How To Avoid Lyme Disease
Avoiding Lyme disease means protecting yourself from tick bites, since the disease is transmitted through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks). Here’s a complete guide to help you stay safe:
✅ How to Avoid Lyme Disease
1. Avoid Tick Habitats
- Stay on clear, well-traveled trails when hiking — avoid tall grass, leaf litter, and bushy areas.
- Be extra careful in wooded or grassy regions, especially in spring and summer.
2. Wear Protective Clothing
- Long sleeves, long pants, and high socks help keep ticks off your skin.
- Tuck pants into socks and shirt into pants when in tick-prone areas.
- Light-colored clothing makes it easier to spot ticks.
3. Use Tick Repellent
- Apply insect repellent that contains:
- DEET (20–30% on skin)
- Picaridin (good alternative to DEET)
- Permethrin (on clothing, not skin — kills ticks on contact)
4. Check Yourself and Others After Being Outdoors
- Inspect your entire body — especially:
- Underarms
- Behind knees
- In and around ears
- Belly button
- Hair and scalp
- Waistline and groin
5. Shower Within 2 Hours of Coming Indoors
- This helps wash off ticks that haven’t latched on and makes it easier to spot them.
6. Check Pets and Gear
- Ticks can hitch a ride indoors on pets, backpacks, and clothing.
- Use vet-approved tick preventatives on dogs and cats.
7. Create a Tick-Safe Yard
- Keep grass short, remove leaf litter, and create a barrier of wood chips or gravel between your lawn and wooded areas.
- Keep play areas away from bushes or tree lines.
8. Remove Ticks Quickly and Properly
- Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick close to the skin.
- Pull upward steadily — don’t twist or jerk.
- Clean the bite area with alcohol or soap and water.
- Monitor for symptoms (rash, fever, fatigue) over the next few weeks.
🧠 BONUS: Early Signs of Lyme Disease
- Bull’s-eye rash (erythema migrans)
- Flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, body aches, headache
- Joint pain or neurological symptoms if untreated