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HEALTH TOPICS TREATMENT TIPS
| TICK BITES/LYME DISEASE Tick bites are very common in Fairfield and Westchester Counties and can cause an infection called Lyme Disease. Light colored pants and long sleeves can provide a barrier between ticks and your child's skin. Tick checks are important to do nightly on children who have been playing outside especially in woods or high grass. Pay particular attention to exposed skin, the hairline, the underarm area, the groin and scrotum. Removing a tick within 24 hours markedly decreases the risk of infection. In this area only the deer tick, not the larger dog tick, causes Lyme Disease. To remove a tick, use blunt forceps which are available in drug stores and marketed for this purpose. Try to capture the entire tick, including head, using a firm straight pull without twisting. The site should then be cleaned and inspected for remaining parts which should be removed if possible. Don't worry if there are residual bits. Do not use matches, heat, pins or liquid substances to try and free the tick. After a tick bite watch for signs and symptoms which may include a rash, especially a round or oval-shaped "bull's eye" rash, (which may occur at other than the site of the bite), fever, muscle or joint aches, head ache and general malaise or fatigue. If you are concerned, please schedule a visit to evaluate the need for testing or treatment. As a rule, we do not treat simple tick bites with antibiotics. |
