Tips for avoiding tick bites

Goshen - The Orange County Department of Health released this advisory regarding tick and tick bites: Carefully check your entire body at the end of each day or first thing in the morning, especially if pets sleep on the bed. Pay special attention to scalp, hairline, ears, armpits, waistband area, groin and behind the knees. Run your fingers over the skin to feel for tiny bumps that may feel like a scab, but may actually be a feeding tick. Avoid areas where ticks are most abundant, including wooded areas, tall grass, brush, bushes and leaf litter. Clear dead or rotting vegetation away from your home and rake up fallen leaves. If you go into those areas, be sure to wear protective clothing. Light-colored clothing is best as you’ll be able to spot ticks that are crawling on you. Tuck shirt into pants and pants into socks. Upon returning home, do thorough tick checks, remove clothing, turn inside out, and put them in clothes dryer on high heat for 20 minutes to kill any ticks clinging to fabric. A sticky lint roller or tape can also be used to capture any clinging ticks. Ticks should be removed as soon as possible. If ticks are removed within 24 hours of attaching, the risk of getting Lyme disease is minimal. If a tick is found attached to the skin, remove it with care. Ticks attach to the skin by their mouthpiece and can feed for days. “Ticks should never be removed with fingers, chemicals, petroleum jelly, matches, or lighters,” said Dr. Jean Hudson, Orange County commissioner of health. “Chemicals, heat, or squeezing the body of an attached tick can force the bacteria that causes Lyme disease into the site.” Ticks should only be removed with fine pointed tweezers or forceps, pulling upward, with a steady, gentle force. If the mouthpiece breaks off just remove it as you would a splinter. Apply antiseptic to the site after tick removal, wash hands thoroughly, and contact your health care provider. To learn more, call 568-5285.