Lyme Disease

Protect Yourself Against Lyme

Since there is no Lyme vaccine currently available, the only way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid tick bites and remove any ticks you find on your skin as quickly as possible.

To avoid tick bites:

• Avoid tick habitats such as wooded or brushy areas, leafy debris, or high grasses.  This is especially true in May, June, and July, when ticks are most active.
• Walk in the center of trails to avoid contact with overgrown grass and brush at trail edges.
• When you go outside, wear light colored clothing so you can spot ticks more easily.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants outside to minimize skin exposure to ticks.
• Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants to keep ticks on the outside of clothing.
• Spray insect repellent containing a 20-30% concentration of DEET  (10% for children; DO NOT use repellent on infants and AVOID getting pesticides in children’s mouths and eyes) on clothes and on exposed skin other than the face, or treat clothes (especially pants, socks, and shoes) with permethrin, which kills ticks on contact.  Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when applying repellents.
• After being outdoors, place any clothes that have had contact with a tick habitat in the drier and dry at a high heat.  Inspect body surfaces carefully (including scalp, armpits, and groin area), and remove attached ticks with tweezers (See How to remove a tick).
• Check any outdoor pets for ticks regularly.

If you are bitten by a tick:

• Remove the tick.  Try to remove it as quickly as possible, since it takes roughly 24-48 hours for the tick to transmit the Lyme bacteria to you.
• Don’t panic.  Only 1-3% of deer ticks actually carries Lyme disease, so chances are, you’ll be fine.
• Call your physician.  They may want you to save the tick to determine your risk for Lyme.
• Most physicians do not prescribe an antibiotic to prevent Lyme.  However, your physician may wish to prescribe such an antibiotic based on your Lyme risk.
• Watch for symptoms of Lyme disease, including the bull’s-eye rash, headaches, joint pain, and fatigue.  If you suspect that you may have Lyme disease, contact your physician.

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