This month is Lyme disease awareness month, with Lyme Disease UK running their annual ‘Wake Up to Lyme’ campaign.
Andrew adds, "Lyme disease can be caught all over the UK, including in urban parks and back gardens. Public Health England estimates that around 3,000 new cases of Lyme disease are seen every year. Lyme disease can be extremely hard to diagnose, and tick bites are easy to miss as they are normally painless and very small."
Below is some information on being “tick aware” from Public Health England:
● ticks can transmit microbes that cause infections such as Lyme disease
● you could be exposed to ticks whenever you spend time outdoors, including when in your garden or the local park
● ticks mainly attach to animals, but sometimes they may bite you or your family
● you can prevent tick bites by walking on clearly defined paths, using insect repellent and performing regular tick checks
● some tick bites can result in infection, so it is important to remove ticks safely and as quickly as possible
● the safest way to remove a tick is by using a pair of fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool
● contact your GP or dial NHS 111 promptly if you begin to feel unwell with flu-like symptoms or develop a spreading circular red rash. Remember to tell them you were bitten by a tick or have recently spent time outdoors
Find out more at: https://lymediseaseuk.com/
