Chester County Medicine Spring 2021 - 18

www.CHESTERCMS.org

How to Recognize and Avoid Tick-Borne Infections
continued from page 17

These are the recommendations by the CDC to prevent tick
attachments (adapted from: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/
on_people.html)

Check your pets: Ticks can ride into the home on clothing
and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets,
coats, and daypacks.

Tick exposure can occur year-round, but ticks are most active
during warmer months, which in PA span March-October.

Shower within 2 hours of coming indoors to reduce the
risk of tickborne diseases. Showering and scrubbing with a brush
or a sponge may help wash off unattached ticks and it is a good
opportunity to do a tick check.

Think of tick before venturing outdoors:
Ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, and on animals.
Spending time outside walking your dog, camping, gardening, or
hunting could bring you in close contact with ticks. Many people
get ticks in their own yard or neighborhood.
Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5%
permethrin. Permethrin can be used to treat boots, clothing and
camping gear and remain protective through several washings.
Alternatively, you can buy permethrin-treated clothing and gear.
Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon
Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.
Always follow product instructions. Do not use products
containing OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old.
Avoid Contact with Ticks: Avoid wooded and brushy areas
with high grass and leaf litter.
Walk in the center of trails and avoid brushing past tall grasses
or shrubs.
After You Come Indoors: remove and wash your clothing in
hot water, or dry heat on high for at least 10 minutes. Cold or
warm wash or dry temperatures will not kill ticks.

18 CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine | SPRING 2021

Do a full body tick check upon returning from potentially
tick-infested areas, including your own backyard. Use a hand-held
or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body. Check these
parts of your body and your child's body for ticks, looking under
the arms, in and around the ears and the belly button, between the
legs, around the waist, behind the knees, and thoroughly checking
the scalp.
Dr. Makous completed a 2-year
Fellowship in Tick-Borne Diseases
and their Neuropsychiatric
Complications at Columbia
University Lyme Center Research
Center in NY. She has been treating
patients with Lyme and other tickborne infections in Exton, PA
since 2015.
http://www.chestercms.org https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/
Chester County Medicine Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chester County Medicine Spring 2021
