But there’s a simpler way to prevent tick bites. Take the time after your hike to look over your body and make sure that a tick hasn’t affixed itself to your skin or clothing. If there’s no one available to do the body exam, then use a mirror to check, making sure you look carefully at your scalp and under arms. A tick can hide anywhere you have exposed skin or clothing.
Before you enter your house, examine any gear or accompanying animals to make sure they are tick-free. It’s a good idea to place your clothes in the dryer immediately after a hike, giving them a tumble on high heat to kill any hidden ticks. Keep in mind that simply taking off clothes is not a preventive measure because the tick can travel from a clothing pile on the floor to your body rather easily.
What to Do if You Find a Tick
If you perform a check and find a tick, remove it and make sure it’s properly disposed of or destroyed. Placing it in the garbage is a bad plan of attack because a live tick can crawl out and affix itself to a nearby body.
If you develop Lyme disease, you may develop an Erythema Migrans (EM) rash in the area of your tick bite anywhere from three days to a month later. The rash will grow and can reach enormous sizes in the bite area, at times resembling a small volcano. It is usually painless and may manifest in multiple such rashes on different areas of your body.
At that point, it’s best to seek medical attention because extreme fatigue, fever and other symptoms are sure to follow. The extreme symptoms of Lyme disease include pain, facial palsy, dizziness, shortness of breath and a tingling sensation in extremities. You may start to become delirious and suffer short-term memory loss in some cases. At that point, hospitalization is recommended.
Keep in mind that most cases of Lyme disease are annoying but not fatal. Just take the proper precautions if you spend time in the great outdoors and live in the upper Midwest or Northeast during the summer months, and you’ll generally avoid acquiring the disease.