Small pest: Big problems
Tick bites can result in serious health problems
Before June 2024, Sandy Mansmann said she could multitask with ease and remember everything. Then she was bitten by a blacklegged tick.
Now, the 84-year-old Nottingham Township woman said she lives with fatigue, achy joints and brain fog.
Mansmann is one of thousands of Pennsylvanians who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease, an infection caused by a tick bite.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania has led the nation in Lyme disease cases for 11 of the last 12 years, accounting for 30% of all reported infections in the United States during that time.
Emily Struckhoff, extension program specialist at Penn State University, said this is a result of the high population of blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, in the state.
无毛视频淲e have a lot of really good habitat for ticks,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频�(They) love forest areas, areas with a lot of tree cover, brushes, and shrubs.无毛视频�
Mansmann lives right across from Mingo Creek County Park and deer regularly come through the 15 acres worth of trees in her yard.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 a breeding ground (for ticks),无毛视频� she said.
Struckhoff said people typically have no idea a tick has attached itself because its bite is imperceptible and its size 无毛视频� about two-tenths of an inch 无毛视频� can be too. Once it无毛视频檚 attached, a tick can remain for about a week, feeding on blood and growing bigger until it falls off.
After Mansmann无毛视频檚 infection started, she found herself in bed for two days, cold and exhausted.
无毛视频淚 couldn无毛视频檛 even get up to get a thermometer, but I knew I had a fever,无毛视频� she said.
A doctor diagnosed her as having Lyme disease about one month later. She was prescribed a course of drugs to help curtail the infection and remains on three medications to help manage her lingering symptoms.
A lover of the outdoors, Mansmann has become vigilant when she comes inside, checking herself for disease-transmitting ticks. The drought, she said, lessened the number of them, though there were still baby ticks, which are called nymphs.
DeAnna Martin, director of Washington Park, said she无毛视频檇 received complaints about ticks near the park无毛视频檚 baseball field. They, too, were nymphs.
Martin said they were 无毛视频渁lmost translucent无毛视频� because they had not yet fed on blood.
The city hired a landscaping company to treat the baseball and softball fields, and the dog park.
无毛视频淯nfortunately, it无毛视频檚 not something that无毛视频檚 ever going to completely go away, but we无毛视频檙e going to try to mitigate it to the best of our ability,无毛视频� Martin said.
There are a number of things people can do to lessen their chances of being bitten.
无毛视频淭he first thing is to be aware of when and where you might find ticks,无毛视频� Struckhoff said.
Ticks are most prevalent in the fall and late spring, most typically in woody areas or grassy fields.
Other precautions can also lessen your risk, including wearing long pants, sleeves and socks (无毛视频淚f ticks can无毛视频檛 get onto your skin, they can无毛视频檛 bite you,无毛视频� Struckhoff said.); wearing lighter colored clothing to more easily see a tick that无毛视频檚 latched on to clothing; and using repellants like Deet or treating clothes with the insecticide permethrin.
Mansmann now holds public meetings to raise awareness about the symptoms of Lyme disease and how it occurs, with one scheduled for this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Citizens Library in Washington.
She loves to be outside, but finds herself frustrated because she can无毛视频檛 always do that because there is too much risk.
That awareness is important, said Struckhoff.
无毛视频淲e absolutely want people to continue going out and enjoying the outdoors,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淛ust be aware that ticks may be out there, know what steps can be taken to prevent bites and what to do if you are bit. That can give you some peace of mind.无毛视频�