Tick this item off your summer must-buy list.<\/p>\n
Americans are smack dab in the throes of an apocalyptic influx of disease-harboring ticks<\/a>, so checking for the bloodsuckers is crucial.<\/p>\n Now, an innovative product could eliminate weeks of worrying if you\u2019re diagnosed with Lyme disease \u2014 and it\u2019s the first of its kind.<\/p>\n The risk of Lyme disease is high as New York City is in the midst of an influx of biblical levels of disease-harboring ticks. Vladimir Razgulyaev \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n With tick-related emergency room visits<\/a> hitting a record high this year, Lyme disease remains the most common tick-borne disease in the US, with about 476,000 Americans treated each year.<\/p>\n But blood tests can miss Lyme disease<\/a> early in an infection because it can take several weeks for the body to produce detectable antibodies \u2014 meaning some people may not test positive until several weeks after infection.<\/p>\n Enter the TickCrusher by LymeAlert<\/a>, the first rapid at-home tick testing kit designed to detect Lyme-causing bacteria in ticks removed from people or pets in less than 30 minutes.<\/p>\n Created by physician assistant and MIT Sloan Fellow Erin Dawicki<\/a>, TickCrusher grew out of her efforts to help patients navigate tick bites and the questions surrounding them.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, I get calls from my patients who say, \u2018I found a tick on me or my child,\u2019 and they don\u2019t know what to do,\u201d Dawicki, the CEO of LymeAlert, told The Post. \u201cThe reason they\u2019re calling is that they either can\u2019t afford to come see me or they\u2019ve met their deductible or can\u2019t get time off work.\u201d<\/p>\n She searched for a product that could help patients \u201cknow when they need to access healthcare faster and who to properly prescribe [antibiotics] for,\u201d and quickly realized it didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n So, Dawicki decided to create her own product while taking a healthcare entrepreneurship class at MIT, designing a solution people could immediately access on their own time.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know if you\u2019ve been exposed and then you can take appropriate measures,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n LymeAlert developed a first-of-its-kind rapid at-home test to check if a tick is infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme. lymealert\/Instagram<\/p>\n She also hoped the test could give providers another piece of information when evaluating patients after a tick bite and potentially help avoid unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions.<\/p>\n The kit costs $50 and is currently available for pre-order<\/a>, with shipments expected to go out later this month.<\/p>\n How to use the TickCrusher<\/p>\n The kit consists of four parts: a single-use patented TickCrusher base and screw-on lid<\/a> \u2014 a specialized grinding component that crushes a tick\u2019s hard exterior shell \u2014 as well as a processing solution and test strip.<\/p>\n After a tick is safely removed<\/a>, it\u2019s dropped into the base and the testing solution is added to further break down the tick and its internal tissues. Then, the lid is added and spun at least 10 times to pulverize the tick.<\/p>\n Dawicki considered people with limited hand strength or dexterity while designing the palm-sized tool, adding notches on the base making it easier to grip.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to make this as handicap accessible as possible,\u201d Dawicki said. \u201cYou can literally use it with one finger, so for people with arthritis [from] Lyme, they can\u2019t pinch or push down.\u201d<\/p>\n The test strip is then inserted into lid and dipped into the processing solution. Results should show within 30 minutes, with some positive results appearing in as little as 15 minutes.<\/p>\n The test uses a patented TickCrusher and solution to pulverize a tick\u2019s hard shell, with a test strip to check for bacteria. Courtesy of LymeAlert<\/p>\n A positive result indicates that Lyme-causing bacteria were detected in the tick \u2014 but it does not mean the person or pet was necessarily infected.<\/p>\n And while the kit can only be used once, up to five ticks can be tested at a time, depending on size.<\/p>\n The biggest caveat of the kit, though, is that it doesn\u2019t actually diagnose someone with Lyme disease. Instead, it tests the tick itself for Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.<\/p>\n Dawicki and her team are also building a companion app that will track bites, connect to virtual doctors or veterinarians for next steps, provide a hotspot map to track high-risk areas and confirm TickCrusher test results if the test strip color is faint or hard to see.<\/p>\n Users will also be able to share results with their primary doctor as a secure PDF report containing logged test results, the date of the bite and any photos of the tick or rash area.<\/p>\n Misconceptions around ticks and testing<\/p>\n