It is tick season in the Finger Lakes and Western New York.
The state Department of Health notes that adult ticks are most active now through mid-May and then again in early fall. Not all of them are carriers of the bacteria that causes lime disease, but it’s a concern nonetheless.
“The ticks that carry it are endemic to New York and the symptoms of lyme disease are fever, rash in particular spreading bulls eye rash. Often arthritis, joint pains and general flu like symptoms,” said Dr. Steven A. Schulz, the Pediatric Medical Director at Rochester Regional Health. He recently spoke with RochesterFirst.com about tick season and its impact.
“I think a lot of the reason we’re seeing an increase in ticks overall is just the fact that we’re seeing people are building houses and encroaching on wildlife areas, and we’re inhabiting animals space,” Schulz added. “The biggest thing is checking yourself when you come from the outdoors. Doing a head to toe check. Looking in the hair all those kind of things to make sure you don’t have a tick on you.”
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