While it’s always smart to be on the lookout for ticks in the spring, early reports indicate that there’s good reason to be on high alert.
According to the USA TODAY Network analysis of public health data, the number of ER visits for tick bites during the first seven days of May, was on par with the fourth-highest total for an entire month of May during the past nine years. In other words, ticks are out in force.
Ticks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all of them have the potential to cause disease in humans, including Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, and Anaplasmosis. The most common tick in Vermont, the Berkshires, and New York is the deer tick, which carries these illnesses, as well as Borrelia miyamotoi and the highly severe Powassan Virus. Because ticks are commonly found in grassy, brushy, and wooded areas, it’s best to avoid these areas if possible or take precautions to avoid picking up tiny, unwanted hitchhikers.
Protect your pet and home
If you have a cat or dog who spends time outdoors, chances are good they’re transporting ticks into your home when they come in. Because pets can get sick with tickborne diseases like humans, and those same ticks can find their way onto people in your home, it’s important to practice pet tick prevention.
First, talk to your vet about tick-prevention products, including collars and medication. Second, whenever your pet comes inside, check them for ticks. Begin with a visual inspection, paying close attention to the ears, neck, paws, and between the toes, as well as under the collar, which are favorite tick hiding places.
If you notice a lot of ticks on the surface of their fur, use a lint roller or packing tape wrapped around your hand with the sticky side out to capture as many as possible before they crawl towards your pet’s skin.
For pets with thick fur, use a flea comb to part the fur to make tick location easier.
Here are a few tips for reducing exposure and risk of tick-borne illnesses:
DRESS FOR PREVENTION
- Choose light-colored clothing that makes it easy to spot ticks.
- Wear long sleeves and long pants.
- Tuck your pants into your socks or boots.
- Spray clothing with a tick-repellent such as permethrin
- Wear a hat if venturing into the woods
- On exposed skin, wear an EPA-registered insect repellent that also works against ticks. Some choices include DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol (PMD), and 2-undecanone.
- Use the tick repellent permethrin. The single most important prevention tool available, permethrin, is available in a spray and laundry form and can be used on clothing, shoes, and boots. To be fully effective, the spray must fully saturate clothing. The washing machine version provides an easier and more thorough alternative. When dried on clothes, permethrin is not absorbed into skin, making it safe for use on children as well as adult clothing. Permethrin will remain on clothes for a few wash cycles. Follow instructions carefully and never apply directly to skin.
PERFORM TICK CHECKS
It’s best to check yourself frequently for ticks when outdoors for extended periods, and it’s essential to do tick checks when heading back inside. Here’s how:
- Do a visual check of your clothing and the clothing of others with you when you step back inside. Young ticks can be as small as a poppy seed, so be careful and deliberate in your exam.
- Change your clothes immediately and put worn clothes in the dryer on high for 10 minutes.
- Perform a check without clothes, ideally in front of a mirror. Ticks prefer to attach to warm, moist areas of the body. Areas that need to be checked carefully include:
- Back of the knees
- Along the inside of the legs
- Around the waist
- Under the arms and in armpits
- Behind the ears
- In and around head hair
If you find a live tick that has not latched on to skin, dispose of it by placing it alcohol in a Ziploc bag or other container you’re willing to throw out. Do not crush or flush ticks. Instead, use packing tape to remove them and then seal them to the tape with another piece of tape to suffocate them.
If you find a tick attached to the skin of a human or animal, follow these steps to safely remove it.
- Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the mouthparts close to the skin and slowly and steadily pull the tick straight out. Avoid twisting or jerking the tick as it may leave mouthparts in your skin, which can lead to infection.
- Once the tick is removed, thoroughly wash your hands and clean the bite area with soap and water, antiseptic, or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
NOTE: If you find a tick immediately after coming indoors, there’s no need to panic. However, if the tick is engorged or was attached to your body for an unknown amount of time of for more than 24 hours, you should contact your doctor for possible prophylactic Doxycycline.
Any time you find a tick attached to you, watch for symptoms of tick-borne illness over the next several weeks. If you develop flu-like symptoms, fever, headache, acute profound fatigue with muscle and joint aches, or a rash in the bite area, contact your doctor.
Dr. Marie George, MD is an Infectious Disease Specialist at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, VT and a member of the Travel Clinic team at the hospital.