Health Topics A-Z

How Can I Prevent Lyme Disease?

• Because infection does not occur until a tick has been attached for 36 to 48 hours, a thorough daily tick check can be an effective first-line defense.
• Be aware that the ticks are very small. They are often the size of poppy seeds, although they are larger when engorged with blood.
• If you spend time outdoors in areas inhabited by deer ticks, wear shoes, long pants tucked into socks, and long sleeves.
• Use insect repellent around your ankles.
• If you work or walk in brushy areas or woods, check regularly for ticks; they are easier to see against light clothing. Check especially around the armpits, groin, scalp and beltline (plus the neck and head of children). Check pets often as well.
• If possible, avoid tick infested areas, particularly in May, June and July.
• If you are in tick infested areas, walk in the center of trails to avoid overgrown grass at the trail edge.

If you do find a deer tick on your skin, remove it immediately.

• With tweezers or gloved fingers, grasp it as close to the skin as possible, pulling gently and steadily.
• Be patient; ticks secrete a special substance that "cements" them to your skin.
• Save the tick for identification, if possible. Wash the bite with soap and water.
• Even if the tick's mouthparts remain embedded in the skin, removal of the body reduces the risk of infection; the bacteria-bearing salivary glands are in the gut, far from the mouth.
• If redness develops around the bite, see your doctor.