Staying outdoors for long hours is a way of enjoying life during summer months. Hiking trails are very inviting, and you may also like to soak in the sun on the beaches. It’s time to have fun and enjoy the freedom of moving around with carefree attitude with your family. However, this is also the time when you have to be alert against the health hazards that accompany it. Ticks can be big menace when you are wandering around. The tiny insects can bite you and make you sick with Lyme disease. Ticks are carriers of bacteria like B.Burgdoferi that causes Lyme disease. The illness was first reported in 1975 in the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut. Below is a brief guide on the protection against Lyme disease.
Look out for ticks on your body
Knowing about how the disease is spread by ticks will help you to take the first step in protection. Ticks attach to human bodies and transmit the virus when it bites. It is interesting to note that all ticks do not spread infection, but the ones that do need at least 24 hours to stick to your body to transmit the bacteria. Therefore, whenever you are outdoors, make sure to remove ticks that get attached to your body. The sooner you do it, the better are your chances of not contracting the disease.
Keep away from wooded and grassy habitats
From April to September are the months when the bacteria of Lyme disease are most active. Forested and wooded areas, places covered with tall grass or covered with debris of leaves are the most favorite places for ticks. Avoid moving around such places to minimize the exposure to ticks. However, if you are unable to avoid it, make sure to clean your body thoroughly to remove any tick that might be clinging on it. Check closely behind the knees, under the arms, belly button, inside ears, in hair and around the waist as these are the most likely places where ticks can be found.
Tick removal technique
Despite your best efforts to get rid of ticks there still might be chances of a few insects being found on your body. Take care to remove it by grasping it with tweezers and pulling it away upright. Avoid twisting the tweezers when pulling the insect out as it might sever the mouth of the insect that is left clinging to your skin.
After removal of ticks, keep a watch on the places that it had stuck to. If you find rashes appearing, go to a doctor for Elisa test. Elisa stands for enzyme linked immunosorbent assay which is the most prevalent test for Lyme disease. In addition, you have to take another test, Western blot test to detect the disease which might not show any symptoms even after a month. If you have symptoms similar to flu and also experience joint pains and swollen lymph nodes, then testing is the only way to know if you have the disease or not.
