Enjoying the outdoors is part of a healthy lifestyle, but it’s important to take precautions to make sure you aren’t bringing in any unwelcome guests from your time spent gardening, hiking or just enjoying a beautiful day.
Ticks are common in west Georgia. When people think of ticks, they usually think of Lyme disease — and for good reason. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 300,000 people contract Lyme disease each year.
Ticks can also cause other serious illnesses including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) or human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). These illnesses can cause a range of symptoms — including high fever, rash, severe headaches or even damage to internal organs.
Fortunately, there are three easy steps to protecting yourself from serious illnesses caused by tick bites. It all begins with prevention.
Step 1: Prevent Tick Bites
When you’re heading outdoors, take a few simple precautions to prevent tick bites. Those steps include:
- Wear long, loose pants and sleeves.
- Use bug spray with at least 20 percent DEET.
- Create a tick-safe zone in your yard. Keep playground equipment, patios and decks away from shrubs, bushes and trees. Use a mulch bed to separate playing areas from woods, and consider using a chemical spray around the yard if ticks are common in your area.
Step 2: Stay Safe with Daily Tick Checks
When you do spend time outdoors, carefully check yourself and children for ticks. The CDC recommends checking:
- Under the arms
- In and around the ears
- Inside the belly button
- Back of the knees
- In and around all head and body hair
- Between the legs
- Around the waist
Step 3: Safely Remove Ticks
If you do notice a tick, remove it quickly. The best way to get a tick off your body is to use tweezers. Grasp it with fine-tooth tweezers and slowly pull it straight out. After removing the tick, be on the watch for fever, rash or other symptoms of tick-born illnesses.
If you have any questions or concerns about ticks and tick-related illnesses, please talk with your primary care physician. To find a physician near you or to schedule an appointment, call Tanner Health at 770-214-CARE (2273) or visit Find a Provider.
Villa Rica Family Medicine is located in Villa Rica. For more information, visit VillaRicaFamilyMedicine.org or call 770-459-4411.