Ticks can be what are commonly called vectors, or carriers, of a number of harmful diseases. A tick picks up these diseases from a host who is infected. In one phase of a tick's life cycle, the tick will feed from an infected host and become the carrier of a disease.
One disease that is attributed to ticks is Lyme disease. Lyme disease was discovered to be a tick-borne disease in the 1970's. The name Lyme comes from Lyme, Connecticut, where doctors discovered that tick bites were causing an outbreak of juvenile arthritis.
Lyme disease usually occurs in three stages. A spreading rash, fever and flu-like symptoms usually accompany the first stage. A ring-like pattern forms around the rash site. Often, there can be one or more rash sites. Sometimes, you may not experience the flu-like symptoms.
Stage 2 of Lyme disease can become much more serious, with complications of the heart and nervous system. These symptoms can be meningitis-like or include paralysis or palsy. The heart can experience blockage of the actual muscle. Joint pain is also common in this stage of Lyme disease.
The 3rd stage of Lyme disease can occur months or years after the initial disease began. Arthritis and enlarged knee joints, which can come and go intermittently, is the most common indicator of this stage of Lyme disease.
Symptoms of Lyme disease may not appear until 6 weeks after a bite occurs. It is critical to be aware of the possibility of Lyme disease if you spend time in the outdoors. Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose, since it's symptoms mirror many other diseases. If you are outdoors frequently in areas where Lyme disease has been reported, make every effort to check for ticks and collect any ticks your remove from yourself or your pet for identification.