Spring is here, and so is tick season across America and in many foreign countries.
Being bitten by an infected tick can result in debilitating, sometimes deadly, Lyme disease, military and civilian experts warn. Left untreated, Lyme disease can advance from early flu- like symptoms to painful and permanent damage to the joints, according to the National Centers for Disease Control. The disease can also affect the nervous system, causing numbness, pain, stiff neck and severe headache or muscle weakness in the face or limbs. Occasionally, heart irregularities occur. The first stage of the disease begins three to 31 days after the tick bites.