Tips And Tricks To Keep The Ticks Nixed
With the weather getting warmer and mask restrictions being lifted, more people are spending time outdoors than they did last year. It is important to be mindful of ticks when enjoying the great outdoors, as they can transmit Lyme disease.
Infectious Disease Specialist for Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Alan Taege, said ticks are most active during the warmer months. In the video below, he offers advice on what you can do to repel those nasty little buggers. For starters, tick repellent or bug sprays that have DEET in them are a must-have. It is also helpful to wear light-colored clothing so that it is easier to examine yourself for ticks while out and about. Another clothing tip is to wear long sleeves and pants when possible, so ticks can’t easily make their way to latch onto your skin.
In the event of discovering a tick on your skin, use a pair of fine-nose tweezers to carefully remove the ticks. Be sure not to squeeze it, as you may cause a bacterial infection from the tick going into your bite wound.
“If you check yourself after every time you’re outside and you see it early on, you’re unlikely to contract any illness from it because [with] particularly Lyme disease, the tick needs to be attached almost 36 hours before it infects you.”
Dr. Taege recommends that if you notice symptoms such as a rash often in the shape of a bulls-eye pattern, contact your physician right away.
Untreated Lyme disease can produce a wide range of symptoms, depending on the stage of infection, the CDC says. These include fever, rash, facial paralysis, and arthritis. People treated with appropriate antibiotics in the early stages of Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely. Early diagnosis and proper antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease can help prevent late Lyme disease.
Watch the video below.
