In this area, ticks are especially prevalent from April to September, but residents should remember that tick bites can happen anytime of the year. Ticks hibernate during the winter months and look for a host to latch onto when temperatures rise.
To prevent contact with ticks and
avoid tick-borne illnesses, Ipswich Public Health recommends the following tips
provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Avoid Direct Contact with Ticks
·
Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter --
ticks wait in vegetation and attack from below.
·
Keep a tidy yard.
·
Walk in the center of trails.
·
Use repellant that contains 20 percent or more DEET, picaridin or
IR3535 on exposed skin, being sure to follow product instructions.
Find and Remove Ticks from Your
Body
·
Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash
off and more easily find ticks that may be crawling on you.
·
Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length
mirror to view all parts of your body. Check areas carefully where ticks like
to hide -- between the toes, backs of the knees, groin, armpits, neck, along
the hairline, and behind the ears.
·
Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to
a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats and gear.
·
If you find a tick attached to your skin, don’t panic. Use a pair
of fine point tweezers to grip the tick as close to the skin as possible and
pull straight out with steady pressure.
·
You should not apply kerosene, petroleum jelly, nail polish, or a
hot match tip to remove the tick. These measures are not effective and may
result in injury.
·
Circle the calendar date and note where on the body the tick was
removed. You may want to save the tick for identification.
·
Your physician may choose to treat you following a deer tick bite.
Notify your healthcare provider if you have been bitten by a deer tick or if
you develop a rash or other signs of illness following a tick bite.
Common Symptoms of Tick-related
Illnesses
If you have been bitten by a tick,
the most common symptoms of tick-related illnesses are:
·
Fever/chills: With all tick-borne
diseases, patients can experience fever at varying degrees and time of onset.
·
Aches and pains: Tick-borne
disease symptoms include headache, fatigue and muscle aches. With Lyme disease,
patients may also experience joint pain. The severity and time of onset of
these symptoms can depend on the disease and the patient’s personal tolerance
level.
·
Rash: Tick-borne illnesses like Lyme
disease, southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), Rocky Mountain spotted
fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, and tularemia can all result in distinctive rashes.
Early recognition and treatment of
these infections decreases the risk of serious complications. See your doctor
immediately if you have been bitten by a tick and experience any of the
symptoms described here.
