Ticks
WATCH OUT FOR TICKS!
Ticks are most likely found in shady, damp, brushy, wooded, or grassy areas (especially in tall grass), including your own backyard. They feed on the blood of mammals (including people, dogs, cats, deer, and mice), birds, and reptiles (snakes and turtles, for example). Ticks can bite you and spread diseases including Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis (formerly human granulocytic ehrlichiosis or HGE), tularemia, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. They do not fly or jump. They attach to animals or people that come into direct contact with them. Ticks are most active during warmer months (April-September).
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD?
Avoid Direct Contact with Ticks
Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and leaf litter.
Walk in the center of trails.
Check for ticks daily under the arms, in and around the ears, back of the neck, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, between the toes, around the waist, and especially in their hair. Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs.
HOW TO REMOVE A TICK
1. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
2. 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.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area with soap and water.
4. Dispose of a live tick by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Never crush a tick with your fingers.
Avoid folklore remedies such as "painting" the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible--not waiting for it to detach.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
For further information, please visit: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/id/epidemiology/ticks/public-health-cdc-tickborne-educational-info.html
