5 Things You Need to Know About Preventing Lyme Disease

1. Wear Protective Clothing

Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria, borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans by a deer tick bite. Prevention is key to avoiding this potentially chronic infection. The easiest step in averting Lyme disease is wearing proper protective clothing when working or playing outside. This includes wearing long-sleeved shirts and tucking long pants into socks or boots. Wearing light colored clothing will also aid in detecting ticks that may be on clothing. Avoid walking in leafy or bushy areas and be extra cautious during May, June and July when ticks are more abundant.

2. Use Tick Repellents

Chemical repellents that contain 10-35 percent DEET (N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) are the most effective, and the higher the DEET concentration the longer the duration of protection. A 10 percent DEET concentration is effective for about two hours and at 23.8 percent for approximately five hours. It is recommended that a 20-30 percent concentration be used to prevent tick bites. DEET can be removed by swimming and sweat so it needs to be reapplied according to the product's directions. A health care provider should be consulted before DEET is used on children because potentially harmful side effects can occur with ingestion. A concentration greater than 30 percent should not be used on children. Permethrin is another type of repellent that kills ticks on contact; however it is applied to clothing and never on skin. It will last through several washings and can be purchased at many outdoor or hunting supply stores.

3. Inspection, Shower, Launder

After returning from the outdoors it is essential that you thoroughly inspect your skin, including the scalp, waistline, armpits, groin and behind the ears and knees. Children should also be taught to look for ticks and to tell an adult of any bug bites or rashes. Showering in hot water with a wash cloth or loofah will help in the removal of any ticks missed by the inspection. Laundering clothing is necessary to kill any remaining ticks. However, studies have shown that just washing clothes with laundry soap and hot water kills only about 50-75 percent of ticks. But no ticks survived after one hour in a dryer using high heat.

4. Get Rid of Creepy Critters

Control the tick population outside your home by applying pesticides in late May or early June. Pesticides can kill the majority of ticks with a single treatment. If you have any questions, you may need to consult a professional exterminator. Remember that ticks thrive in damp, cool areas and die in sunny dry environments, so make your yard a tick-safe zone. Keep lawns mowed, remove leaves promptly and use wood chips or gravel as a barrier between your lawn and wooded areas. These steps will prevent ticks from moving into your yard.

5. Take Action After a Tick Bite

First, if you discover a tick still attached to remove it immediately. The correct way to remove a tick is with fine tweezers grasping it as closely to the skin as possible. Being careful not to crush it, gently but firmly remove the tick. You should take note of when you were bitten, what the tick looks like and what symptoms you are having. Monitor yourself for early signs of Lyme disease, which include a bull's eye rash called erythema migrans. It occurs in about 80 percent of individuals and can spread to a foot across in diameter. The hallmark of the rash is the central clearing as it spreads. Other symptoms include headache, fever, body aches, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes. Untreated Lyme disease can have serious consequences, so close observation is absolutely necessary. Your health care provider should also be contacted as soon as possible after a tick bite, as prophylaxis with antibiotics may be warranted if you meet certain criteria including residing in an endemic area and being bitten by a deer tick less than 72 hours ago.