Backcountry Emergencies
Lyme Disease
This page presents some basic information on Lyme Disease and how it relates to hikers, backpackers, and campers in canyon country.
Caution: Medical and other health related information found on this page is intended as basic information and should be viewed as a starting point for further investigation by the visitor. Please do further research and speak to a licensed physician prior to using any of this medical advice.
Bites from the tiny, black deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) can result in Lyme disease.
- Lyme Disease is carried by this parasitic tick on mice, deer, and pets.
- The disease is caused by a spirochete bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi.
- Summer is the prime time for Lyme disease.
- The number of cases doubled from 2001 to 2002.
- The disease has spread to 43 of the 48 contiguous United States, with 12 states in the Northeast and northern Midwest accounting for 95% of the reported cases.
- Groups at highest risk include children ages 5 to 14, and adults ages 50 to 59.
Symptoms
Infection does not usually occur until the tick has been attached to your body for 36 hours.
- The disease is usually accompanied by an expanding bull's eye rash at the site of the bite. Secondary symptoms may include muscle pain, headache, and swollen glands.
- If untreated the bacterium can lodge in the body, causing fever, sore throat, severe fatigue, joint pain, tingling or numbness in the extremities, and changes in vision.
- In its late stages the disease can lead to arthritis, meningitis, facial drooping, numbness in the hands and feet, and neurological disorders that can include short-term memory loss, the inability to concentrate or finish sentences, disorientation, and confusion.
Treatment
Lyme disease can be easily cured if diagnosed early and treated with a short course of antibiotics.
Prevention
When out camping or hiking:
- Wear shoes, socks, and light colored clothing.
- Spray your clothes and skin with an insect repellent containing DEET.
- Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails.
- Avoid moist, shady areas covered with leaf litter or low-lying vegetation.
- Don't sit on the ground or on stone walls.
- Keep long hair under a cap or tied back.
- Do a full-body check for ticks at the end of the day.
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