If you spend any time outdoors, you will need to be aware that tick season is in full swing, and according to officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is a bad one.

The CDC said that this year already has the highest number of tick emergency room visits since 2019.

The northeast has the most cases, ABC News reported.

The Fordham Tick Index said that the risk of a tick bite is “very high” at 9 out of 10 on the scale for southern New York, Connecticut and northern New Jersey.

Thomas Daniels, Director of the Louis Calder Center, which runs the tick index, said, “Right now we’re at the time where they’re at their peak. Usually after July 4 we start to see a slight decline,” The Wall Street Journal reported.

The CDC said that children under the age of 10 and adults over the age of 70 account for the most cases.

So why has there been an uptick in ticks?

Infectious-disease microbiologist Thomas Hart said it is due to milder winters and rainy springs, allowing a perfect breeding scenario for ticks.

“The warmer it is, the more ticks are able to survive through the seasons,” Hart told The Wall Street Journal.

Another infectious-disease researcher, Dr. Laura Goodman, said that ticks are spreading across new territory and are carrying more than one disease with them.

Types of ticks, diseases they carry

Some, such as blacklegged ticks, which are also called deer ticks, can transmit Lyme disease, but can now also spread Babesiosis, or a pathogen found in the blood that attacks red blood cells and can cause severe anemia, organ failure and death, WJLA reported. Blacklegged ticks are the most common, originally in the eastern U.S., but have spread to the Midwest, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The lone star tick can carry alpha-gal syndrome and cause a meat allergy. It is found in the southeast, east and south-central parts of the country.

The American dog tick is found all across the country and can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia, the newspaper said.

Symptoms of tick diseases

Lyme disease symptoms can include fever, headaches, fatigue and a rash. The rash frequently looks like a target or bullseye. The rash can appear three to 30 days after being bitten, with the average at seven days, the CDC said.

Alpha-gal Syndrome can develop after a tick bite and causes a potentially life-threatening allergy to alpha-gal, or a molecule found in most mammals like cows or pigs, but not people. If someone with the syndrome is exposed to products that contain alpha-gal, they can have an allergic reaction, the CDC said. While most commonly transmitted by the lone star tick, blacklegged and western blacklegged ticks can also carry it, but it is rare.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever symptoms include fever, headache and rash. It can also bring with it nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, muscle pain and lack of appetite, the CDC said. Unlike the Lyme rash, the RMSF rash looks like red splotches or pinpoint dots and appears late in the illness. The disease can cause permanent damage that results in amputation of arms, legs, fingers or toes; hearing loss; and mental disabilities, the CDC said. Despite the Rocky Mountain name, it can be found across the U.S., the CDC said.

Avoiding tick bites

Try not to get bitten by ticks and prevention is the key. Avoid wooded or brushy areas with high grass or fallen leaves, ABC News said.

Use Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents that have DEET, Picaridin or other EPA-approved ingredients. If you’re using both bug spray and sunscreen, apply the sunscreen first, ABC News said.

Spray gear and outdoor clothing with permethrin.

Wear high socks, and tuck pant legs into them to prevent ticks from climbing up your legs.

When home do a tick check, search around your knees, underarms, behind your ears, and your crotch. Also, check your pets if they’ve been outside. You should throw your clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes and take a shower before ticks can latch onto you, The Wall Street Journal suggested.

If you get bitten?

Remove the tick as soon as possible, The Wall Street Journal said. How do you do that? Use a tick key or fine-tipped tweezers and grab it as close to the skin as you can, pulling with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or yank. Also, do not use a match or coat the tick in something hoping it will pop off on its own, the newspaper said.

Finally, seek treatment if bitten, but keep in mind blood tests for Lyme aren’t accurate until about a month after a bite because it is looking for antibodies. Doctors may use symptoms to determine treatment instead of a test.

Some doctors will give the antibiotic doxycycline as a prophylactic dose within 72 hours of a tick being removed, The Wall Street Journal reported. The CDC does not recommend the prophylactic dose of antibiotics, according to the newspaper.

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