14 Jul Preventing exposure to Lyme Disease when doing outdoor activities.

Summer is here and that means more hiking, gardening, and days spent at the lake!

More time outdoors also means more exposure to ticks. Tick bites can result in Lyme Disease. Lyme disease starts with a rash, pain, headache, fever, and chills and later can result in arthritis and other neurological disorders.  It is caused by the bacteria transmitted through tick bites.

But this doesn’t mean you have to be nervous every time you go outside, there are ways to avoid tick bites, prevent Lyme Disease, and still have a great time outside! You can use any insect repellant that contains DEET on exposed skin when you are outside.  DEET kills ticks when they touch DEET before they even have a chance to reach a spot they can attach to the skin.

You should also try and wear clothing that will cover exposed skin.  Long, loose, and thin clothing are the recommended clothes to wear when hiking in a potentially tick infested environments. Clothing that covers the extremities but will not make you overheat is ideal.

You should check your body for ticks as soon as you are done being outdoors.  The longer ticks are attached to your body, the greater your risk for tick infection is. If you notice a tick is attached to your body, you should use tweezers to remove the tick. You should grab the tick with the tweezers as close to the skin as possible. Places recommended most to look for ticks on the body is between the toes, behind the knees, in the belly button, behind the neck and ears, in the scalp and hair and in the armpits.

Lake Country Physical Therapy and Sportcare P.C. recommends you to check your body after being outdoors to have a safe and enjoyable summer. If you have any questions about lyme disease or any of Lake Country Physical Therapy and Sportscare P.C.’s services, feel free to call us at (585) 396-1400 or log into our website https://lakecountrypt.com.