Learn More About Lyme Disease
Most people with Lyme disease become infected during the late spring, summer, and early fall when immature ticks are out looking for their meal. Except in warm climates, few people are bitten by deer ticks during winter months.
Deer ticks are most often found in wooded areas and nearby grasslands, and are especially common where the two areas merge, including neighborhood yards where deer occasionally roam. Ticks do not survive long on sunny lawns, they dry out quickly and die.
Try these tips to prevent tick bites:
If an infected tick bites, it will not transmit the infection until it has had the opportunity to have its blood meal. This takes time, thus there is value in inspecting your body after outdoor activities in areas where Lyme disease is known to occur. Newly attached ticks can be easily removed before they transmit the infection.
Pregnant women should be especially careful to avoid ticks in Lyme disease areas because the infection can be transferred to the unborn child. Such a prenatal infection can make the woman more likely to miscarry.
Arthritis and Lyme Disease
In this article
- How Is Lyme Disease Transmitted?
- What Are the Symptoms of Lyme Disease?
- How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed?
- How Is Lyme Disease Treated?
- How Can I Prevent Getting Lyme Disease?
- Is There a Vaccine for Lyme Disease?
- What Is the Outlook for People With Lyme Disease?
How Can I Prevent Getting Lyme Disease? continued...
Most people with Lyme disease become infected during the late spring, summer, and early fall when immature ticks are out looking for their meal. Except in warm climates, few people are bitten by deer ticks during winter months.
Deer ticks are most often found in wooded areas and nearby grasslands, and are especially common where the two areas merge, including neighborhood yards where deer occasionally roam. Ticks do not survive long on sunny lawns, they dry out quickly and die.
Try these tips to prevent tick bites:
- Wear long sleeves and tightly woven clothing that is light in color when walking in wooded areas so the ticks can be seen more easily.
- Wear your shirt tucked into your pants, and your pants tucked into your socks or boots.
- Walk in the center of trails through the woods to avoid picking up ticks from overhanging grass and brush.
- Keep grass trimmed as short as possible.
- Apply tick repellents with DEET to your clothing, shoes and socks before going out. Another tick repellent called permethrin, designed to be placed on the clothing can be used alone or in combination with DEET. (Although highly effective, these repellents can cause some serious side effects, particularly when high concentrations are used repeatedly on the skin. Infants and children may be especially at risk for adverse reactions.)
- Check yourself, your family, and your pets routinely for ticks, especially after a trip outdoors.
- Shower and shampoo your hair if you think you may have been exposed to ticks.
- Check your clothes for ticks and wash them immediately in order to remove any ticks.
If an infected tick bites, it will not transmit the infection until it has had the opportunity to have its blood meal. This takes time, thus there is value in inspecting your body after outdoor activities in areas where Lyme disease is known to occur. Newly attached ticks can be easily removed before they transmit the infection.
Pregnant women should be especially careful to avoid ticks in Lyme disease areas because the infection can be transferred to the unborn child. Such a prenatal infection can make the woman more likely to miscarry.