Although smaller than a penny, ticks are one of the biggest threats to the people of Fairfield County. Yesterday the Wilton Library along with Time for Lyme, Inc. and the BLAST Lyme Disease Prevention Program warned residents of the dangers of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases as well as giving them ways to prevent infection.
We live in a Lyme pandemic area and everybody right now should be concerned about the risks, said Eileen Rice, a volunteer with BLAST, and one of the presenters. According to the Center for Disease Control it is the fastest growing infectious disease, and a University of New Haven study concluded that 90 percent of ticks in Fairfield County are infected.
Both Rice, and Deborah Burnamen, Vice President of Education for Time for Lyme, discussed a few simple procedures to help prevent infection. Two easy solutions they said were to shower or bathe right after being outside, and checking for ticks after bathing. Time is critical with the disease because it takes 36 hours for the tick to finish the bite and blood sucking and the earlier it is caught and removed the less likely the chance of infection is and the quicker people can be treated for it.
However, no matter how quickly the tick is found, they believe you should get tested right away because even though people may not think they are infected most of the symptoms of Lyme are not unique to it. Besides the most famous symptom, the red, bulls-eye shaped rash that only about 30 percent of infected people get according to Rice and Burnamens presentations, other symptoms are similar to those for other diseases and infections.
For more information, BLAST can be contacted by phone (203)-431-2745 or e-mail [email protected], Time for Lyme, Inc. can be reached at (203)969-1333.
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