TUESDAY, June 23 (HealthDay News) -- It's nearly summer, which means millions of Americans will be picnicking in grassy fields and camping in the woods.

By all means, go out and enjoy the weather, says the American College of Emergency Physicians. But keep in mind that spending more time outdoors puts you at risk of getting bitten by mosquitoes and ticks.

"The bite itself may be nothing more than a minor annoyance," said Dr. Nick Jouriles, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, in a news release. "It's the disease that insects carry that can become a serious medical problem."

Ticks can carry Lyme disease, which is caused by one of three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. In 70 to 80 percent of cases, the first symptom is a bull's eye-shaped skin rash called erythema migrans, which shows up between three and 30 days after the bite, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lyme disease can also cause fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes.

Though highly treatable with antibiotics when caught early, left untreated, Lyme disease can spread to other parts of the body, causing debilitating problems such as severe headaches and neck stiffness from meningitis, shooting pains, heart palpitations, dizziness and joint swelling.

Ticks can also carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii. Though not as common as Lyme disease, it can be more severe, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Symptoms can include sudden fever, headache, excessive sweating, severe muscle aches, weakness, nausea and vomiting, and a rash on the hands, feet, arms or ankles about five to 10 days after being bitten.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is also treatable with antibiotics.

As protection, check regularly for ticks and shower after potential exposure.

If you've been bitten, remove the tick by pulling it straight up with tweezers or between your fingertips if tweezers are not available. If possible, store the tick in a sealed plastic bag in your freezer.

If you develop any symptoms, you and the tick should be tested for Lyme disease right away, experts recommend.

For the most part, mosquitoes are just a warm-weather nuisance, although some people can have a severe allergic reaction to bites and require emergency treatment.

Mosquitoes can also carry West Nile virus. About 80 percent of people who are infected with West Nile virus show no symptoms, but a few develop a high fever, headache, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis, according to the CDC.

Mosquitoes can also transmit encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.

To protect against bites, wear insect repellent, especially at night. Repellents containing DEET are highly effective, but repellant used on children should contain no more than 10 percent DEET. Never put DEET on infants.

Other steps you can take include:

• Staying inside at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active, or wearing long-sleeved pants and shirts when outside during those hours
• Making sure window screens are in good condition
• Avoid standing near stagnant pools of water, trash cans, and gardens where flowers are in bloom
• Keeping food, drinks and garbage sealed

More information

The American College of Emergency Physicians Foundation has more on stings and bites  .

MONDAY, June 22 (HealthDay News) -- People who visit their primary care physician for routine blood tests or screenings are often not informed of the results, a new study finds.

The failure of doctors and medical facilities to follow-up and give people test results is "relatively common," the researchers wrote, even when the results are abnormal and potentially troublesome, and affects one of every 14 tests.

"If you're a patient, it's often assumed that no news is good news," acknowledged Dr. Lawrence P. Casalino, an associate professor and chief of the division of outcomes and effectiveness research in the public health department at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and the study's lead author. "But the bottom line is that is not always the case, and patients should not passively go along with that."

Casalino and his colleagues report their findings in the June 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The researchers reviewed the medical records of 5,434 people aged 50 to 69 years old. They focused on those who, in the previous year, had abnormal results on one of 11 blood tests or one of three screening tests at primary care facilities in the Midwest and on the West Coast. They also combed through responses to 176 surveys completed by physicians designed to assess test result management procedures at each facility.

The study found that in 135 cases -- of 1,889 abnormal test results -- either the person was not informed of the test results or the facility had not documented having communicated with the patient about the results. The upshot: more than a 7 percent failure rate in communicating abnormal test results.

Furthermore, the researchers found that most of the primary care facilities involved in the study did not follow basic protocol for test processing, and most did not have a defined policy on communicating test results to patients.

Though the study found no difference in failure rates between facilities that relied exclusively on paper records and those that used only electronic filings, medical practices that used a hybrid of paper and electronic record-keeping had the highest failure rates.

Practices that had in place better test result management procedures in general had lower failure rates, Casalino said.

"Yet even in the best doctor's office it is possible -- and, actually, not uncommon -- for test results one way or another to get overlooked," he said.

"A good relationship with your doctor is a valuable thing to have, but in this case it isn't enough," Casalino said. "You still need to be told whether your tests were normal or not. And if you don't get the result you're waiting for, you really should call the doctor's office and ask for it."

Diane Pinakiewicz, president of the nonprofit National Patient Safety Foundation, said that the test results issue falls into the broader context of patient safety concerns in "an imperfect system with any number of opportunities for things to go wrong or fall through the cracks."

Pinakiewicz said, "In the past -- 10 or 15 years ago -- if you didn't hear back about diagnostic test results, you probably simply assumed everything was OK. But the culture of medicine is changing," she added. "The patient of today is very different, and physicians and clinicians are also different. We know a lot more today about the safety importance of making sure physicians go through the entire continuum, from taking a sample to delivering results to patients. And physicians understand that transparency is important, and a patient's right to know is important."

Nonetheless, Pinakiewicz said, proactive patient vigilance is key to keeping track of personal medical information after doctor visits. That's particularly important, she noted, when changing care settings, from an in-hospital stay to outpatient treatment, for instance.

"Patients should not accept it when a physician or clinician says they will let you know if something is wrong," she said. "Patients should ask for their test results on a consistent basis, whether or not the results are of concern -- because, if you ask for them 100 percent of the time, there is no question you will always stay informed."

More information

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has more on patient safety.

SUNDAY, June 21 (HealthDay News) -- Price and style -- not protection from the sun's harmful rays -- are most people's main considerations when buying sunglasses, a new survey has found.

But that's not a good thing, health-wise, says the American Optometric Association, which conducted the survey.

"Overexposure to UV [ultraviolet] rays has been linked to a variety of problems, including age-related cataracts and degeneration of the cornea," Dr. Gregory W. Good, an optometrist and association spokesman, said in a news release from the group. "Other disorders that can occur are abnormal growths on the eye's surface and even sunburn of the eyes. These conditions can cause blurred vision, irritation, redness, tearing, temporary vision loss and, in some instances, blindness."

He recommends that people wear quality sunglasses that offer proper UV protection and a wide-brimmed hat whenever they're outside. Some contact lenses, Good noted, contain a UV blocker that helps protect the eyes.

To prevent UV-related eye damage, the association recommends that people:

• Wear UV-protective eyewear even on cloudy days and in the winter.
• Select quality sunglasses or contact lenses that block out 99 to 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B radiation and screen out 75 to 90 percent of visible light.
• Make sure that sunglass lenses are perfectly matched in color and free of distortions or imperfections.
• Select gray-colored lenses because they reduce light intensity without altering the color of objects, which means they provide the most natural color vision.
• Get regular eye exams to monitor eye health, maintain good vision and keep up-to-date on the latest in UV protection.

It's also especially important, the association said, for young children and teens to have UV-protective eyewear because they typically spend more time in the sun than adults, putting them at greater risk for eye damage.

More information

The American Academy of Ophthalmology offers eye safety tips  .

FRIDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- Perhaps it's time to rethink the "three-second rule" when it comes to eating food after it falls on the floor.

New U.S. research shows that most kitchen floors have some insecticide residue, including traces of organochlorine insecticides, such as chlordane, heptachlor and DDT, that were withdrawn from the market or banned in the 1970s and 1980s.

The study is in the June 15 issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Researchers swabbed the kitchen floors of a nationally representative sample of 500 randomly selected homes between June 2005 and June 2006.

The floor swipes were gathered as part of a survey by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that collected data on a range of household contaminants, including lead, allergens, mold, pesticides and arsenic.

The most commonly detected insecticide was permethrin, a carcinogen, which was present on 89 percent of the floors.

About 78 percent of the floors had measurable levels of chlorpyrifos, a broad-spectrum insecticide used to control pests in the house and garden.

About 64 percent had chlordane, one of the organochlorine insecticides that are no longer in use.

Other compounds that were found included piperonyl butoxide (52 percent), cypermethrin (46 percent) and fipronil (40 percent), a relatively new residential-use insecticide used to kill fleas and ticks on pets, termites and ants and cockroaches in bait traps, according to the study.

The insecticide concentration was mostly low, the study reported. Even so, the presence of insecticides on kitchen floors could be a source of exposure to the occupants.

About 78 million U.S. households, or 74 percent, use pesticides, according to the government survey, and Americans spend nearly $1.3 billion and apply 888 million pounds of active ingredients annually.

More information

North Dakota State University has more on safe handling of pesticides  .