40SomethingMommy

You may wonder how you can protect your children from ticks.  Ticks are found during the summer, you have to be careful during outdoor activities such as gardening, camping, hiking, and playing around outdoors.  Ticks are typically found in the spring and the summer.  Ticks bites are painful, and may cause serious problems such as Lyme disease, so you and your family should be careful when it comes to ticks.

How to protect yourself and your family – know where ticks live.

Your first line of defense against ticks is to know where they live.  Ticks love moist and humid areas, they are also to be found in forests, where there are lots of leaves, and brush.  This means ticks are are often found in wooded and grassy areas.  To avoid ticks stay out of the brush, grass, and leaves.  If you are walking on a trail, walk in the center, and don’t give the ticks the opportunities to attach themselves to you and your children.

Where the right clothes

If you are going to be in the environment where ticks love to live, be sure to wear closed toe shoes, and long pants.  If you can cover up as much skin as possible this may help to reduce the tick’s chances of making contact with your skin.  Ticks are very small, and can be brushed off easily.  Wearing closed toe shoes, knee high socks, and long pants makes the tick have to work harder to reach your skin.

Use insect repellant

The CDC recommends that you use a bug spray with DEET, this can be sprayed on your body, or on your clothes.  Read the package directions  for application.  Parents if your children are small, put the bug spray on them.

Do frequent tick checks

Once you have enjoyed your outdoor activities, it is time to carefully check your body, your children’s bodies, and your pets if they were outside.  Anytime you are in tick habitat it is a good idea to check yourself, and your children for ticks.  Carefully inspect yourself and your children by checking the following:

• Under the arms
• In and around the ears
• Inside belly button
• Back of the knees
• Under the arms
• In and around the hair
• Between the legs
• Around the waist

Carefully check your pets, they are lower to the ground and they may harbor ticks.  Remove any ticks that are found on anyone, or any of your pets.

Shower after being outdoors

It is a good idea to have everyone shower after being in tick infested areas.  Scrub carefully, and check your body for any possible ticks.  Take the soiled clothes outside, and give them a good shake, this may help to shake out any ticks that may have possibly nested themselves in the clothing.

What to do if you are bitten by a tick

Finding a tick on your body or the body of your child doesn’t mean an automatic infestation of Lyme disease,.  If the tick is small, it is likely that this tick has not been on your body for more than 48 hours.  If you do find a tick use pointed tweezers to grasp the tick by its head or mouth parts where they have entered the skin.  Grasp the tick quickly, and pull the tick out without twisting.  Clean the area with rubbing alcohol, and first aide ointment.

Place the tick into a plastic bag or glass jar with rubbing alcohol, and call your doctor to see if it is necessary that they test the tick.  Your physician will know if your area has disease bearing ticks.  If you or your children develop a rash after the tick bite, within 30 days after having been bitten, see your doctor.  You may have Lyme disease.

There are steps you can take in keeping your family safe when it comes to ticks.  Know where they live, be alert in areas where ticks love to live.  Wear the proper clothing if you are those areas, make it difficult for the ticks to find areas to find their next meal.  Inspect your body, and your children’s bodies when you come back inside.  Shower, and shake out clothing.  If you do find a tick use tweezers and grasp the tick and pull out without twisting.  Treat the body with first aid cream.  You may want to keep the tick and call your doctor. You and your family can be safe from ticks if you follow these simple guidelines.