How To
How to Protect Yourself from Ticks & Lyme Disease
Protecting yourself from ticks is the first step in Lyme disease prevention. Follow these tips to help prevent a tick bite.
By Yankee Magazine|Apr 19 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
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How to Protect Yourself from Ticks & Lyme Disease
1. Wear light-colored long pants and a long-sleeved shirt when walking through woods, tall grass, ground cover, or beach areas. For even better protection, tuck your pants into your socks and your shirt into your pants. 2. Consider using an all-natural (like Maine-made Flick the Tick) or EPA-approved tick repellent. Wash it off at home after your outing. Special outdoor clothing lines pretreated with permethrin are now available. 3. Check your skin (even covered areas) for ticks after an outing. 4. Promptly remove any ticks you find. Wear gloves and use a tick puller (such as the tool made by Ticked Off or fine-point precision tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, pull it straight out (don’t crush it or puncture it), and dispose of it in a vial of rubbing alcohol. Swab the bite and your tool with antiseptic. 5. Consult your physician immediately if you experience any of the following symptoms: bull’s-eye or expanding solid rash, swollen or painful joints, swollen glands, headache, fever, chills, sore throat, stiff neck, numbness or tingling in arms or legs, abnormal vision, abnormal pulse, facial paralysis, or severe fatigue.
Important info
Great article
Ticks are a dangerous health problem. The deer tick carries the Lyme Disease, as known. What is not known they also carry other diseases and bacteria. I’ve had the antibiotic pills that have to be taken with food or crackers to avoid vomiting. My brother thought it was a cold / flu and didn’t get medical help. Finally they helped him in the car to the hospital in St. Johnsbury VT. The docs there said he’d be dead in another two days. He was treated and is OK.
Last summer In Townshend VT, May to end of July I took 196 ticks off my body and was bit 12-15 times in that time on about 1/8 acre mowed lawn. They were all over everything, building, vehicle and are hard to detect. Had some in bed with me when thought I was clear. I developed severe full body itching. The VA blood test said I didn’t have the Lyme, and didn’t know what was causing the itching, I scratched so much, blood appeared. The joints were the worse. A year later I’m still taking an antihistamine prescribed by my VA in WRJ. It’s controlled the itching but the itching is evident if I miss a day taking this pill. TICKS CARRY MORE THAN JUST THE LYME. Get more than one type of blood test, have testing for more.
New strains are of bacteria is emerging. A guy in MO died withing a week of being bit. Don’t mess around with it and get protection means. Didn’t have ticks 3-4 years prior, swear an airplane flew over and dumped them. There are places with hardly any ticks and my place, loaded. Mice, chipmunks and other blood bearing rodents might have many diseases and the ticks pick it up to pass on. VT is loaded with mice.
Good luck,. Tom
Thanks Tom…excellent advice !
Get tested for Alpha-gal, which can come from a tick bite. It can cause a bad allergy to mammal products including gelatin!