We live in an area with a lot of woods, and lot of deer...which can mean a lot of ticks. Pennsylvania has a high incidence of lyme disease, which deer ticks can carry and transmit, and knowing what to look out for is important. This is one doctor's personal experience with lyme disease.
Each time spring and summer rolls around, people start getting concerned about ticks.
"When I got out mowing the grass I usually wear pants, sneakers on, socks," one man told us.
"I'm aware of them. We keep an eye out for them," a woman playing with kids at a park said.
Ticks are definitely not something to take lightly, something Dr. Harry Schmaltz can attest to personally. Dr. Schmaltz is an orthopaedic surgeon at Scranton Orthopaedic Specialists in Dickson City. He does hip and knee replacements, and says he wasn't a lyme disease specialist until he had to be late last spring.
"I looked in the mirror and said oh my gosh, I think I've got lyme disease," he remembers.
Dr. Schmaltz hadn't been in deep woods and doesn't even recall seeing a tick. He thinks one might have bitten him while he was in his yard working on landscaping.
"I woke up one morning completely asymptomatic, no idea, jumped in the shower. I looked in the mirror to shave and there was this obvious, classic bullseye rash right on my neck," Dr. Schmaltz told us.
He snapped pictures of the rash and sent them to his family doctor, who immediately called in a prescription for antibiotics, and later diagnosed lyme disease. Even with the treatment, Dr. Schmaltz got sick two days later, what he says felt like the worst flu he's ever had.
"I was in bed, under covers, shaking chills, felt really lousy."
Thankfully he's had no problems since. Experts say the danger of lyme disease is that it's sneaky; if you don't have that classic bullseye rash, or if you mistake your symptoms for something else, it can go silent, and in some cases go on to do major damage to your heart, lung and/or brain function.
The best ways to avoid ticks are to use an insect repellent made specially for tick protection, wear long sleeves and pants, and check yourself and your kids for them immediately after spending time outdoors.
It's important to note that there are different types of ticks, and not all carry lyme disease. But Dr. Schmaltz says knowing what to look for, and calling your doctor quickly if you think you've been affected, can make all the difference.
"Thankfully I had the classic bullseye and I had enough rudimentary knowledge to figure out it might be lyme, got treated right away, and it worked."
More information on Lyme disease can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.