May 17, 2023
-by Bonnie MacIsaac
The month of May has been proclaimed Lyme Disease Awareness Month by the Municipality of the County of Inverness. The most active time for the black-legged tick that carries the Lyme bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) is from late March to the end of June and from early October to mid-December.
According to Science's Elizabeth Pennisi, recent findings presented at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology's 2022 annual meeting have shed light on an intriguing discovery: black-legged ticks, known carriers of Lyme disease, thrive even in below-freezing temperatures. This revelation implies that in Nova Scotia, where the region typically experiences a couple of nice days each month, these ticks can remain active throughout the year. This new research highlights the importance of year-round vigilance and taking appropriate precautions against tick bites, regardless of the weather conditions.
The bacterium is normally carried by mice, squirrels, birds, and other small animals. It can be passed to humans when ticks feed on infected animals, become infected themselves, and then bite people.
These ticks vary in size and colour, depending on their age and whether they have been feeding. Before feeding, they are about 3-5 mm in length, and are red and dark brown in colour. Young ticks in the pre-adult stages are smaller and lighter coloured. When they are full of blood, adult female ticks can be as large as a grape. You are most likely to come into contact with ticks by brushing against vegetation. When a tick bites you, it becomes attached to your skin by its mouth parts.
Minimizing your risk
If you are going to spend time outdoors in wooded areas or tall grass that may be tick-infested:
– Wear light-coloured long-sleeved shirts and pants. The light colours will help you see whether there are any ticks on you. Tuck your shirt into your pants, and pull socks up over your pant legs. This will help keep ticks away from your bare skin.
– Wear shoes that cover your entire foot. Avoid sandals or open shoes.
– Spray clothing and exposed skin with an insect repellent that contains DEET. Read and follow the manufacturer's directions for safe use.
– After finishing your outdoor activity, check your clothing and your entire body for any attached ticks.
– And, check your pets regularly for ticks!
If you find a tick attached to your skin:
– Use tweezers to remove it. Grasp the tick's head and mouth parts as close to your skin as possible, and pull slowly until the tick is removed. Be careful not to twist, rotate or crush the tick during removal.
– After removing the tick, use soap and water to wash the spot where you were bitten. You may also disinfect the bite area with alcohol or household disinfectant.
– Try to save the tick in an empty pill vial or a doubled zip-lock bag. If you develop any symptoms of Lyme disease, the tick can be sent to a laboratory for identification, and this may help diagnose your illness. It may also help public health workers identify areas of higher risk for Lyme disease.
– Contact your health care provider right away if you develop a rash or any other symptoms of Lyme disease.
How can you reduce the number of blacklegged ticks around your home?
You can’t get rid of ticks completely, but you can reduce the number with landscaping and yard maintenance.
– Prune bushes and trees to let in sunlight and air.
– Keep lawns mowed short.
– Remove leaf litter.
– Clear tall grasses and brush around your home and at the edge of your lawn.
– Put children’s swings, slides, and sandboxes in sunny dry places away from yard edges and trees.
– Place wood chips or gravel between your lawn and any wooded areas. This will stop ticks from moving into areas used by family and pets.
– Keep the ground under bird feeders clean. Place feeders in dry sunny places away from your house.
– Add hard surfaces – like decking, stone, tiling, or gravel – around your house and property.
Use these surfaces for outdoor activities.
– Keep your woodpile neat, dry, off the ground, and away from your house.
The symptoms and health effects of Lyme disease
Although the symptoms and health effects will vary from one person to the next, Lyme disease is often described in three stages. The first sign of infection is often a circular rash. This rash occurs in about 70-80 per cent of infected people and begins at the site of the tick bite after a delay of three days to one month. Additional symptoms may include fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes. If untreated, the disease progresses into the second stage which can last several months. Symptoms of this stage include migraines, weakness, multiple skin rashes, painful or stiff joints, abnormal heartbeat and extreme fatigue. If the disease continues to progress, the third stage of Lyme disease can include symptoms such as chronic arthritis and neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, numbness, and paralysis.
– Fatalities from Lyme disease are rare. However, if contracted during pregnancy, Lyme disease can pose serious health risks to the baby, including stillbirth.
– Lyme disease can be treated effectively with antibiotics. A full recovery is more likely when treatment begins in the early stages of the disease. Undiagnosed Lyme disease may develop into chronic illness that can be difficult to treat.
– There is no evidence that Lyme disease can spread from person-to-person. Although cats and dogs can get Lyme disease, there is no evidence that they can pass the infection to people. Pets can, however, carry infected ticks into your home or yard.
Thanks to Health Canada and NS Public Health for this timely information. Check out their websites for a wealth of information on this topic. Enjoy getting outdoors but do keep in mind to take the precautions. Every season can be tick season!
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Since it's lobster season...I thought I'd remind consumers of this advice from Health Canada. It's about consumption for tomalley from lobsters because of the natural toxins that can sometimes be found in this organ.
Past information gathered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) suggests that there is a potential for a very small number of lobsters to contain levels of paralytic shellfish poison (PSP) in the tomalley that could represent a health risk to consumers if too much tomalley is eaten.
This toxin is normally not detected in lobster meat and so there are no recommended restrictions on the consumption of lobster meat. As well, this advice does not extend to canned lobster tomalley because the risk is controlled during processing.
The tomalley is the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of the lobster. It functions as the liver and pancreas, and much like the liver of other animals, the lobster’s tomalley is the natural filter for contaminants. Test results have shown that the tomalley can accumulate contaminants found in the environment, including PSP toxins. Although not widely consumed, tomalley is considered by some to be a delicacy.
PSP toxins are naturally produced by certain species of microscopic marine algae found in coastal waters. The toxin can affect the human nervous system and can be very serious if ingested in large amounts. Symptoms of a mild exposure include a tingling sensation or numbness of the lips shortly after eating. Larger exposures can lead to these symptoms spreading to the arms and legs, headaches, dizziness and nausea, and in rare cases more serious conditions such as muscular paralysis, respiratory difficulty, choking and even death if medical attention is not received in time. Should you experience any of these symptoms after consuming lobster tomalley, you should immediately consult a health care professional.
While there have been no confirmed cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning from consuming lobster tomalley, Health Canada is reminding Canadians about its advice on lobster tomalley consumption to further protect consumers.
Health Canada recommends that:
– children not eat lobster tomalley, and
– adults restrict their consumption of lobster tomalley to no more than the amount from one cooked lobster.
Thanks to Health Canada for this timely information!
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