The campaign to get people aware of tick season has already begun.
Despite a frosty winter, ticks were kept safe by blankets of snow, and have been waking up “hungry and angry” since March!
Here’s what’s being recommended to keep adults, kids, and pets safe!
Given how bad tick season is already, it’s advised you avoid nature entirely in tick-infested regions, and even take precautions when mowing your lawn and gardening!
If you are going into tall grass, a wooded area, or near wildlife, prepare by wearing long sleeves and pants, and pants tucked into socks. (Experts recommending spraying shoes and even clothes with permethrin—but it hasn’t been fully evaluated for humans. It seems safe/like it doesn’t affect humans, but again, that’s without thorough testing.)
Help kids check for ticks when they come indoors, and always check pets (finding a tick bite makes saving dogs much more likely, who can get sick from Lyme Disease just like humans).
If you find a tick on your clothes, run them through the dryer before washing (heat will kill the tick). If you have a bite, remove it ONLY if you know how, then bag it for the doctor.
It used to be, “then watch for the tell-tale red bullseye rash of Lyme Disease, or these other symptoms in case a rash doesn’t appear”; but now, experts advise you get tested after getting bit (some areas have high Lyme Disease rates—your doctor can advise you). In the worst areas, the new recommendation is to get tested for Lyme Disease yearly, even if you never find a tick bite!
This is actually good news. It means doctors are exploring chronic Lyme Disease, and taking it seriously. Some cases of chronic Lyme Disease are actually a second infection (or third, whatever). Other cases are a result of not getting Lyme Disease treated quickly enough.
Lyme Disease causes inflammation, most notably of joints and organs. The longer it goes untreated, the more damage the inflammation is able to do—and it may even affect the brain. Some people will experience the resulting damage long after their Lyme Disease is cured, feeling things like arthritis.
Then, there are other tick-borne illnesses you need to be aware of and possibly tested for. Although rare, no one wants to develop a red-meat allergy because they got bit by a lone-star tick!
Keep your whole family’s (fur babies, too!) immune systems extra strong this tick season—because it’s going to be a bad one. Eat well—including lots of antioxidants (enjoy the spring fruit haul!). Get enough sleep, even with shorter nights, and use colloidal silver as daily immune support!
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