Tick Bites Can Ruin More Than Your Vacations Or Holidays

For people who travel on camping holidays or vacations to wooded areas, it should be an enjoyable experience. Most of the time it usually is. However, Lyme disease which is caused by ticks can ruin a fun holiday or vacation.

Travelers, campers, and vacationers alike can be at risk for getting Lyme disease, a serious, debilitating condition caused by being bitten by an infected tick.

What are the usual symptoms of Lyme disease?

Some symptoms of Lyme disease are the classic bull's-eye red rash, fatigue or loss of energy, feeling sleepy, tingling and numbness, swollen and painful joints, memory loss, and feeling like you are catching the flu. Facial paralysis is a less common symptom.

Getting Lyme disease can make your life miserable and cause you a lot of pain and suffering if it is not diagnosed and treated immediately. The longer you wait before seeing a health care professional allows this disease to progress quickly and it may not be possible to lessen it's effects.

How is Lyme disease most commonly spread?

Ticks bite and feed on animals such as mice, other small rodents, and deer. If any of these animals are carrying the Lyme disease bacteria, they can pass the bacteria on to the ticks. When people are bitten by an infected tick they may contract Lyme disease.

What steps can you take to reduce the chance of getting Lyme disease?

Since some people do not notice any symptoms for a period of time, prevention is always the best policy. When you are traveling through the spring and summer months to, or through areas where deer, mice, other rodents and animals reside, the following are some things that you can do.

If you plan to camp when you are on vacation or holidays, you can reduce the number of ticks around your campsite by removing a lot of the brush and leaves debris. If you wear light colored clothing you can more easily see these extremely tiny black insects and remove them before they attach to and burrow your skin. Always wear long-sleeved shirts and tuck them into your pants, and also tuck your pant cuffs in your socks. It is great idea to wear rubber boots because ticks are usually found close to the ground. You can also get them in your hair if you brush against leaves on a low hanging tree branch. Wearing a light-colored, wide-brimmed hat may also help. Be sure to check your scalp and skin carefully as ticks can easily be overlooked, particularly in your hair. Apply a DEET containing insect repellent to your clothes and exposed skin, as well as permethrin, an insecticide and insect repellent, to your clothes. That will also help.

How can you safely remove ticks?

Ticks that have burrowed and lodged themselves under your skin can be removed by using small-tipped tweezers. Make sure that you don't leave any part of the tick remaining underneath your skin. When the tick has been completely removed, disinfect the wound thoroughly with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Remember that you are not totally out of the woods yet as symptoms can take several days, even weeks before any show. Using tweezers is the only safe way to remove ticks that have attached or burrowed into your skin or scalp. Don't try to remove ticks using burnt matches, petroleum jelly, or alcohol as this will only make the ticks release more of the bacteria into your blood stream.

Please note that at the present time there is no vaccine available for Lyme disease.

The Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) states that this bacterial disease is vastly under reported, perhaps by well over 100,000 cases per year in the U.S. alone. Visit their website at cdc.gov for more information on Lyme disease.

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

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by: Dorothy Yamich

Total views: 4 Word Count: 658 Date: Fri, 1 Jan 2010 Time: 4:44 AM - 1 comments

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