You may not hear much about Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever or ehrlichiosis around the water cooler, but all of these diseases are present in ticks found in Georgia and are on the rise. Do you know what to do to keep your family safe?
What's so scary?
Ticks are the most dangerous bug of the spring and summer months (though active year-round in climates of 35 degrees and above) and carry an array of debilitating diseases. According to the CDC, nearly 30,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported in the U.S. in 2009, just one of the illnesses ticks carry. Many cases go undiagnosed, especially when symptoms present themselves, sometimes years after the fact, in a patient who isn't aware of having had a tick bite. The effects of Lyme can be extreme—from severe pain and lethargy to neurological damage.
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Recognize the symptoms
One of the most frightening aspects of a tick encounter is that you may not even know you've had one. Ticks can latch on, feed and drop off without their hosts ever knowing it. In their nymph stage, ticks are the size of a pin head and nearly impossible to detect.
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If you or someone you know develops a rash in the shape of a bulls eye (Lyme) or a spotted rash with flu symptoms (Rocky Mountain spotted fever), see a doctor immediately. Lyme disease symptoms are extensive and can affect virtually every system in the body. If you notice any of them in yourself or a family member, see a doctor immediately. Fast treatment with antibiotics can often cure Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses, but not always. Late-stage or chronic Lyme can require much more intensive treatment.
Know thy enemy
During tick season, which can run from March through September, depending on where you live, be aware that most outdoor environments can bring you in contact with ticks. Make sure you and your family avoid areas of thick shrubbery, woods and tall grass unless you're wearing long pants, long sleeves and insect repellant.
But ticks can also be found in seemingly friendly locales too―around and in stone walls, landscaping borders (wood or stone), in woodpiles, on ground cover plants, mowed lawns and sports fields. Areas where grass borders a wooded area are a favorite tick habitat.
Get armed
Bug spray is an important part of your anti-tick ammunition. Sprays with at least 25% DEET are the best to use, though products with picaridin and IR3535 have also proven effective against ticks. If you or anyone in your family will be doing yard work of any kind, wear light-colored clothing (so you can see any ticks), gloves, tuck pants into socks and wear boots. Use permethrin on clothing and gear, especially if camping, hiking or clearing brush.
Hunt 'em down
If you or any member of your family spends time outside during tick season, you should get into the regular habit of doing daily tick checks. At the end of the day, check in all the places ticks would have easy access to—the head and in and around ears—and all the places a tick might hide, like under arms, inside a belly button, on the back of the knees, around the waist, between the legs and in any body folds and hair. The faster a tick is detected, the better the chance of removing it before disease is transmitted. Parents should check their children and each other. If you don't have someone to check you, use a mirror to help.
Safe removal
Remove a tick using tweezers, if possible. You should also consider keeping a set of tick pliers on hand. If you can, sterilize your tweezers or pliers and grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, careful not to crush it. Pull firmly and slowly so that you can get the tick to release its hold. Do not twist or burn off a tick, as you don't want the disease-secreting head to stay behind. Use gloves or a paper towel if you have nothing else, but never your bare fingers. Then find something to put it in, such as a glass tube or two plastic bags, and have the tick tested to be sure it isn't carrying Lyme or some other disease.
Here in Atlanta, it's easy to be complacent or just plain lazy in the summer sun, especially when so much of our great outdoors looks welcoming and innocent. But the one time you throw caution to the wind regarding tick prevention could leave you or a family member with a life-changing illness that stays for months, years or even a lifetime.