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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffWhere you live or vacation can affect your chances of getting Lyme disease. So can your profession and the type of outdoor activities you enjoy. The most common risk factors for Lyme disease include:
- Spending time in wooded or grassy areas. In the United States, deer ticks are most prevalent in the Northeast and Midwest regions and in northwestern states like Oregon and Washington. All have heavily wooded areas where deer ticks thrive. In these regions, children who spend a lot of time outdoors are especially at risk. So are people with outdoor occupations and those who live where mice are common. Deer ticks feed on mice, which are a prime reservoir for Lyme disease bacteria.
- Having exposed skin. Ticks attach easily to bare flesh. If you're in an area where ticks are common, protect yourself and your children by wearing long sleeves and long pants. Don't allow your pets to wander in tall weeds and grasses.
- Not removing ticks promptly or properly. Bacteria from a tick bite can enter your bloodstream only if the tick stays attached to your skin for 48 hours or longer. If you remove a tick within two days, your risk of acquiring Lyme disease is low.
References
- Hu L. Treatment of Lyme disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2010.
- Hu L. Clinical manifestations of Lyme disease in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2010.
- Lyme disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm. Accessed March 24, 2010.
- FDA warns consumers and health care providers not to use bismacine, also known as chromacine. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm150503.htm. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Wormser GP, et al. The clinical assessment, treatment and prevention of Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis and babesiosis: Clinical practice guidelines. Infectious Disease Society of America. 2006;43:1089.
- Lyme disease. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/lymeDisease/understanding/. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Lyme disease: The facts, the challenge. www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/lymeDisease/PDF/LymeDisease.pdf. Accessed March 29, 2010.
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