MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It's looking like a bad year for tick bites. Data from the CDC show people are seeking emergency care at the highest rates since 2019. So if you are planning a hike or a trip to the park and you want to avoid these blood-sucking bugs - yes, please - NPR's Pien Huang has some tips to help you fend them off.
PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: People are often surprised by how small ticks are. Here's Rebecca Eisen, a tick researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
REBECCA EISEN: If you can picture an everything bagel, an adult is about the size of a sesame seed - so the little white seeds on there - and then the nymphs are about the size of a poppy seed - so those tiny little black seeds.
HUANG: That's for deer ticks. Lone star ticks and dog ticks can be bigger. All told, there are about a dozen different ticks in the U.S. that can cause problems for human health. In the northeast, mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest, the biggest problem is Lyme disease. Thomas Hart is an infectious disease microbiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He says Lyme disease is transmitted by infected deer ticks.
THOMAS HART: You can encounter these ticks really at any time of the year, but they're going to be the most active in warmer months, and they tend to live in woody or grassy areas.
HUANG: In the central and southeastern U.S., ehrlichiosis and spotted fever rickettsiosis are top concerns, along with a tick-induced allergy to red meat. Tick bites are less common in the west, but they also happen there and can spread Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and a few other things. So if all of this is making you itchy, Alison Hinckley, an epidemiologist with CDC, says there are precautions you can take.
ALISON HINCKLEY: You can wear insect-repellent-treated clothing. We call that permethrin-treated clothing. That's a really easy thing to do.
HUANG: Cover up as much skin as possible and check yourself daily.
HINCKLEY: Showering when you come in from outside really has shown to be a good way to prevent tick-borne diseases.
HUANG: That's because the longer a tick feeds on you, the higher the risk of infection. So if you find a tick, take it off right away. The best way is to use tweezers, grab it as close to the skin as you can, and find out what type of tick it is and how long it's been feeding on you. If it's a deer tick and you're in an area where Lyme disease is common, Hinckley says see a doctor.
HINCKLEY: The only time you would get an antibiotic after a tick bite and before any symptoms, it would be to prevent Lyme disease. And in that case, we recommend just a single dose.
HUANG: Otherwise, watch for symptoms like fever, aches and rash. If those show up, Hinckley says, seek medical care. You wouldn't be alone. Some 31 million people get tick bites each year.
Pien Huang, NPR News.
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