Prevention can help with the following
Lyme Disease
When in tick-infested areas (i.e., tall grass, overgrown brush, etc.), special precautions should be taken. Wear light-colored clothing, tuck pants legs into socks, and wear closed toe shoes. Use commercial insect repellents (particularly those containing DEET) sparingly and with care, as they may cause side effects, especially in young children. Avoid application to damaged skin. When returning from outdoors it is important to check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks. Look for ticks in all joint areas, the navel, behind ears, in the hairline, and in other skin folds. Wash all skin treated with insect repellent thoroughly. Keep your lawn mowed and cut overgrown brush. Some doctors will give a single dose of oral doxycycline within 3 days of any tick bite received in a tick-infested area in order to prevent Lyme disease.
A tick must be attached to its host for 36 to 48 hours before an infectious dose of Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted. This is fortunate, because most folks who are bitten by a tick will find it prior to the infectious event and thus prevent a possible case of Lyme’s disease.
Also, to help prevent tick bites, include garlic in your diet. In a study of Marines it reduced tick bites by 21%. [JAMA August 16, 2000; 284]
Key
| Likely to help |