risk of coming down with Lyme disease is possible. Ticks & Lyme Disease 34 | www.snowbirds.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx