If you don’t have Lyme you don’t want it. If you have it you don’t want to be reinfected. I write about this every year because the best way I know to deal with Lyme disease is to never get infected. Protect yourself from Lyme disease and other tick-borne illness.
Tick bite prevention is such an important leverage point. Yearly I give workshops locally emphasizing the need to protect yourself from tick bites. Tick-borne illness is on the rise and still a very serious concern.
I am not spreading the facts on Lyme to generate fear or to keep people indoors. I believe that staying connected to nature as part of the whole is crucial. Use information on how to best protect yourself to engage with nature in a healthy way. We have to talk about the hazards of tick bites. For too long the serious nature of Tick-borne illness and Lyme disease, in particular, has been off the radar.
Not Every Tick Encounter Means Lyme
Different varieties of ticks carry different infectious agents. Black-legged and western black-legged ticks also known as deer ticks can pick up Lyme from host animals, carry it then infect humans when they bite and feed on our blood. Not all black-legged ticks carry Lyme disease, up to 50 % do in endemic areas like Massachusetts.
Protect Yourself From Lyme
I set up daretoselfcare.com to spread the word on Lyme disease. In addition to my site, there are resources out there on how to best protect yourself from tick bites, use them. A little time and effort before you go out into nature can save you from a life-altering illness.
Trust me when I say healing from Lyme is a huge detour. People do die from complications of Lyme disease. Recovery takes effort. It can take years to recover and your life may be forever changed.
The Barrier method – minimize contact
The barrier method I am not talking about birth control here is in a lot of ways the easiest and least toxic method to keep ticks at bay. If ticks can’t get to your skin, they can’t bite you. By barrier, I mean shoe or clothing barrier.
- Wear Long pants and long-sleeved shirts socks, shoes or boots.
- Tuck and Tape
- Wear a Hat to protect head and neck
- Wear gloves
Actively Deter ticks
Use Repellents and pesticides when appropriate. Pesticide use is a personal choice. These are powerful chemicals that when applied your body has to detox and eliminate as waste. Herbal and essential oil based repellents are a less harmful but a less proven alternative.
- 20-30% DEET on skin or clothing
- O.5% Permethrin on clothing only.
- Herbal and Essential Oil Repellents
Inspect and Remove Ticks ASAP
The chances of infection from an infected tick increases the longer the tick is attached. Okay, so protect yourself from Lyme means that you want to find and remove any ticks wandering on or attached to your body as soon as possible.
- Examine Gear, car and pets and people
- Wear Light clothing so you can find the ticks
- Conduct a full-body tick check when you come inside from nature
- Parents teach kids to check themselves regularly
- Throw clothing in the dryer on high for 20 minutes to kill ticks.
- Bathe or shower after time outdoors and inspect.
Take good care and have a tick safe summer.
The purpose of this blog and its contents is to share and educate on Lyme disease prevention and recovery strategies. The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.