Do you love gardening, camping, playing outdoors?  If so, you need to make sure you are taking steps to prevent tick bites as a part of your outdoor plans.

Lyme disease is the most common vector borne disease in the United States.  The good news is, you can protect yourself from tick bites.

Use a repellent with DEET (on skin or clothing) or permethrin (on clothing and gear). Repellents containing 20% or more DEET can be applied to the skin, and they can protect up to several hours.

Perform daily tick checks.  Check your body for ticks after spending time outdoors.  Use a mirror and to view all parts of your body.  Look under the arms, around the waist, in and around ears, inside the belly button, the back of your knees, in your head and between legs.  Ticks can attach to some of your most hidden areas and it is important to do a detailed scan of your body.

If ticks are on your clothing place them into a dryer on high heat.

If you don’t remember being bitten by a tick, an unexpected summer fever or odd rash may be the first signs of a tickborne disease.  If these symptoms develop, call Winston Medical Clinic-Main or Noxapater and schedule an appointment to see Dr. Michael Ard, Dr. Dustin Gentry or Nurse Practioner Heather Gilmire or Nancy Jordan.