May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

Social Media ToolkitPlease join us to help spread awareness of Lyme disease and prevention information on all tick-borne diseases. During the month of May, we will focus on “Fight the Bite” and dispelling two common myths:

1. Tick Attachment Times

There is no safe amount of time for tick attachment. Together, let’s get the word out with Tick Tock Know the Clock!

Did You Know?

  • Bourbon virus can be transmitted from the Lone Star tick within 15 minutes after attachment
  • Powassan virus can be transmitted from the blacklegged tick within 15 minutes after attachment
  • Anaplasmosis is transmitted within the first 24 hours of attachment from a black-legged tick or western blacklegged tick in lab studies
  • Hard Tick Relapsing Fever also known as Borrelia miyamotoi disease, can be transmitted from the blacklegged tick and western black-legged tick within 24 hours after attachment
  • Lyme disease has shown to be transmitted from the blacklegged tick to mice in less than 6 hours in lab studies

2. Rashes

Less than 20% of people bitten get the “bullseye” rash, and many may never get a rash at all. Rashes come in all shapes and sizes.

Biobank rashes

Click here for our recent blog about rashes.

Fight the Bite! Why We Need Awareness

Estimated Annual Cases of Lyme Disease CDC

Lyme disease, the fastest-growing vector-borne illness in the US, affects an estimated 620,000+ Americans each year. Symptoms of the first stage of Lyme disease include headaches, flu-like symptoms, joint pain, fatigue, and sometimes a rash with many different shapes, including one that may look like a bullseye centered on the tick bite. People with chronic Lyme disease suffer for years with symptoms that may include paralysis, agonizing joint pain, neurological problems, severe headaches, problems with memory, hearing, and vision, inflammation of the brain, and inflammation of the heart. Due to the difficulty in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, over two million suffer from its debilitating later-stage symptoms.

Social Media Campaign Toolkit

Social Media Toolkit

We have compiled downloadable social media graphics for Lyme Disease Awareness Month 2024 — click here. Please amplify on your social media networks and join us as we #FightTheBite this May!

Hashtags: #FightTheBite, #lymedisease, #TickCheck, #lymeawareness,

Ticktective podcast seriesListen and Share our Ticktective™ Podcast
Listen or watch our Ticktective™ Podcast interview with Dan Wolff “Tick Man Dan”, the founder of TickEase tweezers, who discusses his invention, what to do when you find a tick, and the ecology of ticks. Click here to watch the video or listen to the podcast.

Ticktective™ podcast series, a Bay Area Lyme Foundation program, investigates the latest scientific knowledge and advances in Lyme and tick-borne diseases and offers an insightful discussion with researchers, physicians, patients, and thought leaders in the field. Listen to other Ticktective™  Podcasts and watch the videos here.

Educational Materials

Fast Facts

Download our flyer containing 18 of the most important facts about Lyme disease prevention. Click here.

 

 

How to remove a tick flyer

How to Remove a Tick

Ticks carry many diseases, and all ticks should be removed as soon as they are discovered. Click here for a 2-page flyer with some steps that you can take after a tick bite to reduce your chances of getting sick and what symptoms to monitor for. On page 2, you’ll learn about important tips for tick-bite prevention.

 

Skin Rashes

Erythema migrans (EM, which literally means “expanding rash”) is the hallmark sign of infection with B. burgdorferi. Most rashes occur 3–30 days after infection. However, there are case reports that show EMs can appear sooner than three days post-infection. While many equate a Lyme rash with the bullseye, this is not the definition of an EM. An EM is defined as an expanding annular (round) rash of at least 10cm (2.5in). The rash can take many forms and may have a raised bump in the middle. It can be itchy or warm, and it can have a bluish cast like a bruise. The rash may not be present at all. You should also watch for other symptoms. Click here for a downloadable reference on symptoms and skin rashes. Click here for our recent blog about rashes.

 

Tick Testing

Bay Area Lyme Tick Testing programYou should strongly consider having your tick tested if:

  • The tick was attached to your body, not simply crawling around
  • You live in or have visited a place where there are infected ticks

We recommend the following providers to have your tick tested:

TickReport
www.tickreport.com
Telephone: (413)545-1057

Ticknology
www.ticknology.org
Telephone: (970)305-5587

Click here for more information about tick testing.

 

Take a Bite out of Lyme fundraiser

Fundraisers

To help change the trajectory of Lyme disease, we encourage you to consider creating a non-profit Facebook fundraiser.  We also encourage you to host your own “Lyme” mocktail parties and to raise awareness for Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

Recipe for our Take a Bite Out of Lyme Mocktail
  • Lime juice. Juice of 2 fresh limes, or you can also use 4 oz store-bought.
  • 2 Tbsp Raw honey, maple syrup, or agave.
  • Soda. Top your drinks with sparkling water or lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite).
  • Garnish with:
    • Crushed ice
    • Lime wedges
    • Fresh thyme sprigs of fresh mint leaves

 

We Thank Our Partners in Lyme

 

Center for Lyme Actionlymedisease.org

 

 

 

LymeLight FoundationLyme Fight  LymeTV

 

Future Themes for Lyme Disease Awareness Month

We’ll continue the fight to make Lyme disease easy to diagnose and simple to cure all year long, but make sure to join us again next year!

2024: Fight the Bite

2025: Maternal-Fetal Transmission

2026: Persistence and Chronic Symptoms

 

We hope this inspires you to make a difference this Lyme Disease Awareness Month!

#FightTheBite         #Lymedisease         #TickCheck         #lymeawareness