Preventing Tickborne Disease in Cortland County
Ticks carry several serious diseases that are becoming increasingly common each year. Before spending time outside this summer, make sure you know how to prevent tick bites, remove a tick, and spot potential warning signs after a bite.
The Basics
Ticks are arachnids - like spiders - that are found readily throughout New York State, including in Cortland County. Ticks like to live in shady, moist vegetation, like in wooded areas, among tall grasses, and under piles of leaves. Ticks crawl from the brush onto hosts (like humans) and then often climb upwards to a protected area of the body, like behind an ear or in an armpit. Once ready, ticks will bite into the skin, which is how they transmit diseases.
Lyme disease is the most common disease spread by ticks in New York but there are other diseases as well, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and alpha-gal syndrome (AGS).
Risks of Exposure
There are some types of activities you might do outdoors this summer that could put you at higher risk of getting bitten by a tick. They include:
Walking your dog
Hiking
Camping and picnicking
Gardening and yard work
Hunting or fishing
Golfing and other sports
Outdoor occupations, like farming and landscaping
All of these fun activities could put you in close contact with ticks. But the good news is – there are things you can do to protect yourself if you choose to do any of these activities!
Preventing Tick Bites and Tickborne Diseases
Not all ticks carry disease and not all bites will make you sick. But avoiding ticks and removing ticks quickly will reduce your chances of getting a tickborne disease like Lyme Disease.
If you can, avoid areas with soil, vegetation and/or leaf litter, including yards, fields, and woods. If these areas cannot be avoided, try these prevention measures:
Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails and walk in the center of trails, avoiding dense woods and bushy areas.
Wear light-colored clothing – so you can spot ticks easily – and ideally made of tightly woven fabric.
Wear closed-toed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and tuck your pant legs into your socks or boots and your shirt into your pants.
Check your clothes and exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors.
Consider using insect repellent – DEET or Picaridin both work to repel ticks.
Avoid sitting directly on the ground, on fallen logs or on stone walls.
Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
Bathe or shower as soon as possible after returning indoors, ideally within two hours – this can help to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day – check any children and pets too! – and remove ticks promptly.
If you do repeated outdoor activities, such as working outside, checking every day is a good idea. Especially given that, generally ticks must be attached for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease.
What to do if you see a tick on your body
So you’ve done everything you can to prevent a tick bite, but during a tick check, you find a tick. It’s okay! If the tick is still crawling, simply remove it from your body and discard it by wrapping it up tightly and throwing it in the trash, or flushing it down the toilet.
If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove the tick as soon as possible. The sooner you remove the tick, the shorter time it has to transmit disease. You do not need to go to a medical professional to get it removed. While there are tick removal devices on the market, a plain set of tweezers works well.
Here are step-by-step instructions:
Use a pair of tweezers to grasp the tick by the head or mouth right where it enters the skin.
Pull firmly and steadily upward.
Place the tick in a small container of rubbing alcohol to kill it.
Clean the bite wound with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
After a tick has been removed, it’s important to keep an eye on the bite area in the following weeks. If a circular red skin rash appears, it may be a sign of Lyme disease. The first symptoms of Lyme disease may start after 3 to 30 days from the time of the bite.
If you think you have Lyme disease, or you develop flu-like symptoms such as fever or joint aches after six weeks, you should see a doctor.
Serving a High-Risk Group at the Grace Space
At The Grace Space, we serve individuals experiencing housing instability and/or substance use disorder. This group of people often spend a large portion of their time outdoors, especially in the summer months, when the weather is warmer and there is no local access to overnight shelter in Cortland. Unhoused individuals experience frequent potential tick exposure when relaxing in public parks or staying out in wooded areas day after day. And without consistent access to a well-lit room to change clothes and clean up every day, tick bites are more likely to go unnoticed.
One of the amenities we offer to guests who come to the Grace Space is the use of the shower room. To support guest safety, our team recently installed tick awareness posters in the shower facilities. Daily tick checks are a critical defense against tickborne illnesses during the summer months, especially for individuals like our guests with likely repeated, daily exposures. Since shower time offers a natural opportunity for a personal health check, we encourage all guests to inspect for ticks after spending time outdoors.
Sources:
NYSDOH https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/
