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News Releases
Avoiding Tick Bites
Columbia, Mo. (June 20, 2007) - With the beautiful summer weather you may feel like taking a stroll, but be careful not to bump into any ticks. They live in places such as tall grass, leaf litter or shrubs, and sometimes latch on to unsuspecting people walking by. Parasites that feed on blood, some ticks are so tiny they can be hard to see. Ticks can carry diseases that can be transferred to the person or animal they feed on. One disease in particular - Lyme disease, an infection that can cause arthritis, cardiac problems and mental disorders - can be very dangerous.
"The longer the tick remains attached, the greater the risk of Lyme disease," says Karen Funkenbusch, a research associate and rural safety and health specialist at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "Lyme disease is treatable and almost always curable if correctly diagnosed in the early stages. The best way to avoid Lyme disease to avoid deer ticks. The best solution to this problem is prevention."
According to Funkenbusch, there are several things you can do to avoid tick bites. To minimize the risk of contracting Lyme disease, take these precautions:
- Avoid areas where deer ticks live, such as wooded, brushy and grassy places, especially at the edge of the forests where there may be leaf clutter on the ground. Ticks are found in these areas, especially from May through August.
- Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts when frequenting these areas to minimize skin exposure.
- Tuck pant legs into socks or boots to form a barrier to tick attachment.
- Tape the area where pants and socks meet so that ticks cannot crawl underneath.
- Wear light-colored clothing so that ticks can be spotted more easily.
Spray insect repellent that contains DEET (an ingredient commonly used in bug sprays) on exposed skin, other than your face; or treat clothing with permethrin, which kills ticks on contact. Use sparingly on children and avoid use on their hands and faces.
- Walk in the center of trails in the forest to avoid grass or brush.
Shower after all outdoor activities. If a tick is still wandering, it will probably wash off. Use a washcloth to gently rub the skin, especially those areas where ticks typically bite.
- Check periodically for ticks if you've been in and around brushy areas or working in a garden. Look particularly for what may appear to be a speck of dirt, or a new freckle (or a new freckle that is moving!).
For more information on Lyme Disease and how to avoid tick bites, visit www.cdc.gov or www.niams.nih.gov.
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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