Don’t Let A Tick Make You Sick

This summer, Any Lab Test Now is putting the bulls-eye on Lyme disease. That’s because Lyme disease is the most commonly occurring vector-borne disease, accounting for more than 300,000 illnesses each year in the United States. The disease is caused by bacteria spread to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks. As the temperatures warm and the days get longer, we’re enticed outside to enjoy the outdoors after so much time being cooped inside during winter. It’s also prime time for ticks. Any Lab Test Now wants you to be aware before you go outside and know what to do if you are bitten.

How Ticks Spread Disease

Ticks are creepy crawlies: that means they don’t jump or fly. They wait patiently on the ends of grass or on shrubs. When a likely host brushes past (that’s YOU) they grab on and begin their journey across YOUR body, looking for a cozy, hard to see, area to bite down. They are often found in armpits or the groin area, even on your scalp. And here’s the thing: most humans are infected with Lyme disease through the bites of tiny immature ticks called nymphs. They are so tiny they can be extremely difficult to see.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: The CDC explains that if you remove a tick quickly, usually within 24 hours of attachment, you can greatly reduce your chances of getting Lyme disease. The longer the tick is attached to your body, the greater the risk of acquiring the disease.

Signs and Symptoms

The good news is that most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. If you’ve discovered a tick, properly remove it and clean the area and watch for these symptoms:

3–30 Days After Tick Bite

Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Many people describe it as being like the flu.
Rash begins at the site of a tick bite. It may feel warm to the touch but is rarely itchy or painful.
May enlarge to form a distinctive bullseye-like appearance.

Days to Months After Tick Bite

Severe headache and neck stiffness.
More rashes across the body.
Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling.
Facial palsy on one or both sides of the face.
Heart palpitations or an irregular heartbeat.
Dizziness or shortness of breath.
Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
Nerve pain or shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet.
Problems with short-term memory.

It is possible to not have any symptoms in the early stages of the disease and not even remember being bitten. But keep an eye out for that distinctive round, red rash, which can often resemble a bullseye.

ALTN: Putting a Target on Lyme Disease

Your local Any Lab Test Now is proud to offer a blood test that will provide you and your doctor with the information you need to know if an infection is present. If your test comes back positive and you are still in the early stages of the disease, your doctor will usually prescribe a round of the appropriate antibiotics. The CDC finds that most people treated quickly will recover rapidly and completely.

An Ounce of Prevention

Of course, prevention is the best course of action. The CDC recommends that you wear repellent if planning on going outside. Check for ticks daily because the sooner you remove them, the better your chances of avoiding disease altogether. It’s also a good idea to shower soon after being outdoors and wash your clothes as well.

We should all feel comfortable to be outside and enjoy the great outdoors. We just need to keep a few safety rules in mind so that we “don’t let a tick make us sick.”

How a walk in the park can turn into a trip to the doctor

After a long winter, it’s hard to stay inside when you begin to see those first signs of spring. Temperatures are warmer, flowers are blooming, even animals are frolicking. The experts at Any Lab Test Now understand the desire to shake off winter’s coat and let the warm breezes and sunshine bathe you in bliss, but you need to proceed with caution. There’s a spreading danger out there that you will likely never see coming. It’s as small as a pinhead and can pack a punch that can turn your world upside down. We’re talking about ticks and a nasty disease that some of them can carry — Lyme disease.

The Spread of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by the bite of ticks. It causes more than 300,000 illnesses each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The risk of infection is greatest in late spring and summer. Of course, that’s the time we are all most likely to want to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors, but unfortunately, it also coincides with a very dangerous point in the life cycle of the tick.

Search for a Spring Snack

It turns out that most people are infected through the bites of immature ticks, called nymphs. Experts at the CDC believe that ticks become infected when they are still just considered larvae, but once they become infected, they stay infected for the rest of their two-year lifespan. When the larvae become nymphs, they begin furiously seeking blood meals to fuel their growth. That’s usually in the spring and summer months, just in time for you to enjoy a family hike or camping trip. Don’t think you are in the free and clear in the fall either. Adult ticks can also transmit Lyme disease, and they are most active during the fall. They are much larger than nymphs though, and more likely to be spotted and removed before attaching to your skin.

You don’t have to be a prisoner in your own home. The experts at Any Lab Test Now have some tips that you can follow to help you take control of your health AND help you enjoy the great outdoors.

Use insect repellant and perform daily tick checks. Look everywhere! Nymphs are tiny and can easily be mistaken for a speck of dirt. Have someone check your scalp, the back of your neck, and all the places you can’t see. If you spot a tick, remove it immediately with a pair of tweezers. The CDC says ticks are usually attached for a day before they release the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Recognize the early symptoms of Lyme disease. Early diagnosis and treatment can help you avoid complications that can appear later if the disease is not treated. Here’s what to look for:

Bull’s-eye rash
Fatigue
Chills and fever
Headache
Muscle and joint pain
Swollen lymph nodes

Does this sound familiar? Sounds a lot like the flu, and it can often be mistaken for that. If you’ve been bitten by a tick or develop the rash, it might not be the flu.

Recognize late symptoms of Lyme disease. If left untreated, the problems associated with the disease will worsen. Often patients experience bouts of arthritis, especially in the knees. There can sometimes be nerve paralysis and even meningitis. Many patients report suffering from “brain fog.” Others have reported heart arrhythmias and eye inflammations.

Take Control; Get Tested

Any Lab Test Now offers a simple blood test that will help detect and measure antibodies that the body produces in an attempt to fight the disease. The presence of antibodies cannot always determine if the Lyme disease infection is recent or due to a tick bite in the past, but it can put you and your doctor on the right path to helping you feel better. A special note: If your results are negative, but your symptoms are still present, it’s a good idea to perform a repeat test. It can take up to two months for antibodies to develop.

After getting your results at your local Any Lab Test Now, you should see your doctor. The good news is that Lyme disease can easily be treated with antibiotics.

Understanding Lyme Disease

Now that spring has arrived, so has tick season! They reemerge once the weather starts warming up and are more than a simple nuisance. They harbor Lyme disease. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection primarily transmitted by deer ticks (in the Northeast and Midwest) and black-legged ticks (on the Pacific Coast). Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose, so it is important to know the signs, symptoms and risks of the infection in order to keep you and your loved ones safe this tick season.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease

One of the telltale signs of Lyme disease is a red, expanding skin rash. Typically, this rash will begin at the bite site and grow outward in a circle. Sometimes, the rash will fade as it grows, leaving irritation which resembles a bullseye. While common, a rash is not always present in a person with Lyme disease. Other symptoms include flu-like symptoms, facial muscle weakness, fainting, chest pain, severe headache and shooting joint pain.

When to Seek Care

Thoroughly checking your skin after spending time outdoors during tick season is vital because the longer that the tick is on your skin, the higher your chance of contracting Lyme disease. However, if you develop any Lyme disease symptoms and have been bitten by or exposed to ticks, it is important to take a Lyme disease test as soon as possible. Remember, many people who develop Lyme disease do not realize that they have been bitten by a tick. If you have been outside in an area where ticks are prevalent and develop these symptoms, assume that you’ve been bitten and walk in to Any Lab Test Now to be tested.

Untreated Lyme Disease

Most cases of Lyme disease can be successfully treated with a dose of antibiotics. If Lyme disease remains untreated, however, it can spread to other parts of the body from several months to a year after the initial infection. This spreading can cause a variety of long-term health problems such as arthritis and nervous system problems. In severe untreated cases, Lyme disease can be fatal.
Don’t be ticked off by Lyme disease! Stay safe this year and be sure to check your skin for ticks after being outside. If you think you may have been bitten, visit your local Any Lab Test Now to be tested.

Everyday Stress or Something More?

Sometimes when you wake up in the morning, it can be hard to lift your head from the pillow. You hear that alarm going off and can barely reach over to hit the snooze button. When you finally make it out of bed, coffee is the first thing on your mind. It has been a busy week: you are worn out and having trouble concentrating on the day ahead!

This feeling of being worn out is your body’s way of healing during times of stress. Your body is clamoring for more rest, because in order to restore itself, the body needs to sleep. As your body begins to heal, mornings become easier and your focus improves.

But, what if it doesn’t? What does it mean if you continue to feel lethargic and drained week after week? What if your brain feels fuzzy all of the time and you find that you are constantly forgetting things because you’re so tired? At this point, there may be something more than day-to-day stress causing your fatigue. Exhaustion, either physical or mental, should not last for weeks at a time.

Fortunately, a Fatigue Panel or Adrenal Health/Stress Profile will test for a variety of potential causes. Causes of fatigue are varied. In some people, it can be caused by a disease, such as Lyme disease or mononucleosis. In other people, it can be triggered by hormone or blood sugar imbalances. And, others may discover that fatigue is a result of conditions like anemia or low iron levels.

With so many causes of fatigue, the first step to regaining your energy is knowing why you feel drained. From there, treatments that include medication, diet, exercise and lifestyle changes can be used to help you recover. Of course, resolving your fatigue won’t completely get rid of sleepy, coffee-filled mornings, but it will certainly help you restore the energy and focus that it takes to make the most of your time from morning until night.

If you have been fatigued for more than two weeks, stop in to your local Any Lab Test Now location and ask for the Fatigue Panel. Keep in mind that this test does require fasting for eight hours prior to the sample being collected. You can also inquire about our Adrenal Health/Stress Profile. Both tests are a quick, simple way to help you start the process of recovery.

Do You Know the Facts About Lyme Disease?

May lyme disease large You have probably heard of Lyme disease by now, and you probably think you know a few things about it. But do you really know the truth about this common disease, or have you fallen victim to believing the myths?

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread by infected ticks when they bite you. The symptoms of Lyme disease can be tricky to spot because they are often mistaken for the flu. Symptoms can include:

Headaches
Fatigue
Fever
Sore muscles and joints
A round, red rash at the site of the bite

If left untreated, Lyme disease can cause a wide range of health problems such as:

Meningitis
Joint pain
Weakness and numbness of the arms and legs
Memory problems

These health issues can appear months or even years after the initial infection occurs if not treated in the early stages of the disease. For this reason, it is extremely important to catch the disease early.

Now that you have the facts straight, let’s debunk some of those common myths about Lyme disease!

Myth	Fact
All ticks carry Lyme disease.	Only two types of ticks carry Lyme disease in the U.S.: the deer tick and the Western black-legged tick.
If you have been bitten by a tick with Lyme disease, you will get Lyme disease.	It typically takes more than 36 hours for Lyme disease to be transmitted to you through an attached tick, so if you can find and remove the tick from your skin before then, your risk of contracting Lyme disease is low.
You are likely to get Lyme disease anywhere in the U.S.	Lyme disease is common in the United States but only in certain areas. Ninety-six percent of all Lyme disease cases occur in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic or north-central United States.
There is no cure for Lyme disease.	Lyme disease can be easily treated with antibiotics, and most long-term complications from Lyme disease are the result of not receiving treatment in the early stages of the disease.
You can get Lyme disease from other people.	There is no evidence that Lyme disease can be transmitted between people. Often, when two related people get the disease, it is simply because they were bitten by the same tick.
You will start seeing symptoms almost immediately after contracting Lyme disease.	It can take anywhere from three days to a month for symptoms to appear, and around 25 percent of cases don’t show symptoms at all.
If there is no rash around the site of the bite, you do not have Lyme disease.	While many people with Lyme disease do develop this round, red rash around the site of the tick bite, it does not appear in every case of Lyme disease.

It’s important to get tested for Lyme disease as soon as possible after being bitten by a tick or if symptoms develop. By catching and treating the disease early, you may be saving yourself from a world of health problems, and that’s a fact.

Did You Know Lyme Disease And Other Tick-Borne Illnesses Are On The Rise?

Late summer and fall seems the perfect time for camping, hiking and enjoying the outdoors. Heading out to revel in the cooler evening temperatures and fall color, though can be hazardous to your health. Ticks have become more numerous especially in areas known for outdoor activities. Twenty years ago ticks were confined to certain regions in the Midwest and Northeast and if you weren’t going there, you knew that you didn’t need to worry. A couple years ago the CDC raised the expected number of cases of Lyme disease from 30,000 per year to 300,000 and they have redrawn their map of Lyme disease hot spots, including an increase from 69 to 260 counties in the northeast.

You may scoff at climate changes as not real, but some theorize that these changes are real and can be seen in the increase in ticks in areas they hadn’t been and in the exponential increase in tick-borne diseases. Lyme disease is not the only disease that these pests carry, but it is the most well-known. And although it is well-known, many people do not realize that the disease can be deadly. The focus is usually on the fever and headache that is typical of the disease, but Lyme disease can also cause long term symptoms including vision problems, inflammation of the joints similar to rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation of the heart leading to “heart block”, an interruption of the heartbeat, which could cause sudden cardiac death.

In addition, some cases of Lyme disease are not caught early and may not respond well to antibiotics causing symptoms known as post treatment Lyme disease syndrome, often referred to as “chronic Lyme”. 10-20% of those infected have a cluster of lingering symptoms such as fatigue, trouble concentrating and muscle or joint aches after treatment. It is unclear whether the symptoms are due to an infection that was not eradicated with antibiotics or to damage that remains from the original infection.

The tick’s mechanism of biting ensures that they are often not felt. In a study conducted by Georgia Southern University, out of 258 students who had been bitten, only 4% of them were aware of the bites. Since only half of those who contract Lyme disease from a tick bite develop symptoms, many people carry Lyme disease around untreated for months or even years before realizing that this is causing their long term symptoms. Stories abound of people who contract Lyme disease but spend years trying to get a diagnosis, often because they don’t recall being bitten.

As if Lyme disease isn’t bad enough, ticks also carry other severe illnesses including babesiosis, a parasitic infection, sometimes called “America’s Malaria”, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, rickettsiosis (also known as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) and a newly discovered infection that hasn’t even been named yet. Prevention is the best plan and as a whole, we need to get better at it:

Check to see if ticks are prevalent, or becoming prevalent where you will be.
Wear light colored clothing so that you can see ticks crawling on you.
Tuck your pants into your socks.
Use bug spray containing DEET or permethrin to deter them from attaching.
Check your body and clothes for ticks when you come back inside.

If you suspect that you have been bitten, or have been in a tick heavy area, watch for symptoms including fever, headache and a rash around the site that resembles a bullseye. If you develop symptoms, get tested to determine if you have the antibodies to Lyme disease. The sooner you know that you have been infected the sooner you can start on a course of antibiotics to prevent long term side effects and illness. If you are dealing with post treatment Lyme disease syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis triggered by Lyme disease, treat it like chronic fatigue with good sleep and exercise habits as well as treatment for depression if needed.

Signs and Symptoms of Lyme Disease

Caused by the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. Like many diseases, the success of treatment with Lyme disease heavily depends on the timing of treatment. If treated early, Lyme disease can be cured with a few weeks of receiving antibiotics. However, if left unnoticed and untreated, Lyme disease can spread to the body’s joints, heart and nervous system leading to many other serious health problems.

If you have had a recent tick bite or live in an area known for Lyme disease, please be aware of the following signs and symptoms:

Early Signs and Symptoms

During the time frame of three to thirty days post-tick bite, a person may notice a red expanding rash known as erythema migrans (EM). A person may also experience fatigue, chills, headaches, muscle or joint pain, chills and/or swollen lymph nodes. As weeks progress and treatment remains unsought, a person may experience heart palpitations and dizziness due to changes in their heartbeat.

Late Signs and Symptoms

If the person infected is not treated for months or even years post-tick bite, they may experience arthritis symptoms including severe joint pain and swelling. Those left untreated for years are also at risk of developing chronic neurological conditions such as short-term memory loss and other cognitive difficulties.

If you have had a recent tick bite and think you may be at risk, contact your local Any Lab Test Now® today and schedule a Lyme Disease Test. We offer an antibody detection test which will measure the antibodies your body has produced, and we also offer our PCR tick panel that amplifies the bodies cellular DNA, which can also detect infection. With these quality results, you and your doctor will be able to determine if and what treatment is needed in order to maintain your optimal health.