Prevention is the best manner to manage Lyme disease. As we already know, there are only a few occasions where Lyme patients notice that at any time of their life they have been bitten by a tick. This Summer and always travel with the necessary tools to fight and extract ticks.
All of your advice is suitable for any type of exposure to nature even if it is in the garden of your house. In the United States, nearly 75 percent of the transmission of cases of Lyme occurs in the gardens of the homes.
TICK REPELLENT
It is the first and most efficient step against ticks. There are different types of tick repellents. All of the products have to be specific because a common mosquito repellent is less efficient due to the lack of effect in time.
Two chemical substances exist in any pharmacy or parapharmacy. Those that repel the tick and can be applied to the sick and the pesticides that must be applied on the clothes. These are DEET and permethrin. Currently, they are investigating another substance like nootkatone, more natural but still not commercialized.
PERMETHRIN PRODUCTS
Permethrin is one of the authorized insecticides for agriculture with wider use. For this reason, people are subjected in a way or another to this substance. To prevent the tick bite, permethrin must be applied on top of the clothes with a spray.
Some clothes are already treated with permethrin and can be used when they are in contact with nature wash after wash. Although, it is more economic and equally effective applying the spray to the clothes. We indeed have to wait for the liquid to dry before dressing up. Permethrin applied above the clothes also supports five washes.
Whose clothes must we spray so the pesticide is efficient? On top of all the clothes. Sport or trekking boots, trousers, and shirt, socks. If you have a garden you should put on gloves and the hat you use to protect yourself from the sun.
It is crucial to NOT APPLY PERMETHRIN DIRECTLY ON THE SKIN. Even if this substance is secure, it only takes 15 minutes to disappear from the skin and vulnerability with respect ticks increases.
DEET REPELLENT PRODUCTS
DEET is a synthetic chemical substance (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) that is applied proportionately and with a correct quantity is efficient against ticks and isn’t toxic. It was developed by the United States in 1945. It is currently a used substance to repel ticks.
DEET products work with a concentration of this substance around 30-40 percent for adult persons. If we apply it to children older than 2 years, a concentration around 20 percent is more secure.
It must be applied with slow movements all around the body, the skin in the nude parts, and in the clothes we are wearing. The applicator will be focused around 15-20 centimeters of the skin. It is very efficient to apply the product in the sleeves, shirt, collar, or double trousers. To apply it on the face, spray the product on your hand and then to the face.
Here you have two DEET repellents, Relec and Ecran.
NATURAL ALTERNATIVES, CITRIODIOL REPELLENT
Citriodiol is a substance that comes from a type of tree, the eucalyptus citriodora. Although it is commercialized as an essential oil it is advisable to acquire any brand already prepared with the repellent like eucalyptus distillate. As in the rest of the products, the efficiency decreases with the passage of time. It is convenient to apply it each 7 hours. It can´t be applied at the same time as sunscreen because the repellent efficiency decreases.
The repellent must be applied on top of the skin. It is useful to apply it on the clothes. Even if it is a natural product they do not recommend applying it near the eyes of the mucosa because it can provoke irritation.
For people worried about residues that creams and protectors leave in the water, we affirm that citriodiol is not nocive for aquatic organisms.
Repellent 100% citriodiol natural https://respecteficacia.com/repelente-de-insectos/
Repellent 100% citriodiol natural https://goibi.cinfa.com/productos/goibi-citriodiol/
Citriodiol can also be applied as an essential oil for home preparation with eucalyptus leaves. However, these methods should not constitute the main barrier against tick bites.
USE ADEQUATE CLOTHES WHERE YOU ARE IN NATURE
Even if we feel uncomfortable facing the summer, the most adequate clothes are long trousers and a shirt, both in clear color. If we adjust the shirt cuff and introduce the trouser inside our socks, we will block ticks.
Nevertheless, these animals jump to our bodies and rise, so the risk is less but doesn’t disappear. Ticks can stay in our clothes and enter our home. We recommend:
Review clothes and remove the ticks you find.
Wash the clothes with hot water at a temperature superior to 60 degrees. Cold or warm water doesn’t kill ticks.
In the dryer, a high temperature for 10 minutes can be enough to stop ticks if the clothes are dry.
REVIEW OF DIFFERENT BODY PARTS
It is another step to prevent, to review all your body and take a shower when you arrive home. There are easier locations to find ticks due to humidity. The search procedure of the tick in our body must start by the feet, between the fingers, following the knee, our genitals, the navel, armpits, inside and outside the ears, the hair, and the scalp.
TICKS EXTRACTION
If when we review our skin and see a tick adjusted we have to remove it as soon as possible. When more time passes, more probabilities of contracting an infection. It is recommended to take adequate tools that allow us to remove the tick without breaking it.
What we should carry on our trips is a specific clamp, some disposable gloves, and disinfectant.
First step: clamps must be used horizontally holding the tick from the part stick to the skin.
Second step: pull firmly upside without changing the direction or breaking the tick. You must avoid that the head sticks into the skin.
Third step: keep the tick in an airtight container. If you attend a specialist they must analyze if the example is a transmisor of any bacteria. This way we will know our risk of having Lyme is reduced.
Fourth step: wash your hands and disinfect the tick bite.
Fifth step: lastly, attend a specialist no matter if you have or not Lyme symptoms. On many occasions, antibiotic treatment is prescribed preventively.
There are many types of clamps. We must avoid the clamps with a top that can crush or break easily. The most recommended are.
