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Preventing Lyme DiseaseLyme Disease InfoLyme disease is most prevalent in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and Pacific Northwest, but residents of these areas need not worry too much. The disease is easily preventable because humans can only contract it through deer tick bites. No other method of transmission has been proven. Therefore, to prevent Lyme disease, just prevent deer tick bites. Ticks prefer wooded or bushy areas with lots of grass and fallen leaves. Clearing brush piles, cleaning up leaf piles, and cutting tall grass around your property greatly reduces their preferred environment and should be the first step in making any home safer from ticks. If such areas cannot be cleared or cut, avoid them as much as possible and be sure to wear long pants, a long shirt, and tall socks whenever you are in wooded or bushy areas. For best protection, tuck pant legs into socks and seal with tape to ensure that ticks cannot access skin. Whenever outside, wear insect repellent that protects against ticks. Most repellents with twenty to thirty percent DEET will effectively protect adults from ticks. Check your local drug, grocery, or outdoor sporting goods store for a full array of insect repellents. A special type of repellent available at sporting goods stores is called Permethrin. It is applied to clothing, lasts several washes, and, best of all, kills ticks on contact. After spending time in a tick-prone area, it is vitally important to search your body for ticks. Remove any visible ticks then remove clothes and launder them in hot water to kill ticks you might have missed. Search your body, especially the armpits, scalp, and groin. These are favorite feeding grounds for ticks. Remove any attached ticks using tweezers immediately, being careful to remove the entire tick. Smashing the tick with your thumb is not the same as removal. Finding any attached ticks as quickly as possible is crucial because your chances of contracting Lyme disease rise the longer the tick is attached. Removal within twenty-four hours ensures an extremely small chance of infection. In 1998, the US FDA approved the LYMErix vaccine for ages fifteen to seventy. The vaccine was proven seventy-five to eighty percent effective in clinical trials, but production was discontinued in 2002 due to lack of demand. Someone who properly follows preventative measures significantly reduces their risk of deer tick bites and Lyme disease. Prevention is especially important if you live in areas with large deer tick populations. There is no reason to hide indoors and miss the beauty of the outdoors in the summer when successful and effective prevention is so easy. Avoid their favorite environments, cover your skin to keep them from biting, wear insect repellent to keep them away, and enjoy the summer outdoors. Filed under: Preventing Lyme Disease |
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