Spring is here and the warmer weather means more people will be out hiking in tall grass or wooded areas which can also mean an increased chance of getting tick bites.
Ticks are small bugs that bite and feed on the blood of humans and animals and can sometimes transmit disease. Fortunately, there are precautions people can take to prevent illnesses that may be transmitted from tick bites.
“There are easy things you can do to protect yourself from ticks such as covering up before you head outdoors and checking for ticks when returning from a walk, hike or bike ride,” said Dr. Fatemeh Sabet, Interior Health medical health officer. “Most tick bites do not result in illness; however, any bite from a tick should be cleaned because infection can occur whenever there is a break in the skin.”
If you find a tick on yourself, a family member or pet, wear gloves when removing it and be careful not to crush the tick as this could cause it to inject its stomach contents into your skin.
While ticks are common in the Interior Health region, most are the wood tick which do not carry the Lyme disease bacteria.