Avoiding Lyme Upstate
Lyme disease, that all too common tick-borne infection, caused by Borrelia bacteria, that generates symptoms like extreme fatigue, joint pain, inflammation, nervous and immune system dysfunction.
Lyme runs rampant in Upstate NY. While Lyme disease is most prevalent in the northwestern U.S., it has now been found on every continent besides Antarctica. While you can be infected year round, ticks are most active in the warmer months, with the incidence of Lyme steadily increasing. Some suggest the rise is exacerbated by global warming, as ticks favor warmer, more humid environments.
At the moment, no vaccine is available for humans. We don’t want to abstain from spending time outside, as nature can be a very potent medicine. When outdoors, it is absolutely crucial to take precautions to avoid tick-borne illness.
THE BASICS
Ticks live in grassy, brushy, wooded areas, near oak trees and in log piles, or on animals, like deer.
They can be in your yard or neighborhood.
When hiking, stay in the center of the path to avoid high grasses.
When outdoors, even in the yard, wear white or light colored clothing and shoes, and tuck pants into socks so no flesh is exposed.
After an outdoor excursion, put all clothes in the dryer for at least 10 minutes on high heat. According to an article by the Appalachian Mountain Club, it’s not the heat that kills them, it’s the dryness, as ticks can survive the high heat of the washing machine.
When you get home, perform a head to toe tick check on yourself, kids, pets and gear, especially crevices and hairer areas of the body. If you’re alone, use a mirror to look in all the body’s nooks and crannies.
Showers may be helpful to rinse away unattached ticks.
If you find a tick attached to the skin, use tweezers or a tick-remover tool to pull the tick out, making sure to do it gently but swiftly so not to pull apart the tick body from the head. Then sanitize the skin and tweezer or tool.
Ideally, you want the tick alive so you can send it to your local public health department, a lyme literate physician or a speciality testing lab. Once the live tick is removed, put in a moist paper towel and into a sealable bag or jar.
THE PRODUCTS
According to the CDC, the most effective tick repellents contain DEET, Picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), or Permethrin. While these are approved by the EPA, others suggest some of these chemical compounds, especially pesticides DEET and Permethrin, can cause neurological damage in human and pets, and contribute to our overall toxic load. Further, it’s unclear what long-term effects these products have on the environment, but common sense suggests the more toxins in the world could only prove harmful to the health of humanity.
Essential plant oils like rosemary, lavender, peppermint, citronella, citrus, lemongrass, cedar, clove, and rose geranium, may repel ticks, but should be reapplied every 2-3 hours to be effective. Plant oils need to be mixed with carrier oils, like castor, or sweet almond oil so they don’t irritate the skin. Don’t feel like DIY? An upstate NY local bottles ‘Tick Magic Spray,‘ (with ingredients rose geranium, cedar, lemongrass and citronella) which I love.
* Make sure you do some research before spraying your furry friends with essential oils, as some can be toxic to pets but not to humans.