TIPS TO AVOID LYME DISEASE

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TIPS TO AVOID LYME DISEASE

For People

* Wear light-colored clothing for easy tick detection

* Wear long pants tucked into socks

* Avoid tall grass and shrubby areas

* Wear tick repellent

* Check yourself thoroughly after being outside. Pay special attention to armpits, waistline, hair line and groin area.

Source: National Ag Safety Database, cdc.gov/nasd

For Pets

* Keep them out of tall grass and shrubby areas -- well-groomed lawns are best

* Ask your veterinarian about the Lyme disease vaccine for dogs

* Ask your veterinarian about topical treatments that repel ticks

Note: You cannot get Lyme disease from an infected pet, or an infected person

Source: Robert Sofarelli, DVM, Saratoga Veterinary Hospital

LYME DISEASE SYMPTOMS

* Bull's-eye rash around the bite site, or elsewhere on the body

* headaches

* fever

* fatigue

* joint pain

* More serious, rarer symptoms include Bell's palsy, heart problems, and severe muscle pain.

Note: To remove an attached tick, gasp it with tweezers, as close to the skin as possible, and gently pull it straight out. DO NOT attempt to remove the tick with lighted cigarettes, matches, nail polish or Vaseline. These methods will irritate the tick and may cause it to release the contents of its stomach into its host, increasing the host's chances of contracting Lyme disease.

Sources: Sheryl Salerno, nurse practitioner, Adirondack Medical Associates in Glens Falls: Pat Belden, Warren County Public Health communicable disease coordinator