Wish For Warm Weather, Get Ticks and Poison Ivy

Spring has finally come to New York. But as we emerge to enjoy the warmer weather outdoors, we need to be extra careful about everything else that's emerging now too.

For example, May’s arrival marks the beginning of the high-risk season for tick bites and tick-borne disease. Tick-borne diseases hit New York harder than almost any other state. And the warm weather and the increasing carbon dioxide in the air due to climate change are fostering the growth of poison ivy and related flora.

May is even Tick-borne Disease Awareness Month. The diseases carried by ticks in the USA include:

• Lyme disease
• Anaplasmosis/Ehrlichiosis
• Babesiosis
• Powassan disease
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)
• Tick Paralysis

The number of ticks has grown rapidly in recent years nationwide, according to news reports. The causes include less deer hunting, warmer winters, fewer predators and the spread of bucolic suburbs.

Illnesses spread by the insects doubled across the country between 2004 and 2016. When diseases spread by mosquitoes and fleas were also factored in, numbers tripled.

In New York state, 69,313 diseases that came from ticks were reported in the 12 years. Only Pennsylvania had more, with 73,610, the report said. Mosquito-related diseases were reported 7,167 times in New York.
According to the CDC report, Lyme disease accounted for 82 percent of all tick-borne diseases between 2004 and 2016.

To prevent tick bites, you will need increased vigilance and careful practices.

“Remember, ticks don’t fly or jump, rather they lie in wait in areas of low-lying vegetation ready to attach to a passing human or animal," said A. K. Vaidian, Commissioner of the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health. "When there is a choice, avoid walking through places ticks typically inhabit: leaf litter, brush, and high grass. When hiking, remember to always walk in the center of the trail."

And here's another reason to always walk in the center of the trail: poison ivy and related plants like poison oak and poison sumac, whose oily substance can cause serious – and, sometimes, severe – skin reactions. With warm weather here, they're awakening from hibernation fast.

Did you know that butterflies like those poisonous plants? They're immune but their predators aren't.

"If butterflies land there, don’t put your hand there,” said Robert Levine, DO, of Advanced Dermatology PC in East Setauket, offering childhood rhymes to help people remember. And, "leaves of three, let it be."

More than 10 million Americans annually are infected by urushiol, the toxic oil of poisonous plants, and that number is expected to grow, according to scientists.

“Urushiol is readily spread,” Dr. Levine said. “You don’t have to touch plants directly to become infected. Simply walking through an area of poison ivy and then later rubbing your clothes or shoes can cause an allergic skin reaction.”

Even the smoke from the burning of plant waste that includes poison ivy carries urushiol particles that may prompt facial swelling and skin reaction in exposed areas of the body.

For those unlucky enough to encounter poisonous ivy or any of its relatives, Dr. Levine offers these tips:

• Rinse off the exposed skin immediately in warm – not hot – soapy water, and wash under your nails. Even if you are unable to remove enough of the plant oil to prevent a reaction, you can limit its spread to other parts of the body.
• Wear gloves and wash off clothing, garden tools and anything else in contact with the plant.
• If contact dermatitis develops, do not scratch the affected area. Scratching only worsens the condition and leads to potential infection. Cool, wet compresses placed on the skin help reduce the itch.
• Take lukewarm baths of short duration and apply calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream to the affected skin.
• Go to a hospital emergency room if you have trouble breathing, experience swelling on any part of the face and genitals or develop a generalized skin rash.

As for those ticks, Dr. Vaidian says:

• Wear clothing treated with permethrin
• Use EPA-registered repellents. It is important to follow label directions carefully.
• Check for ticks as soon as possible after coming indoors, and at least once a day.
• Family pets also need protection. Use veterinarian-recommended tick repellents for indoor/outdoor pets, such as the Seresto collar.
• Prompt removal of any ticks that are found attached to a person or a pet decreases the risk of disease transmission. Remove attached ticks by using fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close as possible to where it is attached to the skin and pull straight out.

VIDEO/ NYSDOH

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