With the warm winter and early spring, it is anticipated that incidents of tick bites will rise, causing increased potential for tick-borne illnesses. Questar III’s Health & Safety Department is finding many school nurses are reporting incidents of this nature already. Below is a sample letter shared with local school districts to communicate awareness for tick prevention and tick-borne diseases.
The unseasonably mild winter has led to an early tick season in upstate New York. While this does not necessarily mean there will be more ticks in the area, it does mean a longer tick season.
Local families can protect themselves from tick-borne diseases by taking the following precautions:
- Wear appropriate clothing. Wear light-colored, long clothing during the early spring months; avoid sandals, flip-flops or bare feet near wooded areas.
- Conduct a full-body tick check. Check under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and in the hair. A deer tick is tiny – no larger than a pencil point. Other ticks are larger and easier to find on the skin.
- Examine clothes and gear. Ticks can come into the home on clothing, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine clothes, coats and bags. Tumbling clothes in a dryer on the highest heat for at least 1 hour may help kill remaining ticks.
- Shower soon after being outdoors. Showering within 2 hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of being bitten by a tick.
- Repellents. – Repellents containing 20% or more DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) can be applied to the skin, and they can protect up to several hours. Always follow product instructions.
- Check on family pets. Your family’s pet may unknowingly bring a tick into your home. Check your pets regularly for ticks and discuss preventive measures with your vet.
If you find a tick attached to the skin, carefully remove it:
- Using fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the head of the tick close to the skin.
- Firmly and steadily pull the tick straight out of the skin.
- Do not twist the tick or rock it from side to side while removing it.
- Put tick in a sealed container/zip lock bag to show your doctor if you or your child becomes ill.
- Do not use petroleum jelly or a hot match to kill and remove the tick.
- Wash area with soap and water or swab the area with rubbing alcohol.
Signs and symptoms of tick-related diseases:
- Fever/chills: Patients can experience fever at varying degrees and time of onset.
- Aches and pains: Tick-borne disease symptoms include headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. With Lyme disease you may also experience joint pain. The severity and time of onset of these symptoms can depend on the disease and the patient’s tolerance level.
- Rash: look for a red-ringed bull eye’s rash or red dots on the wrists or ankles.
While not all ticks are harmful, some do carry harmful germs and cause diseases such as Lyme, Rock Mountain spotted fever and Ehrlichiosis. Although easily treated with antibiotics, these diseases can be difficult for physicians to diagnose. However, early recognition and treatment of the infection decreases the risk of more serious complications.
For more information, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at www.cdc.gov/ticks or the county health department websites at www.rensco.com/publichealth.asp, www.columbiacountyny.com/depts/health2/ and www.greenegovernment.com/department/publichealth/index.htm.
Resources from the New York State Department of Health:
