5 Reasons You Should be Talking about Ticks

Many people never think about ticks. It is not a common that is commonly discussed. However, it is important to raise awareness about ticks and the dangers that they can cause to you and your family. Here are five reasons that you should be talking about ticks.

Ticks Carry Serious Illnesses

Likely the most well-known illness caused by ticks is Lyme disease. However, ticks can spread a number of serious illnesses including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, STARI, and Ehrlichiosis. Generally, these illnesses need to be treated with antibiotics and they can have long lasting effects if not treated soon enough. You can protect your family from these illnesses if you know how to safely prevent getting ticks.

Ticks and Old Wives’ Tales

Another reason to discuss ticks is because there are a number of old wives’ tales that talk about the different ways to remove ticks, but they are not actually safe to do. If you burn the tick with a match or rub gasoline or Vaseline on it, you may cause the tick to regurgitate into you, which increases the changes of you getting a tick-borne illness. Always remove the tick with tweezers by grasping it firmly and pulling straight back. Be sure that you do not leave any of the tick behind in your skin.

Ticks Can Make Your Pets Sick

Animals can become sick from the same diseases that plague people. They also need to be treated with antibiotics to help them recover from things like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The vet can test for these illnesses and prescribe medicine to help them. You should regularly check your pets for ticks and remove any that you find.

Ticks Can Cause Food Allergies

The Lone Star tick can cause some people to develop a severe allergy to meat, primarily red meat, although some people have also developed an allergy to chicken. This allergy will slowly worsen over time and first symptoms may be weeks or months after the initial tick bite. A doctor can test for this. The firs symptoms are feeling extremely sick a few hours after eating meat. It is easy to identify the adult female Lone Star tick because there is a dot on the back of the tick.

Ticks Can Be Prevented

There are things that you can do to prevent being bitten by a tick and to save you from the complications of these illnesses. The first is wear insect repellent when going to tick prone areas. You can also treat your yard for ticks. You should also check yourself after a camping trip or a hike. As you leave the woods, brush off your clothing to make sure you do not bring any ticks home with you.