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The American Lyme Disease Foundation offers a lengthy discussion of how to know if you’re at risk for contracting Lyme disease – among many other Lyme disease-related question-and-answers – on its website at http://www.aldf.com/faq.shtml.

“Think of your potential risk as two-fold: 1) the risk of exposure to ticks and 2) the risk of contracting Lyme disease following a tick bite,” recommends the website.

To assess your risk of exposure to deer ticks, ask yourself the following questions: Do I live or vacation in a Lyme disease-endemic area (an area of high incidence or high risk)? Do I engage in high-risk activities, like hiking, gardening, or otherwise making contact with overgrown vegetation? Does my occupation require frequent outdoor work? Do I tend not to take precautions, such as wearing tick repellant and checking myself for ticks, against tick bites when I spend time outdoors?

You’ll find where your answers to those questions place your risk level at the website.

Then, to assess your risk of contracting Lyme disease following a known tick bite, ask yourself the following questions: Do I live in a Lyme disease-endemic area (an area of high incidence or high risk)?  Is the tick I just removed either a deer tick or a western black-legged tick? If so, did the tick appear engorged (swollen like a balloon) vs. flattened?

Again you can find your level of risk at the website.

• lyme
• disease
• ticks