With the summer here many people are choosing to spend more time outdoors. In fact, it is common for many families to camp outdoors for long periods of time. It is important that if you choose to be outdoors that you know how to protect yourself from harmful bugs, such as ticks. Here are some things that you need to know about ticks.

How To Prevent Tick Bites

There are ticks all around the United States. Even though the breed of tick may be different depending on your geographical location the ways to prevent a tick bite are pretty similar.

First you need to make sure that while you are outdoors that you are wearing bug repellent that has DEET in it. DEET contains more N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide in it, which repels bugs better than just normal bug repellent. In addition, you should try to take showers and check your body as often as possible. Ticks like to hide in the warm parts of your body. This means they will most likely bite you under your arm, in the crevice of your leg, in your groin, around your neck and any other part that is warm and moist. Since you might not be able to see all of these areas on your own, you should be sure that you are checking your camping mates with ticks and have them do the same for you.

Removal Of A Tick

If you get a tick bite it is important that you remove the bug from the skin as soon as possible. You can do this by having someone slowly pull the bug out, although this can be dangerous since you don't want to break it and leave any parts of the tick in the body. You can also use a match and suffocate the tick out by holding the match close to the bug until it comes out on its own.

Treatment

After the tick bite you might notice that the area is red and inflamed. This could mean a couple things, one being that the bug carried some sort of bacteria or microbe that infected you. This is why you should see your primary care physician after a tick bite to get either a cream or oral antibiotic that will help to kill any of the bacteria. If you ignore the problem, the tick bite could develop into Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and a variety of other diseases. This is why it is best to play it safe and see a doctor after a tick has bitten you.

To learn more, contact a clinic like Monticello Clinic. 

By doing these things you can keep yourself safe from ticks.