Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease

Prevention and Control:

· Avoid tick habitats:

- moist shaded environments

- areas with leaf litter and low-lying vegetation in wooded, brushy or overgrown grassy areas

· Use personal protection measures :

- Wear light-colored clothing so ticks can be easily spotted.

- Wear long sleeves and tuck your pants into your socks or boots to prevent ticks from reaching

your skin.

- Apply insect repellent containing DEET to clothes and exposed skin.

· Perform a tick check and remove attached ticks:

- Infection from the bacteria causing Lyme Disease is unlikely to occur before 36 hours of tick

attachment. Therefore, daily tick checks are important.

- Promptly remove any attached tick you find with fine tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick firmly

and as closely to the skin as possible. Pull the tick’s body away from the skin with a steady

motion.

- Do not be alarmed if the tick’s mouth parts remain in the skin, this will not increase the risk of

disease transmission.

- Cleanse the area with alcohol or an antiseptic.

- DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish or other products to remove ticks.

· Seek medical attention if you have any of the following symptoms following a tick bite:

- bull’s-eye rash

- fever

- fatigue

- headache

- muscle or joint aches