Ticks

It is recommended that you call your child’s doctor if you notice any signs or symptoms of illness, such as a skin rash (“bulls-eye” rash) , fever, or flu-like symptoms for up to one month following the tick bite.

Ticks found in Maine and other nearby states carry germs that can transmit disease and make people sick. Maine has high rates of tickborne diseases across the state. Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis are the most reported tickborne diseases in Maine.

Year-round tick bite prevention is still the best defense:

• Wear light colored clothing—it makes it easier to see the ticks that attach to your clothing.
• Perform a daily tick check. Look closely—ticks can be as small as the period at the end of this sentence.
  • Pay special attention to: head, hairline, neck, armpits, waist, between legs, backs of knees
• Remove a tick right away. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. (Don’t twist or turn the tick.) Then be sure to clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, or soap and water.
• De-tick clothes by throwing everything into a hot dryer for 10 minutes, even before washing. Simply washing clothes won’t kill a tick.

• SENDING TICK IN
  • Free for identification

OR

• $15 for testing

If you have any questions regarding your child’s health, call your child’s healthcare provider.

For more information about ticks and how to prevent bites visit the Maine CDC website:

• https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/index.shtml
• Facts