Jackson College has partnered with Henry Ford Jackson Hospital to offer healthcare to Jackson College students and employees. The Jackson College Health Clinic (JCHC) is located on Central Campus in Justin Whiting Hall, Room 111. The caring and professional staff at the JCHC provides quality healthcare, including annual exams (physicals, program physicals and sports physicals), acute and chronic illness care and preventative health care (It’s Your Life). |
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HEALTH CLINIC HOURS
Summer 2022
Monday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wednesday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Thursday: 8 a.m. - 12 noon
Friday: 8 a.m. - 12 noon (virtual visits only)
Call 517.990.1374 to make an appointment.
Walk-ins are also welcome.
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Tick season has arrived here in Michigan and it is time to be on the lookout. Ticks are very small arachnids, usually 3 to 5 millimeters in size. There are over 800 different types of tick species (Medicinenet, 2019). Ticks can spread multiple illnesses, however, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in Michigan (Haddad, 2019). Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia Burgdorferi and is transmitted by the blacklegged/deer tick.
Below is the distribution of the blacklegged/deer tick in Michigan: |
Tick exposure can occur year-round, but ticks are most active in the warmer months. Here are tips to protect yourself from ticks:
| • | Before you go outdoors, know where to expect ticks. Ticks live in grassy, brushy or wooded areas. Avoid these areas if possible. |
| • | If you can’t avoid the areas listed, treat your clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin. Or, apply DEET (20-30 percent) to exposed skin areas. |
| • | Protect your pets, too. Use tick prevention products on animals as directed and examine your pets when bringing them back indoors. |
| • | Bathe or shower as soon as possible when coming indoors to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be crawling on you. |
| • | Wash clothing in hot water and dry on high heat (this will kill ticks in clothing). |
| • | Perform daily tick checks on yourself, children and animals after being outdoors. Below is a diagram of parts of the body most commonly associated with tick bites and therefore the most important areas to examine when conducting a tick check. (CDC, 2019) |
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Most tick bites are painless and cause only minor problems, such as redness, or sore skin at the site. However, ticks can transmit harmful bacteria that cause illnesses like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. Typically, a tick needs to be attached for at least 36 hours to transmit Lyme disease (Mayo Clinic, 2018). If you get bit by a tick, take care of yourself by following these recommendations:
| • | Remove the tick carefully and promptly. |
| • | Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to skin as possible and gently pull out the tick using a slow and steady upward motion. |
| • | Avoid twisting and don’t handle the tick with bare hands. |
| • | Save the tick in a sealed container if possible. Your healthcare provider may want to see the tick to develop a health plan if needed. |
| • | After you remove the tick, wash your hands and the tick bite site with soap and water (Mayo Clinic, 2018). |
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When to Seek Medical Care
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Seek emergency medical care following a tick bite if you develop a severe headache, have difficulty breathing, paralysis or heart palpitations (Haddad, 2019). Contact your primary health care provider for the following reasons:
| • | You are unable to completely remove the tick. |
| • | You develop a rash (in particular a rash with a bulls eye pattern). A small red bump at the site of a tick bite is normal. |
| • | You develop flu like symptoms: fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pains. |
| • | It appears that the bite site is infected (redness or oozing at the site). (Mayo Clinic 2018) |
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Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-born disease in the United States, and it is spreading across the State of Michigan. Early signs and symptoms of Lyme disease usually occurs 3 to 30 days after the tick bite. Fever, chills, headache, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes are all common symptoms (Haddad, 2019).
Erythema Migrans (EM) rash, occurs in about 70 to 80 percent of infected Lyme disease persons. The rash typically begins at the site and gradually expands over a period of days reaching up to 12 inches or more across. The rash may feel warm to the touch but is usually not painful. When the rash enlarges it will clear in the middle, giving it a bull’s eye appearance (Haddad, 2019). Below is a picture of Erythema Migrans rash: |
Later symptoms of Lyme disease include severe headache, neck stiffness, additional EM rashes in different parts of the body, arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, facial palsy, heart palpitations, irregular heartbeat, dizziness, shortness of breath, nerve pain and problems with short-term memory (CDC, 2019). Most Lyme disease cases can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotic therapy.
Tickborne disease can result in mild symptoms that can be treated at home to a severe infection that requires hospitalization. Early recognition and treatment of tick bites is essential to a positive long term outcome. |
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