May is Lyme Awareness Month

April through September is an especially high-risk period for tick-borne disease, since warmer weather means more people will be outdoors - in ticks' living space. The following tips for protecting yourself include guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plus the Mayo Clinic, as well as from Dr. Jemsek.   Avoid Avoid contact with ticks by staying clear of wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter where possible. If you must traverse such areas, wear shoes, long pants tucked into your socks, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. Walk on trails and stay to the center of the trail. Do your best to tick-proof your yard. Clear brush and leaves where ticks live. Keep woodpiles in sunny areas.   Repel Use a repellent that contains a 10 to 30 percent concentration of DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) on exposed skin. Choose the concentration based on the hours of protection you need - the higher the concentration of DEET, the longer you are protected. Always follow product instructions. Parents should apply this product to their children, avoiding hands, eyes, and mouth. Do NOT use DEET on the hands of young children, or on infants younger than 2-months old. Options: Other repellents registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may be found at http://cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/insect. According to the CDC, oil of lemon eucalyptus, a more natural product, offers the same protection as DEET when used in similar concentrations. Don't use this product on children younger than 3 years.   Pet Care Watch: Keep your dog(s) on a leash and out of tall grass and leaves whenever possible. They love to run through all kinds of terrain, but remember: a dog's coat is like Velcro for ticks. So, you need to be extra watchful for any freeloaders that have hitched a ride on Fido. Assume: Forget about the false security of special collars or sprays that claim to keep dogs tick-free. If your dog has been outdoors, simply assume he or she picked up at least one tick. Check: A dog is like a Trojan horse for ticks. Once your dog comes inside, ticks can easily get loose onto carpets, couches, beds, kids - or you. Simply make a quick tick check a frequent habit. (The same advice goes for cat owners, too.)   Find Ticks Deer ticks are often no bigger than the head of a pin, so you may not discover them unless you search carefully. Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon return from tick-infested areas. Parents should check their children for ticks under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and especially in their hair. Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs. Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill remaining ticks. Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that might be crawling on you. Ticks often remain on your skin for hours before attaching themselves. Showering and using a washcloth may be enough to remove any unattached ticks.   Remove Ticks If you find a tick attached to your skin, there's no need to panic. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers will remove a tick quite effectively. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water. Avoid folklore remedies such as "painting" the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible--not waiting for it to detach.   Be Alert to Symptoms If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick. Don't assume you're immune. Even if you've had Lyme disease before, you can get it again.