Please remember that you may never get a bulls eye rash at the site of the tick bite and may never know you have been bitten.
http://jg-tc.com/news/take-precautions-to-avoid-tick-bites/article_dc6c70f2-9692-11e2-b47e-001a4bcf887a.html
Take precautions to avoid tick bites
DECATUR — Spring is on its way, and with infected deer ticks causing more than 20,000 Lyme disease infections in the United States each year, doctors are advising people to be safe as they begin spending more time outdoors.
“We do have Lyme disease in Illinois, especially in Northern Illinois, and we had about 200 cases of it throughout the state in 2012,” said Dr. Craig Conover, a state epidemiologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health.
While there is risk for contracting Lyme disease year-round, people are most at risk in the late spring to early summer, especially in wooded areas.
Conover said there are several precautions people can take to prevent contracting the disease.
“If you go out in wooded, bushy areas, walk in the center of walking trails and avoid brushing up against bushes and trees,” he said, adding that tall grass should also be avoided.
Using insect repellents such as DEET on the body or Permethrin on clothes can also help, in addition to wearing long pants tucked into socks and shoes and long-sleeved shirts.
Performing tick checks after being outside can help, as well.
“Ticks like little crevices, so checking around the ears, on the neck, in your underarm area and around the groin and navel is important,” he said. “It normally takes 24 hours for the tick to transmit Lyme disease once they attach to the body, so a tick check can really help prevent the disease.”
Conover noted that once Lyme disease is contracted, one of the earliest and most common symptoms is a red bump that often expands into a round red rash called erythema migrans.
“People may not remember receiving a tick bite, but nearly 80 percent of people who get Lyme disease get the rash,” he said, noting that the rash usually expands over days and weeks and that flulike symptoms including fever, fatigue and body aches often accompany it.
Once the rash is noticed, people should contact a doctor for treatment, which usually consists of antibiotics such as amoxicillin or doxycycline, said Conover.
For more information on Lyme disease, visit www.idph.state.il.us/
public/hb/hblyme.htm.
Contact Harbour at nharbour@herald-review.com or 217-421-7963..
