Don't let the fear of ticks and Lyme disease stop you from getting outside while the weather is nice!
Tips to minimize your child's risk of Lyme disease
- Do a tick check daily. Check yourself, your children and pets. Perform a full body search from head to toe at the end of each day or first thing in the morning, especially if pets sleep on beds. Pay special attention to scalp, ears, armpits, groin and behind the knees. Run your fingers over the skin to feel for tiny bumps that may feel like a scab, which may actually be a feeding tick.
- Avoid areas where ticks are most abundant including wooded areas, tall grass, brush and leaf litter.
- If you go into tick filled areas, wear protective clothing. Light-colored clothing will help you spot ticks easily.
- Do a thorough tick check each day. Remove clothing and turn it inside out and place in the dryer on high heat for twenty minutes to kill any ticks clinging to the fabric.
- Ticks should be removed as soon and carefully as possible. If removed within 24 hours of attaching, the risk of getting Lyme is minimal.
Tips for removing ticks
- Remove the tick promptly. Use tweezers to grasp the tick firmly at the head or mouth, next to your skin.
- Pull firmly and steadily on the tick until it releases from the skin. If you can, place the tick in a baggy in case your physicians asks to see it.
- Swab the area of skin that was bitten by a tick with rubbing alcohol and wash the area with an antibacterial soap.
- Monitor the site where you were bitten for the next month. The first sign of infection is usually a circular rash resembling a bull's eye.
- Look out for flu-like symptoms without the usual respiratory signs. The onset of Lyme can form between several days to weeks after being bitten.
- If you’re unsure about anything, contact your doctor immediately.