RICHLAND, Wash. – If you are thinking about hitting the trail with tall grass around it for a hike, make sure you are checking yourself for ticks when you get home.
Dr. Brandon Thomas, a medical doctor at Kadlec Regional Medical Center says when you get home from a place that might’ve had ticks around, you should get in the practice of checking yourself for ticks.
Dr. Thomas says some common areas to look at are behind the knees and at the belt line because they like those places. If you do discover a tick, get it out as fast as you can.
Dr. Thomas recommends using a pair of tweezers and grab the tick where it touches the skin and pull straight up, don’t try to twist it or jerk the tick out.
“Things to watch out for, meaning you’re sick with a tick is a fever,” Dr. Thomas said. “Also look out for swollen lymph nodes, a rash specifically are the biggest concerns. If you have those symptoms, it’s really time to go get checked.”
Dr. Thomas told me the good thing about living in Washington, is we don’t have a lot of ticks. According to Dr. Thomas Lyme disease comes from the other side of the country. He says we average about 50 cases in the state of Washington every year.
While all of that might sound scary, Dr. Thomas says there are ways to prevent tick bites. The first thing is using a bug spray with Deet in it. He says not only should you use it on your skin, but you should spray it on your clothes.
Dr. Thomas also recommends wearing long pants and tucking your pant legs into your socks for that extra layer of protection.
Finally, and it’s been mentioned before, check yourself and your loved ones. Including your pets when you get home is the key.
“When you get home do a good close look at both yourself and if you have kids, check your kids,” he says. “If you have pets, check your pets and look for a tick.”
Dr, Thomas tells me you will see it. You’ll almost feel it, it will feel like a bump.
“It’s really small, about the size of a BB if you catch them early,” said Dr. Thomas. “If you catch them late, they swell up really big. The best thing to do is get it out as fast as you can.”
Dr. Thomas told me you don’t want to use a match to smoke it off of you.
If you do end up getting sick from a tick and are not sure what kind of tick bit you, Dr. Thomas says there’s a website you can go on to send the bug, if you still have it to be analyzed. He says you often get the results within a day or two.
