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Prevention of Lyme Disease-It is possible

As it is always said that prevention is better than cure, it will be very important to take keen interest in the prevention of this problem. The best way to prevent Lyme disease would be to avoid areas where deer ticks live, especially wooded, bushy areas with long grass. You can reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease by taking some simple precautions like:

Wear long pants and long sleeves. When walking in wooded or grassy areas, wear shoes, long pants tucked into your socks, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat and gloves. Try to stick to trails and avoid walking through low bushes and long grass. Keep your dog on a leash.
Use insect repellents. Apply an insect repellent with a 20 percent or higher concentration of DEET to your skin. Parents should apply to their children, avoiding their hands, eyes and mouth. Keep in mind that chemical repellents can be toxic, so follow directions carefully. Apply products with permethrin to clothing or buy pretreated clothing.
Do your best to tick-proof your yard. Clear brush and leaves where ticks live. Keep woodpiles in sunny areas.
Check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks. Be especially vigilant after spending time in wooded or grassy areas. Deer ticks are often no bigger than the head of a pin, so you may not discover them unless you search carefully. It’s helpful to shower as soon as you come indoors. Ticks often remain on your skin for hours before attaching themselves. Showering and using a washcloth may be enough to remove any unattached ticks.
Don’t assume you’re immune. Even if you’ve had Lyme disease before, you can get it again.
Remove a tick as soon as possible with tweezers. Gently grasp the tick near its head or mouth. Don’t squeeze or crush the tick, but pull carefully and steadily. Once you’ve removed the entire tick, dispose of it and apply antiseptic to the bite area.

Prevention of Lyme disease-How to reduce Tick bites

Avoid tick-infested areas, such as leaf litter under trees. Avoid brushing against long grasses and brush on edges of paths. Don’t sit on stumps or fallen logs.

Wear light-colored long pants and long sleeves so you can easily see any ticks.
Tuck shirt into pants and tuck pants into socks.
Use DEET on skin and treat clothing with spray containing permethrin.
Do a thorough tick check upon returning inside and for several days following exposure.
Check bedding for several days following exposure for ticks that drop off.
Ticks, especially nymphal ticks, are tiny. Find and remove them before they bite.

Prevention of Lyme disease-What to do if you are bitten

Use fine-point tweezers or a special tick-removing tool. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. If you don’t have tweezers, protect your fingers with a tissue.

Pull the tick straight out with steady, even pressure to view a Tick’s Mouth and why it is so important to pull out the tick correctly.
Avoid squeezing the tick, breaking it, or allowing any blood to remain on your skin.
Place the tick in a small plastic bag or vial with blades of grass, leaf, or moist (not wet) piece of tissue.
Label the bag with your name, date, site of bite and how long tick was attached.
Have the tick identified and tested by a lab, health department or veterinarian.
Wash your hands, disinfect the tweezers and bite site.
Educate yourself about tick-borne diseases and consult a doctor to see if treatment is warranted.

Considerations for Prophylactic (Preventive) Treatment

The tick infection rate in the area where you acquired the tick. An area may still labeled as “no risk” despite lack of scientific studies.
The relative risk of transmission, depending on whether the tick was a nymph or adult, duration of attachment and how it was removed.
Whether the tick tested positive for a tick-borne infection.
The Lyme germs may spread widely in the body, including to the brain, within hours/days.
The cost of prophylactic treatment vs. risk of infection.
The risks and benefits of prophylactic treatment vs. risks of infection.

Other protective ways

Reduce ticks on your property by

pruning trees
clearing brush
removing litter
Mowing grass short, and letting it dry thoroughly between watering.
Move shrubbery and overgrowth farther away from areas frequented by people.

Make your property unattractive to animals that are hosts to ticks by:

Eliminating birdfeeders, birdbaths, and salt licks;
Erecting fencing around the property;
clearing away woodpiles, garbage, and leaf piles;
Removing stonewalls that provide homes to wildlife.
Have your property chemically treated.
You can kill ticks on your property by applying chemicals. Seek professional advice before application. Carefully timed applications increase effectiveness.

Also Consider These Important Facts:

If you tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants, be aware that ticks will climb upward to hidden areas of the head and neck, so spot-check clothes frequently.
Clothes can be sprayed with DEET or treated with permethrin. Follow label instructions carefully.
Upon returning home, clothes can be put in a high temperature dryer for 20 minutes to kill any unseen ticks.
Any contact with vegetation, even playing in the yard, can result in exposure to ticks. Frequent tick checks should be followed by a whole-body examination and tick removal each night. This is the single most effective method for prevention of Lyme disease.

Prevention of Lyme Disease-Safely removal Tick

If you DO find a tick attached to your skin, do not panic. Not all ticks are infected, and your risk of Lyme disease is greatly reduced if the tick is removed within the first 36 hours. To remove a tick, ensure that you:

Use a pair of pointed tweezers to grasp the tick by the head or mouth parts right where they enter the skin. DO NOT grasp the tick by the body.
Pull firmly and steadily outward. DO NOT jerk or twist the tick.
Place the tick in a small container of rubbing alcohol to kill it.
Clean the bite wound with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
Monitor the site of the bite for the next 30 days for the appearance of a rash. If you develop a rash or flu-like symptoms, contact your health care provider immediately. Although not routinely recommended, taking antibiotics within three days after a tick bite may be beneficial for some persons. This would apply to deer tick bites that occurred in areas where Lyme disease is common and there is evidence that the tick fed for more than one day. In cases like this you should discuss the possibilities with your doctor or health care provider.