Courtesy the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ticks are smaller than a dime! Take a look at the size of these ticks: blacklegged tick (top), lone star tick (center), and brown tick (bottom). |
Our Dad is going back to work today; he’s finally feeling himself again after getting bitten by a tick. But when he saw his doctor last week, the doctor told him that while he was in the hospital he almost died! Now, Mom is a tick crusader, telling her friends to watch out for ticks. Ticks aren’t just a nuisance—they are dangerous!
Mom hopes you’ll visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Stop Ticks website to learn about ticks and tick disease so that what happened to Dad doesn’t happen to you. Here are some highlights from the site:
- Ticks prefer moist environments in or near woods or grassy areas, but they can be anywhere. Dad’s doctor told him about a lady who picked up a tick in her yard in a ritzy Little Rock suburb and nearly died of ehrlichiosis. It’s hard to avoid ticks, so try to protect yourself from their bites.
- Use a repellent with DEET on your skin or clothing to keep ticks off. (Permethrin on clothing works well, too!) And wear long sleeves, long pants and socks. Apply repellents to your children and pets, but steer clear of their hands, eyes and mouths.
- Wear light-colored shirts and pants, so you can see ticks crawling on your clothing. Pull the top of your socks up over your pant legs—it looks doofy but keeps ticks from crawling up your legs.
- Check your entire body (and your children’s bodies) for ticks after roaming around tick country, even if it’s your own backyard. Use a hand-held or full-length mirror so you can see every part.
- Ticks can be carried into the house on clothing and pets. Check pets carefully every day.
If you find a tick attached to your body, remove it carefully, kill it, and put it in a safe place. If you develop a rash or a red bull’s-eye around the bite, see your doctor and take the tick with you! Don’t take chances. It’s no fun to end up sick in the hospital like my Dad.
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