Walking in the woods. Should I worry about Lyme disease?
July 26, 2018 7:49 AM   Subscribe

I walk in the woods a lot; in the summer w/ sandals. It is a asphalt path; wide enough for a small truck, and I stick to the middle. I hate the idea that there might be a danger from ticks simply by a walk outdoors, but thats what everyone says.
posted by ebesan to Health & Fitness (16 answers total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
Ticks will jump on you when you disturb the brush and grass that they're hanging out on. A wide path with no vegetation hanging over it will offer very, very few opportunities for ticks to get you. Ticks do not fall from the sky or climb up you from the pavement.

If you do end up with a tick on you, assuming the tick is carrying Lyme then you still are not guaranteed to be infected. Chance of infection increases with the amount of time the tick is attached to you - the bacteria is passed to you through the tick's secretions. Finding ticks quickly and removing them promptly provides a surprising amount of protection against Lyme.

If you're very worried, then the best prevention is to wear closed shoes and long pants. Check yourself for ticks immediately after finishing your walk. Bug repellent can help.

(Source - we have a dog that loves to sit in the tall grass and I've had extensive discussions with our vet about this.)
posted by backseatpilot at 7:57 AM on July 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


Information on ticks from the CDC, and specifically, how to prevent tick bites.
posted by slipthought at 7:59 AM on July 26, 2018


You can only get Lyme disease if a tick carrying the bacteria is embedded in your skin for at least 24 hours. If you check yourself for ticks when you finish your walk, and again before bed in case a sneaky one got under your clothes, you should be totally fine. It sounds like your path is very low risk anyway; ticks don’t leap or fly onto their hosts; they wait on foliage fir something to brush against them, or they fall from taller grass or shrubs as you walk by.
posted by juliapangolin at 7:59 AM on July 26, 2018 [11 favorites]


My mother would be Very Disappointed in me if I did not encourage you to use a suitable bug repellant (both she and my brother have been clobbered with Lyme disease; both are doing better, and Mom's kind of become an activist about this).

There's actually a good and easy belt-and-suspenders approach to bug repellant - there's actually two different kinds of formulas you could use, one that repells ticks and one that would kill ones who are stubborn enough to still approach. To repel ticks, use a repellant spray with DEET - this is the stuff you spray/rub on your skin. The kills-ticks formula uses something called "permethrin", and you treat your clothes themselves instead of your body.

The practical upshot of how this works is: you have a can of the permethrin stuff and you spray that all over your clothes before you put them, wait a few minutes to let that dry, then get dressed. Then you spray/rub/whatever on the DEET stuff onto your face, hands, and all other exposed skin (maybe add some around pant and shirt cuffs, collars, etc. Double the protection on two different fronts.

I did that a few years back when I was doing a good deal of hiking in the Adirondacks one summer week and I was totally fine. You can get the permethrin spray at camping stores; usually there's enough to treat one entire outfit plus maybe an extra shirt, and it lasts until you wash them. There is also hiking clothing that's already been treated with permethrin on a more permanent basis.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:33 AM on July 26, 2018 [3 favorites]


Your risk of exposure depends on where you're located. My mom (in Pennsylvania) got Lymes just from being in her yard during the summer, but their house is right next to a strip of forest and we have lots of deer come up into the neighborhood.

There's also intrinsic danger in everything we do. I think that wearing bug spray and doing a tick check whenever you're in the woods is comparable to wearing your seat belt in the car -- standard practice, you'll probably be fine but why wouldn't you just do something that's so simple to mitigate the risk?
posted by DoubleLune at 8:56 AM on July 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


As my nick suggests, I've spent a lot of time in the woods. A tick's Achilles heel is dehydration, they can't survive without humid microclimates within grass and leaf litter - you should be fine on paved surfaces.

If you are bitten, save the tick and have it tested. Lyme is but the tip of the iceberg, there are numerous bacterial, protozoan, and viral infections that ticks can transmit, and the saliva of the lone star tick can cause a dangerous allergy. The medical system is decades behind in diagnosis and treatment, and many people are left disabled even with appropriate medical care.

I look at fields and underbrush with the same revulsion I feel for dirty hypodermic needles, I won't come in contact with them without several layers of protection. Untreated Lyme destroyed my life, I recommend this book if you want to know more.
posted by silvicolous at 9:08 AM on July 26, 2018 [2 favorites]


Ticks will jump on you when you disturb the brush and grass that they're hanging out on.

Not exactly. Ticks don't jump. They are not like fleas. Ticks climb up the nearest plant stalk or blade of grass to the very tip, hang on with their hind legs and wait with their outstretched forelimbs for something to brush by and then cling to it. So if you aren't walking through grass or brush, you are very unlikely to get a tick.

They will wait patiently at the same spot for weeks if necessary. They don't move around much looking for a host. So in some cases, well-travelled trails are less risky because they will already have been cleared by a previous walker. More risky would be walking off-trail in brush.
posted by JackFlash at 9:10 AM on July 26, 2018 [5 favorites]


Your geographic area is important too. See this CDC link for a bit of context.

https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/maps.html

You may have valid, or at least somewhat valid, concerns or you may be jumping a bit at shadows depending on where you are located.
posted by RolandOfEld at 9:14 AM on July 26, 2018 [4 favorites]


I just want to echo RolandOfEld. If you are in the North Eastern US then you should cover up as much as possible. I would definitely do closed toed shoes and a hat. Deer ticks are quite small and easy to miss in a tick check. If you are outside of the north-east I wouldn't worry.

That said, it sounds from your question like you have already done this multiple times and are comfortable with the risk. Lyme isn't (generally speaking) the end of the world. You take antibiotics and it goes away. As others have said, there are also other organisms that you might be sad about, but I wouldn't (with my limited knowledge) let that get in the way of you enjoying your life).
posted by Phredward at 9:45 AM on July 26, 2018


You can only get Lyme disease if a tick carrying the bacteria is embedded in your skin for at least 24 hours.

This is the most important part. Take preventative measures. Assess risk based on your location. SCRUB OFF after getting out of the woods. Be on the lookout for signs of Lyme because catching it early is incredibly important. My SO got it a few summers ago and was promptly treated tho he had to wait until he broke out in a rash (a few weeks after the joint pain and incredible lethargy) so stay on top of your general health and remember that not seeing a bulls-eye doesn't mean it's not Lyme, some docs can be unclear on this.
posted by jessamyn at 9:55 AM on July 26, 2018


The permethrin spray is supposed to last for 6 weeks or through 6 washes! Its good for the skeeters too.
posted by florencetnoa at 10:14 AM on July 26, 2018


Beware that wet permethrin is highly toxic to cats. It is very effective against ticks but be careful when you apply it, if you have cat friends.
posted by lydhre at 10:38 AM on July 26, 2018


People sometimes get a little paranoid about lyme, and I say that as someone who has actually had lyme. You get it by walking around off trail or in long grass and then not checking yourself well, the way I did as a kid. Don't be like kid-me and your risk will be very low. People are 100% right about the 24hr rule. A paved trail will be quite safe, but if you're concerned about any foliage you may have brushed up against (that's how you get ticks) a quick but thorough check in the bathroom after the walk should set you at ease. Check the insides of your clothes as well as your skin. Also, learn to identify deer ticks vs. dog ticks. Dog ticks do not carry lyme.

In the highly unlikely event that you do get lyme, a course of antibiotics should see you right.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 3:28 PM on July 26, 2018


No. Carolina has some Lyme disease, not a lot, see the CDC maps linked above. I get dog ticks all the time, and get tested for Lyme occasionally because I live in Maine where Lyme is frequent, and I live in woods where there are deer. I have clothing treated with permethrin and I treat my dog when I remember as it is good for flea-killing. I think if you spray some pants with permethrin and wear them walking, you'd be in good shape. It's a synthesized form of stuff made from chrysanthemums. Lyme is bacterial and is treatable with antibiotics. There is some concern that people may get chronic Lyme; this is not well documented. You are likely doing more for your health by walking, so keep it up.
posted by theora55 at 3:43 PM on July 26, 2018


In NC, you are less worried about deer ticks and Lyme and more worried about dog and lonestar ticks and Rocky Mountain spotted fever and STARI. RMSF can make you seriously acutely ill and can even kill you. Both need treatment with antibiotics. The good news is that dog and lonestar ticks are much bigger than deer ticks, and if you do a tick check after your walk, you are unlikely to miss one.
posted by hydropsyche at 5:43 PM on July 26, 2018


All of the above is very good advice. Especially the part about spraying - I hike in woods but I would also do this if I was hiking on asphalt.

And a PSA - if you do get a tick bite and are tested for Lyme, also insist that you are tested for other tick borne diseases like babesia . My husband was diagnosed and treated for Lyme, but our family physician refused to test him for babesia and instead suspected leukemia (the parasite infects and destroys red blood cells). The hematologist DID test him for babesia which came back positive. These co-infections are on the rise in the northeast and many physicians are not aware.
posted by bluesky43 at 10:03 AM on July 27, 2018 [2 favorites]


« Older Cactus patterned men's button down?   |   Donating prescription medication Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.