HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- From neighborhood barbecues to hiking and camping, people are making the most of the warmer weather. Do not let ticks ruin your summer plans.
Ticks are most active during the warmer months of April through September. Ticks live in grassy, brushy or wooded areas, or even on animals. Follow these guidelines to protect yourself from ticks and know what to do if bitten.
Before you go outdoors
Try to walk in the center of trails and avoid areas where tall grass meets short grass.
Use insect repellant containing 20 percent or more of DEET, Picaridin or IR3535 on exposed skin.
After you come indoors
Check clothing, outdoor gear and pets for ticks.
Conduct a full body check after being outdoors, including in your own backyard. Check these areas: under the arms, in and around the ears, inside belly button, back of the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs and around the waist.
Shower within two hours after being outdoors.
If there is a tick on your skin, there is no need to panic; the key is to remove the tick as soon as possible.
How to properly remove a tick
Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with even pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag or container, wrapping it tightly in tape or flushing it down the toilet.
Avoid remedies such as painting the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. The goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible, not waiting for it to detach.
Follow-up
It is important to remember tick-borne diseases will not show up in lab work immediately after a tick bite. A provider cannot treat someone who is not showing symptoms.
Self-monitor after a tick bite and see a provider immediately if experiencing symptoms like a fever or a rash. Be sure to tell the doctor about the tick bite, when it occurred and where it most likely happened.
Tick testing
The Public Health Office can send out ticks for testing as long as the tick is intact, pulled off a human and stored in a sealed plastic bag. A veterinarian can test ticks pulled off an animal. Results can take up to two weeks.
A positive test result showing the tick contained a disease-causing organism does not necessarily mean you are infected. Additionally, negative test results can lead to false assurance because an additional tick that was infected may have bitten the person too.
If infected, you may develop symptoms before results of the tick test are available. If you do become ill, you should not wait for tick testing results before seeing a doctor.
Common tick-related diseases in New England
Lyme disease, Powassan disease, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia are the tick-related diseases common to New England.
The common symptoms of tick-related disease may include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle pain and sometimes a rash.
Tick-related diseases can result in mild symptoms treatable at home to severe infections requiring hospitalization. Although easily treated with antibiotics, these diseases can be difficult for physicians to diagnose. Early recognition of symptoms and treatment of the infection decreases the risk of serious complications.
For further information, visit Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Massachusetts Department of Public Health or contact the 66th Medical Squadron Public Health Office at 781-225-6295.