Summer is here and LYME prevention is on our minds! Today I want to talk about steps you can take to protect yourself and your family from insect and tick bites that may harbor the Lyme disease bacteria. As the old saying goes- an ounce of prevention can prevent a pound of cure. But in the case of Lyme disease- it could prevent a TON of cure.
First let’s talk about ticks. Tick bites are the most well known and common vector for the spread of lyme disease. Here is some info from the ILADS.org website. ILADS (the International Lyme and Associated Diseases society) :
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by several members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex and transmitted by the bite of an infected Ixodes (blacklegged) tick. It is the fastest growing vector-borne illness in the US.
- In the last ten years, Ixodes ticks in the US (Ixodes scapularis in the northeast and upper midwest and Ixodes pacificus in the west) have significantly expanded their range. Forty-three states within the continental US have established or reported blacklegged tick populations. I. scapularis or I. pacificus ticks have been identified in nearly half of the counties within these states. Blacklegged ticks are also native to Europe, northern Asia, northern Africa and South America.
- A patient’s residence does not necessarily reflect his or her Lyme disease risk. People travel, pets travel, and ticks travel (migratory birds carry ticks over great distances). This creates a dynamic situation with many opportunities for exposure.
- The CDC estimates that more than 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the US. Of these infections, an unknown number will result in a chronic, difficult-to-treat illness.
- Lyme disease affects all age groups, with particularly high occurrences among children, especially ages 5-14, and adults 45-64. There is a slight male predominance in early infection.
- Early Lyme disease is reported most commonly in the spring through fall, with the peak in June, July and August. Lyme cases are reported in each month of the year. In California and other similarly temperate areas, the “seasonality” of Lyme disease is less pronounced, with cases diagnosed throughout the year. Later manifestations of Lyme are diagnosed throughout the year as well.
What this is telling us is that no matter which state we live or camp in, ticks carrying Lyme disease have either been reported, or have the potential to be there thanks to birds that carry these infected ticks bringing them almost anywhere. As a trained Lyme practitioner I can tell you that all 50 states have reported cases of Lyme disease. The East coast and Pacific Coasts of the US have much higher incidences, but no state is immune.
Ticks tend to live in high grasses and dense brush, thick trees and leaf clutter.
HERE ARE 5 THINGS you can do to prevent having your fun family camping trip marred by a tick bite:
- Don’t set up camp in an area near high grasses, lots of leaf clutter and dense brush.
- If you decide to go on a hike, keep to the paths and out of the brush.
- Don’t let your dogs run free through the woods, high grass, etc.
- Wear a good tick repellent and protective clothing.
- Check yourself and your family regularly.
If you really enjoy letting your dogs run free, make sure they have tick protection on as well, and check them carefully when they return to the camp site. Some fur parents prefer tick collars and chemical sprays, I recommend essential oils that have been tested and proven. You can put geranium oil on the back of your dogs neck. Use Essential Oils also on yourself and your children to repel ticks. In some cases, Geranium oil along with blends of lemon eucalyptus, cedarwood, citronella, and lavender work even better than DEET and permethrin which can both be toxic to the nervous system.
Essential oils should be organic, and therapeutic grade, and kept out of the sun and heat ( In a cooler) as much as possible to protect the potency of the oils. They must be applied through a spray or lotion every 2 hours for maximum effectiveness. There are many recipes online to make your own spray, and there are even some nice commercial natural EO repellents now available.
If you plan to hike through tall grasses, woods, dense brush, and areas known to be tick habitats, also wear long sleeves and pants that are light colored and loose fitting. This will help you identify a tick if it is on you right away and help keep them off your skin. My colleagues in the Lyme disease endemic North East tell me that they now routinely tuck their pants into their socks when outdoors where ticks may be lurking. If it is just too hot to wear long sleeves and pants, just be sure to check yourself often.
When doing tick checks on yourself and your family. Be very careful to check the scalp, ears, and any place that had tight clothing. Ticks gravitate to these areas. Have someone check your back and back of your neck and head for you. Each member of the family should be checked at least once daily. Contrary to popular notions that ticks must be on you for longer than 24 hours to inject their contents, be aware that studies have shown that ticks can inject their contents within minutes of being on you.
BE SURE TO PACK a tweezers and some clove essential oil for your trip. If a tick has embedded itself into your skin before you caught it, take the tweezers and put them down as low as you can to the skin, grasping the head of the tick firmly and pulling straight up. THEN IMMEDIATELY put clove essential oil on the bite site to kill any bacteria or parasite that has entered there.
DO NOT :
Use a match to irritate the tick to come out ( it will spit out its contents before it comes out!)
Use essential oils on an embedded tick to irritate it to come out (Don’t provoke that tick to spit before it exits!)
TWIST the tweezers when pulling up- you may leave half of it inside yourself. IF this happens, make a bentonite clay poultice to help draw it out
AND DO NOT THROW THE TICK AWAY – save it so that you can send it off for testing. You will really regret not doing this if you develop symptoms. Www.tickreport.com
Unfortunately it’s not just ticks that can transmit Lyme disease and many other accompanying infections like parasites, bartonella, and viruses. Lyme disease has been reportedly spread by mosquito, spider, bed bug, flea, and biting fly bites. I have seen this in my own practice and it is well known fact among Lyme literate practitioners, though sadly your medical doctor probably will not be aware of this.
If you develop a bulls-eye rash like approximately 35-50% of Lyme sufferers do, this is absolute confirmation that you have been infected with the Lyme bacteria called BORRELIA. IF this happens, or you are experiencing NEW symptoms like a summer “flu bug” , having fevers, joint pains, muscle aching , neck and back pain that is new, anxiety and depression, crying jags that are unexplainable, rashes, fatigue, headaches, stomach issues, heart racing, shortness of breath that is unexplained, or cognitive decline such as brain fog, confusion, word finding problems, or any unusual symptoms you should either ask your doctor for a 30 day course of doxycycline, and get tested at 3-6 weeks after the bite, AND come see me for safe and effective natural remedies to help your body beat Lyme disease right away.
Those of you who are more familiar with Lyme disease and know the devastation it can cause would be wise to take 8-10 weeks of preventative herbal remedies after any tick bite or unusual insect bite with new symptoms. Call the Foundations Wellness Office at 513-301-7406 if you have any questions or need to set up a consultation regarding an insect bite.