Tick Bites- Prevention of the Bite and Preventing Infections
We have all heard that tick bites can ‘give’ you Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other not so nice pathogens that can cause a range of physical symptoms that are generally unpleasant. In fact, there is are ‘new’ emerging illnesses called Babesiosis and another one called STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash) that are becoming more and more prevalent. The first one is primarily seen in the Northeast corridor and spreading into the Mid-West (like Lyme Disease) and STARI is spreading in the Southern regions. And as in many cases preventing tick bites is your best bet against the diseases that they carry (some of which are very hard to diagnosis and often mimic other types of infections since their symptoms can be very vague). You may scroll down to the very bottom of this blog to see the diseases that ticks carry.
Prevention Tips:
Keep grass cut low and free from brush/leaf litter
Keep bushes, trees and grass away from the house or your sitting area
Discourage deer and choosing planting that are deer resistant
Use some sort of chemical control…now, I do not advocate using chemicals, but that is my choice. There several good organic pesticides on the market that do not harm people or animals, you can also use drying agents such as Diatomaceo Earth on yards, trees and shrubs. There are a lot of choices out there so check around.
If out in the woods, wear light colored clothing, long sleeves and pants. Keep your shirt tucked in and preferably keep your pant legs tucked into your socks also. Alternately you may use a rubber band around the ankle on the outside of your pants.
Use a repellant… there are several types of repellents available, most containing DEET.
Again, I do not like to use chemicals as they tend to build up in your body and can cause immune and neurological system distress. There are some alternatives that work:
Use rubbing alcohol on your bare skin…rub it generously all over your bare skin and let dry completely before heading out. Ticks and other nasty insects do not like it (including mosquitoes) Reapply if you get sweaty for a period of time.
Use mentho (Vicks) vapor rub on your pant legs…again, they don’t like this.
Use one of the following essential oil repellants (may use on animals too except for cats!):
Spray bottle with ¼ c water
20 drops Eucalyptus oil
15 drops Tea tree oil
15 drops of peppermint oil
OR
½ cup water
40 drops rose geranium oil
15 cedarwood oil
A good all around insect repellant that can also be used in the yard, on counter-tops and animals:
2 pts lemon eucalyptus
1 pt cedarwood
1 pt clove
2 pts citronella
1 pt lemongrass
3 pts rosemary
3 pts peppermint
You may use this by the drop (1 drop equals 1 part) or teaspoon or tablespoon…depending on how much you want to make…it is good for skin, clothing, fur, general purpose insect repellant.
Typically I will make a large batch of this and use 10ml (2 tablespoons about) to 8 ounces of water in a sprayer. Make sure to shake and then spray.
Alternately I also make a 10% dilution with patichouli oil in a homemade soap for bathing and using in the shower. While this isn’t as effective as using a repellant, I have found that the ticks will crawl on me but not bite too often.
You may also use a good Neem oil shampoo/body wash (dogs, people, etc. NO CATS!)
Plants that are used to repel ticks and other noxious insects:
Pennyroyal
Tansy
Chrysanthemums
With prevention addressed we now turn to what to do after being outside (even on the golf course!)
Find and Remove Ticks from Your Body
Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you. And use a soft scrub brush or body poof to remove the next to impossible to see deer tick that you may not see.
Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon return from tick-infested areas. Parents should check their children for ticks under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and especially in their hair.
Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and shoes and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs. Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill remaining ticks.
Next, what to do if you find a tick:
How to remove a tick
Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
Time is of the essence in removing the tick to prevent a tick-borne disease! It takes a tick at LEAST 36 hours of being attached BEFORE it can pass along any pathogens in its gut/mouth! Always check yourself and remove immediately. There is ‘folklore’ about applying fingernail polish and petroleum jelly, etc. in order to suffocate the tick making it back out on its own. The only thing that I have seen work within seconds is dabbing the tick with Wintergreen essential oil…ticks hate this oil and it is toxic to them! However, those who use products such as Ben Gay or are on an aspirin regimen should avoid wintergreen oil…sometimes the old fashion way is best…grab and remove!
Prevent Infection from Tick-borne Pathogens Yourself!
I highly recommend a proactive approach if you live in an area prone to ticks such as rural areas or if you work, hunt, play in the great outdoors…eat your garlic…garlic is a well-known ‘natural’ anti-viral/antibiotic that also helps to boost your immune system. Get plenty of the B vitamins…creepy crawlies and flying creepies do not like the smell of the B vitamins and won’t hang around to eat you.
If you ARE bitten, use an herbalbiotic for 7 days to help prevent problems (see article on herbalbiotics). Preferably use Usnea or Goldenseal along with Echinacea.
Also, for the next 7 days use Burdock root to help cleanse the blood, either tincture, pill or infusion (strong tea). Follow instructions provided on the labeling of what you purchase.
Alternately you may also use the homeopathic nosode for Ticks, especially recommended if you live in a high risk area where cases are being reported – The Tick Nosode may be bought from here Tick Nosode
How to use this nosode: 10 drops per day before a meal and after at least 20 minutes of something being in the mouth.
To help antidote the bite, take the homeopathic Ledum 30C 3-5 pellets 3 times a day for 1 day and then begin the Tick Nosode. Do NOT take both at the sametime. Take the Ledum first and then follow up with the nosode.
A blend known as 4 Thieves Essential Oil applied to the bite site several times a day for 3 days may help prevent tick-borne diseases.
There are specific essential oil blends to use if you know what type of tick bit you, contact a professional clinical aromatherapist for this information.
Be sure to watch for secondary infections from a tick bite. As with any type of wound that breaks the skin a secondary infection may occur. Use appropriate caution to ensure the bite area heals correctly. Again, I highly recommend using 4 Thieves essential oil or a similar antibiotic essential oil blend or another topical antibiotic…even honey! But the 4 Theives oil blend seems to help heal it up fast and stop the itching associated with the poison the tick injects to numb the area (to which many people are allergic and often causes the redness and itching long after the tick is gone).
With this said, your best defense to preventing an acquired tick-born pathogen is using some sort of repellant and removing them promptly. Remember, the tick must be attached at LEAST 36 hrs before it can begin to transmit an infection. Catch them as soon as possible and take some simple preventative measures to boost your immune system or a prophylactic herbalbiotic and you should be just fine!
To what ticks may be in your area please visit the following CDC page:
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