How Can I Prevent Contracting Lone Star Tick Disease?
Preventive measures, listed below, are similar to those for Lyme disease. • If you spend time outdoors in areas inhabited by ticks, wear shoes, long pants tucked into socks, and long sleeves. A thorough daily tick check can be an effective first-line defense. • Use insect repellent around your ankles. • Wear light-colored clothing as ticks are easier to spot against light colors. • If you work or walk in brushy areas or woods, check regularly for ticks. Take special care to check around the armpits, groin, scalp and beltline (plus the neck and head of children). Check pets often as well. If you do find a tick on your skin, remove it immediately. • Using tweezers or gloved fingers, grasp it as close to the skin as possible, pulling gently and steadily. • Be patient; ticks secrete a special substance that “cements” them to your skin. • Save the tick for identification, if possible. • Wash the bite with soap and water. • Even if the tick’s mouthparts remain embedded in the skin, removal o
