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Oklahoma City, OK -- As we begin thinking about fun summertime activities like gardening, camping and hiking, it is important to remember that summer also is tick season and we must protect ourselves. Ticks transmit such diseases as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease and tularemia, all of which can cause serious health effects.
"There is a greater risk for tick disease the longer a tick stays attached to the skin," says Scott Schaeffer, assistant managing director of the Oklahoma Poison Control Center. "When spending time in the outdoors, people and pets should be checked at least once a day for ticks."
Ticks prefer moist, humid conditions and are most often found in wooded or grassy areas. Around the home, contact with ticks can occur when walking through leaf litter or when rubbing against shrubs.
When planning for a day outdoors, wear light-colored clothing so ticks will be easily seen. Long-sleeved shirts, caps, head scarves, long pants and socks will help keep ticks from coming into contact with skin. Tucking pants legs into boots will help prevent ticks from attaching to the leg.
The only two Environmental Protection Agency-registered tick repellents with proven effectiveness are DEET, or N,N-diethylmetatoluamide, and picaridin, or KBR 3023. Products with DEET concentrations of 30 to 50 percent are effective for several hours. Picaridin is available in 7 and 15 percent concentrations. Spray clothing or uncovered skin with a repellent that contains a concentration of 20 to 30 percent DEET. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that repellents should contain no more than 30 percent DEET when used on children. Insect repellents are not recommended for children younger than 2 months.
Below are tips for applying repellent:
• To get an even application, aerosols and pump sprays are best for treating clothing.
• More is not better – you don’t need to saturate or soak clothing or skin.
• Use as little as possible on infants and children.
• Liquids, creams, lotions, towelettes and sticks containing DEET also can be used for application to exposed skin.
• An adult should apply the repellent to young children, avoiding the child’s face, nose, ears and hands.
• Don''t buy products that combine DEET with sunscreen. The DEET may make the sun protection factor less effective. These products can overexpose your child to DEET because the sunscreen needs to be reapplied often.
• Don’t apply the repellent under clothing.
• Don’t apply the repellent over cuts, wounds or irritated skin.
• Follow the label instructions and do not apply more frequently than directed.
• After outdoor activities, wash the repellent off skin with soap and water.
Check your body for ticks after any time has been spent outdoors. Use a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of the body. Be sure and check in and around the ears, head and all areas with body hair, under the arms, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs and around the waist area. If a tick is found, remove it immediately with a pair of pointed tweezers. Firmly grasp the tick very close to the skin. With a steady motion, pull the tick’s body away from the skin by pulling straight back. Wash the bite area with soap and warm water. Do not use a hot match head, petroleum jelly, olive oil, fingernail polish remover or any other type of chemical to remove the tick. If a portion of the tick remains embedded in the skin, keep the area clean and watch closely for signs of infection.
Mark the date of the tick bite on a calendar. If any flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle pain, extreme fatigue, headache, chills, joint pain, swollen glands or a rash develop within three days to two months after the bite, see your physician. Lyme disease, though extremely rare in Oklahoma, may not cause symptoms to develop for up to two months.
For more information and pictures to aid in identification of Oklahoma ticks, visit the Oklahoma Poison Control Center website at www.oklahomapoison.org.
The poison center is staffed 24 hours a day by specially trained pharmacists and registered nurses. The Oklahoma Poison Control Center is a program of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy at the OU Health Sciences Center.
The Oklahoma Poison Control Center web site is provided free of charge to the public as an informational and educational tool. This web site is NOT intended as a substitute for a consultation with the Oklahoma Poison Control Center. The center is a statewide program operated by The University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy in cooperation with Children's Hospital at the OU Medical Center. Our pharmacists and nurses are specially trained poison experts available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.