Tick Talk from the Millis Board of Health

As we spend more time out of doors, measures to prevent Lyme disease and other tickborne illnesses are a must. The Millis Board of Health reminds you to:
• Check yourself and your pets every time you come in from your yard. Use a hand mirror to view difficult areas. It can take 24 hours or more for infected ticks to spread disease, so even if you get a tick bite, you may be able to stop yourself from getting sick just by removing the tick promptly.
• If you find a tick attached to your skin, use a fine tipped tweezer to grasp it near the skin and pull straight up.
• Apply insect repellent containing DEET to exposed skin and spray permethrin on clothes and shoes that you wear out of doors.
• See your physician for any flu-like symptoms or a bull’s eye rash or other blotchy rash. The majority of people with tickborne illness did not notice a tick on them.
• If left untreated, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease can spread and cause arthritis, shooting pains, numbness or tingling of the hands or feet, problems with short-term memory, and heart problems.
Additional information, including environmental methods to decrease the number of ticks in your yard can be found at: www.mass.gov/dph/tick. Other sources of information include: www.tickencounter.org. Brochures on “Preventing Disease Spread by Ticks” can be found at the Millis Library and the Town Clerk’s office and Millis Board of Health Office in the Town Hall.