What's Going Around: Tick bites allergies swimmer's ear

The CVS MinuteClinic in York reports allergies, swimmer's ear and viral illnesses this week.

WellSpan Pediatric Medicine Physicians across the Midstate are seeing colds, mild cases of pneumonia, stomach bugs, seasonal allergies and hand, foot and mouth.

This week, pediatricians at Penn State Health are seeing a lot of summer colds and stomach bugs. They are also seeing some upper respiratory infections.

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Physicians Roseville Pediatrics reports a lot more tick bites this week. They're also still seeing strep, adenovirus and cases of pink eye.

Dr. Joan Thode offered the following advice about ticks:

"Ticks are plentiful locally and live primarily in grass. Generally, if you step into grass that is high enough to reach the top of your shoe, it’s a high-risk grass for ticks. Ticks can be carriers of Lyme disease if they had a blood meal of a Lyme-infected animal. In our area, the Lyme carriers are field mice, not deer. The ticks themselves are not infected; the Lyme organisms are in their stomachs.

A tick can give a human Lyme disease if it first gets the Lyme organism in its stomach, then attaches to a human host and drinks enough blood to cause the tick's stomach to expand so much that it regurgitates some of the Lyme-containing stomach contents into the wound site. For a tick to get this engorged, it needs to be attached for 36 to 48 hours. If it gets found and removed prior to this time, it will not have transmitted Lyme. That is why it is so important to do tick checks and remove ticks quickly.

The best way to remove a tick is to use sharp tweezers and grip the tick at the base of the head. Don't grip the body to avoid squeezing the stomach. Lift straight up with a decent amount of force to remove it from the skin. This can be done at home, though if you are unable to remove the tick or are concerned, you can have the tick removed at your child's health-care provider.

If an engorged tick is found on your child, contact your provider’s office, as there is a new protocol with prophylaxis at any age with a dose of doxycycline. Evaluation in the office is important, as an exam and more thorough history will help your child’s pediatrician decide the best prophylaxis versus treatment protocol to follow."