Whether we like it or not, ticks live all around us -- from the woods to our lawns. When they spot their prey, they will crawl on and attack. And with every bite, there’s a risk of disease.
“Things classically like Lyme disease, which is transmitted by the deer tick. We also have Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which is transmitted by the dog tick. It’s not just in the Rockies. It’s actually mostly not in the Rockies,” explained Dr. Christopher Bazzoli with Cleveland Clinic. “And then we even have illnesses caused by ticks that aren’t necessarily from things like a virus or protozoa, things like alpha-gal syndrome, where people bitten by ticks actually become allergic to a protein in red meat.”
Bazzoli said your best defense is to make it difficult for a tick to bite you in the first place. He recommends you do the following to avoid ticks:
- Wear tick repellent (See Consumer Reports’ top-tested insect repellents)
- Opt for long sleeves
- Tuck your shirt into your pants and tuck your pants into your socks to make it difficult for a tick to get to your skin
If a tick does bite you, Bazzoli said, it’s very important to make sure you properly remove it.
“When we go to remove a tick, we’re not doing anything wild like burning a tick off. We don’t need any heat, anything like that. Simply get a good pair of tweezers, you’re going to go right at the head, right where the head is attached into the skin and you’re going to pull straight up. So nice simple movement, nice steady pressure,” he explained.
Once the tick is removed, Bazzoli said, you need to wash the area with soap and water, so it doesn’t get infected.
If you are bitten by a tick, try not to panic. Not every bite will lead to illness. But Cleveland Clinic says if you do develop flu-like symptoms after a tick bite, you should get medical attention.