Old Lyme is a small, charming town on the coast of Connecticut. It’s from this otherwise unassuming city of 8,000 that Lyme disease takes its name. That’s because in 1975, American researchers first studied and wrote a full description of the tickborne condition there—in spite of the fact that European scientists had documented the disease nearly a century earlier.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, which is carried by deer ticks (found in the northeastern and north-central United States) and black- legged ticks (found on the West Coast). The infection can spread from animals to humans through tick bites; each year, more than 200,000 people are affected. Within a month of the bite, a rash generally appears. It starts as a red spot and then, as it spreads, the center fades, leaving behind a bull’s-eye ring.

Other symptoms of early-stage Lyme disease include fever, chills, fatigue, headaches, a stiff neck, and muscle and joint pain. In rare cases, the infection may spread to the heart, resulting in an irregular or slow heartbeat. If it attacks the nervous system, numbness or facial droop can occur. A doctor can prescribe a course of antibiotics to kill the infection.

But if Lyme disease is not detected soon enough, it can lead to painful, swollen joints and wreak havoc on the nervous system, causing memory loss, concentration problems, and mood changes. In a small number of cases, the disease or its complications can prove fatal.

The best protection against the disease is to avoid exposure to ticks and their bites. Experts recommend wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts and using a DEET- based insect repellent when out in grassy, wooded areas. If a tick bites you, it’s best to grasp the insect near its head with a pair of fine-tipped tweezers and pull it out carefully and slowly. Slathering a tick with Vaseline or nail polish, or applying a match to it, will only cause the tick to burrow in further, increasing your risk of contracting the disease.

ADDITIONAL FACTS

  1. The longer a tick is attached to you, the greater your risk of getting Lyme disease.
  2. To diagnose the disease, physicians administer a series of tests that detect antibodies to B. burgdorferi.