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To avoid
exposure to ticks, stay on the trails and avoid grassy, brushy areas. Wear
light colored clothing so ticks can be seen. Wear long sleeve shirts and
tuck shirts into pants and pant legs into socks. Wear a hat. Do not wear
shorts on the trails. Check yourself for ticks or have someone else check
for you. Finding and removing a tick early (within 36 hours) is key to the
prevention of Lyme disease. If a tick is attached to your skin, grab it with tweezers
as close to your skin as possible and pull it straight out. Do not use
Vaseline. It will kill the tick and cause more harm. Also do not squeeze
the body of the tick, it can cause all the infected material of the tick
to enter into your skin. Wash the area thoroughly with soap and water and
use a disinfectant. You should have any tick bite checked by a doctor, but
you should definitely have a doctor check out the bite if a rash of more
than one inch wide appears at the site of the bite. This is a sign of Lyme
disease. If you have flu-like symptoms up to a month after being bitten by
a tick, call your doctor, you could have ehrlichiosis, another serious,
potentially fatal, tick-borne disease that can be treated with
antibiotics. Don't forget to check your pets for ticks also. You can get a
Lyme disease vaccine for your dogs, but they have not yet developed one
for cats. Be sure to use a flea and tick control medication or a flea and
tick collar also.
For
more info visit the American
Lyme Disease Foundation website. |
