Tick Season is Here! Take Steps to Prevent Tickborne Illness
It’s tick season! A tiny little bug that can cause some very serious health problems, and they’re really prevalent in our area.
I’m headed out on a camping trip this weekend, and you can bet I’ll be checking for ticks. The CDC says that there were 2,900 Lymes Disease cases reported in Pennsylvania in 2021. That’s about 22.4 cases per 100,000 persons. The majority of the cases were reported between May and August, and 46% were reported in June and July alone. (And that’s just Lymes. Pennsylvania also reported 683 anaplasmosis cases, 15 ehrlichiosis cases, 8 SFR cases, and 104 babesiosis cases that year too.)
The symptoms of these diseases can be painful, and sometimes hard to diagnose. Symptoms can mimic a number of other diseases and conditions. A few years ago our dog Gloria was incredibly ill. After a number of expensive emergency vet appointments, we finally had a tick panel done and discovered that she had evidence of 4 different tick diseases in her system. We had used a monthly tick preventative, but she was still bitten, and so very sick. She was hospitalized and couldn’t walk for weeks, and it took about 6 months of pills and treatment to get her fully feeling herself again. (I also maxed out my credit card with all of the vet bills. Well worth it, but still.)
Ticks are no joke, but there are ways that we can help to prevent tick borne diseases.
Prepare!
- There are products with permethrin which can be used to treat shoes and clothing as a preventative method.
- Insect repellent can be applied before going out.
- Avoid wooded or grassy areas, and try to walk in the center of trails to prevent them from catching a ride… on you!
Check for ticks!
- Look at your skin and clothing when you get back inside.
- Thoroughly check kids, pets, and especially ears, belly buttons, armpits, wastes, knees, between your legs and hair/scalps!
- Get someone to help you or use a mirror for hard to see spots. It’s time consuming, but so worth it in the long run.
- Showering within 2 hours of coming inside helps too. Do a full body check while you’re at it.
- You can run your clothes on high through the dryer to kill any ticks that may have hitchhiked inside on your clothing.
If you DO find a tick, the CDC has a great website with ways to identify a tick, and steps to take to prevent tickborne diseases. Find lots of information HERE.
New Jersey has a large number of ticks too. If you live in or are visiting New Jersey, Rutgers wants your ticks! The Rutgers University Center is asking New Jersey visitors and residents to submit tick specimens so that they can use them to help track tick populations and help prevent tick-borne illness.
The goal is to know who in the area is getting bit by ticks, and what kinds of ticks are biting. The program is called Ticks 4 Science, and you can find more information HERE. Hopefully you won’t have any ticks biting, but if you find one, send it in!
Summer is full of opportunities to have fun outside. Unfortunately, summer is also tick season. We’ll be out there, and so will ticks, but we can take steps to prevent diseases this summer and year-round. Check the CDC’s website with any questions, or contact your doctor.
