To the editor:
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried by tiny ticks that live mostly in wooded, grassy and brushy areas.
Lyme disease season generally runs from May through August. While this month is drawing to a close, ticks that carry Lyme disease don’t know that. How do I know? Because I got infected. And I didn’t even know I had been bitten. So take care that you don’t become infected.
You can protect yourself from Lyme disease by wearing long-sleeved shirts and, most important, closed-toe shoes, socks, and long pants. For extra protection, tuck your pants into your socks.
When you finish your gardening, hiking, picnicking, or other outdoor activities, check your clothing — and yourself — carefully. If you find a tick on your body, remove it with a tweezer and call your doctor.
Often tick bites go undetected. If you develop flu-like symptoms of fever, headache, muscle pain or dizziness, call your doctor and ask for a blood test for Lyme. Or call the Lyme disease diagnostic center at New York Medical College at (914) 493-8425.
Judy Matthews