CUMBERLAND, Md. — The best way to avoid a tick is to think like a tick, according to a UPMC doctor who specializes in infection prevention.
“The best thing to do is to avoid this little bugger because they have the potential to cause so much trouble, said Dr. Graham Snyder, the health system’s infection prevention and hospital epidemiology medical director. “The best way to avoid it is to think about how a tick does its job,” he said.
“… they’ll crawl in tall grasses and shrubs, so that they are at a level where an animal or a human is walking by, it can latch onto you as you go by.
The tick then crawls on skin to find a suitable place to bite.
“… it’s enlarged by sucking your blood,” Snyder said.
Tickborne diseases that affect patients in the United States include Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and powassan. Lyme and anaplasmosis are the most common.
Lyme disease often starts with a characteristic bullseye rash with a ring around the bite, Snyder said.
Rates of Lyme disease in Garrett and Allegany counties are highest in the state, and Snyder said proper precautions should be taken when people head outdoors.
“First, wearing long sleeves, wearing long pant legs, some folks like to tuck their pant legs into their socks and can create that barrier between the tick and your skin that you may more readily brush it off or be able to shed your clothes and have it not find your skin,” he said.
Rebekah Taylor, a biology professor at Frostburg State University and tick expert, recommends throwing clothes in the dryer after spending time outside.
“If they’ve been outside in the woods, when they come in they should put all their clothes in the dryer for 20 minutes,” Taylor said. “It’ll kill any ticks that are on their clothes, and then take a shower and check.”
Snyder also recommends checking the body for ticks after outside activity.
“After you’ve been outside, tick check. Really important to do a tick check as soon as you can,” Snyder said.
“Check your skin, if you have a partner who can check the parts of your body that are hard to see, but you’re looking for what can be very small ticks.”
Snyder also suggested the use of FDA-approved repellant products.
“People often recognize Deet as a product that’s available. It’s safe when used as instructed,” he said. “You could spray it on your clothing. It’s also effective against mosquitoes.”
Snyder additionally said there are natural products as well that can be used to deter ticks, specifically oil of lemon eucalyptus.
If you do come into contact with a tick, it is important to remove it as soon as possible, Snyder said. He recommends using tweezers or tick-specific removal devices to get as close to the skin as possible and pull up on the tick to ensure it has been removed.
“You don’t want to squeeze the tick. You don’t want to burn it or use chemicals. The right way to grab it is get as close to the skin as possible and pull up,” he said.
Taylor said 50% of the black-legged deer ticks in the region are carrying Lyme.
“So, if you don’t know how long it’s been attached, it’s probably best to talk to your doctor and perhaps ask for a round of antibiotics,” she said.
Snyder said symptoms of Lyme disease include a rash, joint pain, any heart concerns, headache, fever, confusion, nerve symptoms, weakness and numbness. If you are having any of those symptoms and were not able to get the antibiotic within 72 hours of the bite, he recommends seeing a doctor.
Four-legged friends
Humans are not the only ones at risk.
Dr. Jessy Vandevender, a veterinarian at HART for Animals in Accident, said the clinic has always seen a lot of tick visits and diseases.
“Pets can definitely get Lyme disease. They could also get anaplasma, ehrlichia or Rocky Mountain spotted fever,” Vandevender said.
Vandevender said some pet owners don’t always realize their pet is dealing with a tick-related problem. The clinic typically sees three or four tick-related visits a day, but sometimes even more than that.
“Tick preventative is definitely the best way to prevent tick-borne diseases. If we can keep the ticks off of the pets or from attaching, that’s the best way to prevent them from transmitting the disease,” Vandevender said.