Environmental Health and Safety Blog | EHSWire

Peter Borbas

As a resident of New Jersey, I have noticed more ticks this spring than I can personally remember in the past few years. Maybe it’s because I have been in the field more (I’m a Professional Land Surveyor) or my dog is covering more acreage in the woods. At work, in the field (literally FIELDS), I am more apt to be using white Tyvek with built-in booties to keep as many ticks off of me as possible; when I am at home I like wearing light colored clothes with my pants tucked into my socks. Folks in my company spray their clothes with Permanone, a Permethrin-based tick repellent and insecticide. This and a lot more information about keeping ticks off of you and inspecting for them is in the CDC’s “Tick Management Handbook.” What scares me the most are the ticks that I don’t find, not the ones I do find. My life seems like one endless tick check!

Many of you already know my experiences with Lyme disease and have a seen how Lyme has affected our family. Based on my own experiences, I tell anyone who ever has any symptoms of Lyme to get to a Lyme and vector borne disease specialist immediately.

I recently had a huge surprise; one of my children who has been treated for Lyme three times over twelve years, after spending the past year seeing many different kinds of specialists to figure out what was causing her nausea, fatigue and headaches, was diagnosed with Lyme again (or is it still?) by a Lyme and vector-borne disease specialist. Other types of doctors did not identify the source of her ailments. Once again I have seen the value of spending out of pocket money on expert and specialized doctors when my insurance company and general practitioners has told us something else.

Be aware; know the symptoms of Lyme and co-infectors. Pay attention daily to the health and behaviors of your coworkers, family and friends!  Do not let money be a barrier to getting to the appropriate diagnosis and treatment

For more information on protecting yourself from Lyme disease and understanding the symptoms to get the correct treatment, I recommend the following resources (shown here in alphabetical order):

• American Lyme Disease Foundation


• Columbia University Medical Center - The Lyme and Tick-borne Diseases Research Center


• IGeneX, Inc. - A specialty immunology laboratory and research facility


• International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society


• Lyme Disease Association, Inc


• Lyme Disease Foundation


• Lyme Disease Help


• Turn the Corner Foundation

About Our Guest Blogger: Peter Borbas is a Professional Land Surveyor and project planner; he is the Owner/President of Borbas Surveying and Mapping, LLC