With the snow finally gone, we are returning to our fields, forests, gardens and yards.

But we must do so with more apprehension than in years past because of the rapid spread of Lyme and similar tick-borne illnesses in the state.

While Lyme disease cases have been reported in all corners of Maine, the heaviest concentrations are in the southern, eastern and coastal areas — exactly where most of the state’s people live and tourists visit.

Maine is now judged to have the second-highest incidence rate of Lyme in the U.S., with only New Hampshire higher.

Even 40 years after the disease was identified in Lyme, Conn., there is no vaccine and patients and medical professionals are divided on how it can best be treated.

Two weeks ago, a comprehensive Sun Journal story detailed the spread of the disease, as well as the heated medical debate over its treatment.

Lyme disease has often been described as “the great pretender” because it shares symptoms with a host of other more common diseases and is so often misdiagnosed as something else.

Many patients develop the well-known “bull’s-eye” rash (which isn’t always a bull’s-eye) around the infection site. But the screening tests to confirm the disease are not always accurate.

That’s important because Lyme disease worsens over time, producing symptoms ranging from fatigue and inability to concentrate to joint pain and swelling.

Early and correct treatment increases the chances of eliminating the disease before debilitating symptoms appear.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of patients who receive antibiotics will have “lingering symptoms of fatigue or joint and muscle aches for more than six months.”

While many call this “chronic Lyme disease,” the CDC tiptoes around the debate by calling it “post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome.”

Most medical experts believe that the lingering symptoms are the result of residual damage to tissues and the immune system that occurred during the infection. Similar complications and “autoimmune” responses are known to occur following other infections, according to the CDC.

Regardless, while ticks are small, a case of Lyme disease can have a big impact on a person’s health and lifestyle.

Old habits die hard, but there are ways to reduce the risk of you, your children or pets contracting the disease.

The Lyme Disease Association of America says ticks are “most likely to be in woods, where woods meet lawn, where lawn meets fields, tall brush/grass, under leaves, under ground cover (low-growing vegetation), near stone walls or wood piles, shady areas, around bird feeders or an outside pet area.”

And that, as you can plainly see, describes about 95 percent of Maine.

There is a great deal of information available on Lyme disease and tick avoidance on the Web.

Generally, it centers on reducing tick habitat around your home, wearing long clothing while outdoors and using a DEET-based insect repellent.

Experts also advise a close skin inspection before a bath or shower to make sure a tick hasn’t penetrated other defenses. And, no, taking a bath or shower doesn’t necessarily dislodge all ticks.

And while we’re at it, the cold and snow this winter will have little impact on the spread or prevalence of ticks, experts say.

Mainers need to recognize it’s not 1994 and it’s not 2004. The disease is here and the ticks that cause it are spreading.

Lyme can be a miserable disease and it must be taken seriously while enjoying the outdoors in Maine.

rrhoades@sunjournal.com

The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and the editorial board.