Lone star ticks on the rise this year

It may seem early in the season — especially with chilly temperatures continuing to dominate early mornings — but the tick season is in full swing, according to area medical personnel. And what’s surprising Registered Nurse Rebecca Young of Southampton Hospital’s Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center is seeing an increase in lone star ticks.

Ms. Young handles the hotline for the Resource Center and attended a conference at Massachusetts General Hospital in the past week where it was reported that lone star ticks aren’t just prevalent on the East End, but are spreading across the country.

She’s been handling calls not only from Long Island and New York City, but even from doctors in Europe, Ms. Young said.

Lone star ticks don’t carry Lyme disease, but can be a source of another serious illness, ehrlichiosis. While symptoms vary from person to person, they can include fever, headache, chills, malaise, muscle pain, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea, confusion, red eyes and rash.

The illness should be treated quickly, Ms. Young said, adding that those who get early treatment are likely to recover quickly on outpatient medications, while more serious cases are likely to need intravenous antibiotics and even prolonged hospitalizations.

The lone star tick also can cause a red meat allergy, Ms. Young said, resulting in hives, swelling and vomiting, diarrhea, trouble breathing and a drop in blood pressure.

Shelter Island doctors are starting to treat patients reporting tick bites with antibiotics.

Dr. Barbara Phillips-Cole, who works with Dr. Peter Kelt, and Dr. Nathanael Desire and Dr. Anthonette Desire are taking the same approach.

“We don’t want them to wait around,” Dr. Phillips-Cole said.

Bring the tick with you if you can, but in any case, see a doctor, she said.

Dr. Nathanael Desire said he has spoken to colleagues at Southampton Hospital and is working to get more educational material out to the community.

None of the Island physicians have seen any sharp increase in patients reporting tick bites, but they are prepared to treat and educate patients.

A Lyme disease vaccine is in trials in Europe, Ms. Young said. While early studies are showing good results, it’s too soon to predict if a vaccine might be viable here in the near future, she said.

“We’re hitting the ground running,” Ms. Young said about the effort to educate people so tick-borne diseases can be treated early. Immediate detection as soon after a bite occurs is most likely to protect from chronic illness, she said.

Similar advice comes from Dr. Robert Walsh, Eastern Long Island Hospital’s infectious disease specialist.

Because it takes about 36 hours from the time of a bite to take full effect, those who seek treatment early will be put on an antibiotic regiment likely to avoid chronic illness, Dr. Walsh said.

He hasn’t seen many patients complaining of tick bites of any kind yet, but is still advising people who live on the East End to check themselves regularly for ticks and bites..

Look especially in areas where there are folds in the skin, such as the groin and underarms, Dr. Walsh advised.

Nothing replaces checking yourself for ticks, Ms. Young agreed. She is advising people that while they can’t spray their skin with permethrin, they can spray the bottoms of their shoes with the tickicide.

Another method she uses is to apply tape with the adhesive side out at the top of socks so any ticks that do get beyond the shoe will stick the tape and be trapped.