Health Conditions / Infectious Diseases / Lyme Disease

When you spot something crawling on you, it’s understandable to have a minor freak-out. And if that something looks like a tick, well, all bets are off. Research1 shows that tick populations are expanding to areas of the U.S. they haven’t thrived in before, bringing an increase in tick-borne illnesses in many parts of the country, so it’s natural to be concerned when any tiny creature overstays its welcome on your skin.Before you panic, though, stop and consider whether that creepy-crawly could be a weevil, a tiny beetle that can easily be mistaken for a tick, which is classified as an arachnid. Thankfully weevils (yes, they’re actually called weevils) have very little in common with ticks—other than possibly striking fear into your heart. Not familiar with them? Read on to learn more about weevils, including how to spot one.What is a weevil, anyway?The main thing you should know about weevils, which are also known as flour bugs or long-snout bugs, is that they don’t want to suck your blood. “A weevil is not going to harm you or your pets,” Michael J. Raupp, PhD, an emeritus professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, tells SELF. “They use their tiny mouthparts to nibble on plants, not people.”This also means that weevils do not transmit harmful pathogens that can lead to illnesses such as Lyme disease, which is the most common tick-borne disease in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Since weevils eat a wide range of plants, they can be found outdoors near vegetation—similar to ticks, which tend to thrive in grassy, shrubby, or wooded areas. However, weevils like to infest stored food products, like whole grains, so they’re also commonly seen as pantry pests.How can I tell the difference between weevils and ticks?To the average person, the two might as well be twins. In fact, experts at the University of Rhode Island say that people frequently confuse the two because weevils are tick look-alikes.But ticks and weevils have very little in common beyond their appearance, and knowing key characteristics can help you differentiate them. “Weevils and ticks can both be small and brown, but that is where the similarities end,” Marissa Schuh, MS, an entomology and horticulture educator at the University of Minnesota, tells SELF.If you happen to see something on your skin when you’re outdoors or after you come inside, try to remain calm and take a closer look. Although each species of weevil looks slightly different, they are generally identified by their large snouts and antennae that bend like elbows, Schuh says. “As beetles, they have a hard shell covering their body,” Schuh says. “Most species we see in the U.S. are small and brown.”On the left is a weevil. On the right is a tick. 
Bolotov`s via Adobe Stock / Erik Karits from Pexels

Tick-borne diseases have steadily been on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—and Lyme disease, the most common infection transmitted by ticks (black-legged ticks in particular), is among them.1 While nearly 35,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2019, the most recent year with available data, the CDC estimates that number to be much, much higher—up to 476,000.Lyme disease can lead to a wide array of symptoms—plaguing people with everything from that distinct, bull’s-eye-shaped rash to muscle pain to unbearable fatigue. In rare cases, the disease can lead to severe neurological complications, according to the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, so getting a proper diagnosis (and treatment as soon as you can) is crucial.At-home test kits might feel like a simple solution when you’re looking for answers—especially now that we’re seeing more home tests on the market for illnesses like COVID-19. At-home Lyme disease test kits typically claim to detect antibodies linked to the bacteria that cause Lyme—all you need to do is pay for the kit, read the instructions, send in a blood sample (yes, that you collect yourself), and wait for your results. Simple enough, right?The problem is, like any home test that has a margin for user error, your results may not be accurate. This could delay the diagnosis and treatment you may need, regardless of what might be causing your symptoms. That’s partly because there’s a bigger issue with Lyme disease testing in general: It’s not very reliable, even when it’s performed by experts.First, it’s important to understand how a doctor should test for Lyme disease.Standard Lyme disease lab testing uses a two-tier system to analyze your blood for antibodies, which is recommended by the CDC. First, you take an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test—also known as enzyme immunoassays (EIA)—which aims to detect Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) in your blood—antibodies that your immune system produces in response to the bacteria that cause Lyme, Borrelia species.2If you test positive for IgG and IgM antibodies, then the CDC also recommends taking a western blot test. This test looks for bands, which are barcode-like lines of proteins in the blood that signify IgG and IgM antibodies.3 Alternatively, you may take another ELISA test to confirm the results of the first test.Some at-home Lyme disease test manufacturers claim to use a similar process to laboratory tests. Others may test urine samples or tissue from your cheeks, which are not recommended testing methods for the identification of Lyme disease antibodies, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve medical laboratories, but it has cleared the CDC-recommended testing methods above. Some at-home testing companies may conduct their tests in labs that have completed the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) program. The FDA, Center for Medicaid Services (CMS), and CDC oversee the program to ensure labs are following the exact protocols they claim to, according to the FDA. However, it’s impossible to know what lab each at-home testing company uses because they typically don’t disclose that information.Lab testing for Lyme disease is notoriously tricky, even for trained doctors.Even “gold-standard” Lyme disease tests are murky—meaning a kit you buy online may be even less reliable.

However, if the tick has been attached to the host for several hours or if you’re unsure of the timeframe, you should save the tick in case you need to have it tested, should you notice unusual symptoms following the bite, Rina Allawh, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, tells SELF. To save a tick, simply put it in a plastic container or bag, label it with the date, and, if you really want to make sure it is dead, shove it in your freezer.To remove a tick from your dog or any other warm-blooded pet, you would use the same strategies as you do on human skin. You might need to get someone else to help you pull apart your pet’s fur and help hold your pet still as you use a tweezer to remove the tick. If you live in an area with a lot of ticks, you might want to invest in a tick removal tool from a pet store, per the American Kennel Club.Back to topHow to tell if a tick head is still in your skinOK, so you might have freaked out a bit and yanked the tick out as quickly as possible. Now you can’t tell if you got all of it out… and it looks like the head might still even be attached to your skin. What should you do next?If all that’s left is the head, you can usually see it on top of your skin. “In the process of removing a tick from your skin, you may have inadvertently decapitated the tick,” Jeffrey Hsu, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist in the greater Chicago area, tells SELF. If so, Dr. Hsu says, the head of the tick will still be visible (just likely very, very small) and firmly attached to the outside of the skin.Getting rid of the head is similar to the process of removing the tick, says Dr. Hsu. He recommends cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol before you give it another go with the tweezers, firmly grasping the head and plucking it off the skin with a straight, upward movement. If you aren’t able to get the tick’s head out, you may need to contact a doctor or dermatologist, as leaving a tick’s head or mouthparts in your skin can potentially lead to a skin infection.1Even if it looks like the tick is completely gone, you should still inspect the area as close as you can—grab a magnifying glass if you’ve got one available. A small, dark, black dot on your skin might indicate some tick parts are left lurking. If some time has passed since the initial bite and you still have parts of the tick in your skin, the area might have become irritated, causing tick parts to take on a red-black hue. “If the skin is firm, red, irritated, and if you feel a small lump within the skin, the tick may be lodged into the skin a little deeper,” says Dr. Allawh. If this happens, she says, you may need to see your dermatologist to surgically remove the tick. This is a simple, outpatient procedure performed with a punch biopsy tool.

It happens every year: Warmer weather brings out ticks, along with an increasing threat of tick-borne diseases and illnesses.In 2019 (the most recent year with available data), there were 50,865 reported cases of tick-borne disease compared to 47,743 cases in 2018, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you look back even further, CDC data shows a worrisome trend: Tick-borne diseases have more than doubled between 2004 and 2019.Lyme disease, which is a bacterial infection that can cause fever, chills, and a red rash, is the most prevalent tick-borne disease. But new tick-borne threats are gaining more attention this year: Powassan virus disease, which can cause severe infections like meningitis or fatality; alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic reaction to mammalian meat triggered by tick bites; and heartland virus, a still poorly understood virus that can be deadly. All are caused by tick species that are growing in population and expanding geographically throughout the U.S.For example, between 2011 and 2015, there were anywhere from 6 to 12 reported cases of Powassan virus per year; from 2016 to 2021, that number jumped to 20 to 39 per year, according to the CDC. Earlier this month, the Connecticut Department of Public Health reported its first 2022 case of Powassan virus. And while we don’t have concrete figures for alpha-gal syndrome cases, the number of people affected has steadily increased, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.All of this sounds unsettling—but is there any reason to panic? SELF talked to experts about this year’s tick season, so you can keep yourself as safe as possible.Why are tick-borne diseases and illnesses on the rise?In short, ticks are thriving in the U.S., leading to more bites and tick-borne illnesses. But the reasons for the tick explosion are complex. Generally speaking, ticks thrive in warm weather and grassy, wooded environments, though the preferred temperature and humidity of each species vary. Changes in climate patterns, such as warmer-than-typical spring and summer temperatures, allow populations of ticks to live in areas they previously couldn’t survive in, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As a result, tick populations are moving further north, Nancy Troyano, PhD, a board-certified entomologist for Ehrlich Pest Control, tells SELF. For instance, lone star ticks were predominantly found in the southeast, but have moved to the midwest and northeast, popping up in states like New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan. This spread has heightened talk about alpha-gal syndrome, which is an allergic reaction to red meat caused by lone star tick bites, according to the Mayo Clinic. When they bite, lone star ticks transmit alpha-gal, a sugar molecule, into a person’s body, which may trigger the allergy.Another factor driving an uptick in populations? Animals like deer and white-footed mice, both of which ticks feed on, are abundant in locations where the parasites are found, Dr. Troyano says.