Defence is best. The best defence is knowledge
Dress appropriately when entering habitat suitable for ticks. Light-coloured fabric makes ticks more visible. Drawstrings or elasticated wrists, ankles, and waistbands help prevent ticks from getting inside clothing.
Examine yourself and your pets for any ticks that may have attached, or that are still searching for a suitable place to feed. If possible, get a companion to be your tick-buddy, and to check the areas you can’t see.
Family pets can suffer from tick-borne diseases. Symptoms in dogs can include unexplained lameness, fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. In cats symptoms can include excessive sleep, fever, joint stiffness, or lameness, and reduced appetite.
Enjoy the outdoors, but leave it at the doorstep. Remove and brush down any outer clothing before coming indoors again. Other items of clothing, if suitable, should be placed in the tumble drier on a high heat setting for 60 minutes to further reduce ticks entering your home. Tests have demonstrated that ticks can survive a full cycle in the washing machine and short durations in a dryer.
Not every tick carries disease, and not every bite will transmit disease, even if the tick is infected.
Contact your doctor promptly if a rash or flu-like illness develops after you have been exposed to ticks, or if the area of the bite becomes infected.
Extracting embedded ticks correctly is important. Do not burn off an attached tick, or smother it with any substance (E.g. with petroleum jelly or alcohol). Use fine-tipped tweezers, or bespoke tick-removal tools, available from BADA-UK and from some veterinary surgeries and pet chain stores. Find out more on the correct removal of ticks.
Inspect the bite area to make sure no mouth parts are left in. Place the tick in a sealed plastic bag and store in the freezer, for possible testing should your health deteriorate. Include a note with the date of removal and the location you may have acquired the tick from.
Snapshots can be useful. If possible, photograph any "bull's-eye" or irregular-shaped rash / rashes that may appear following a tick bite. Take the photos with you if you consult any medical staff.
Blood tests may be ineffective if they are performed too early after the tick bite, or following antibiotic medication, or in late stage or chronic infection.
Effective treatment can be difficult to achieve if an infection is not diagnosed promptly. While short-term treatment with antibiotics can be effective if commenced soon after transmission, a patient is more likely to develop a chronic and intractable form of the disease if treatment is delayed.
Safety comes from a greater understanding of the dangers posed by ticks. Your knowledge will enable you to better protect yourself, your family, and your pets.
The risk to children from ticks can be greater, due to their tendency to play not only in, but with, the outdoor environment. Regularly inspect your children if they come into such close contact with Mother Nature.
