Prevention of Lyme Disease

Prevention

There is no vaccine for Lyme disease. The best way to avoid Lyme disease is to protect against tick bites. Health professionals should advise their patients to take the following measures:

• If there are ticks in your area, cover up if you think you might be exposed to them. Wear closed-toe shoes, long-sleeved shirts and pants. Pulling your socks over your pant legs prevents ticks crawling up your legs. Light-coloured clothing makes spotting ticks easier.
• Use insect repellents that contain DEET (concentration between 20-30%) or Icaridin. Repellents can be applied to clothing as well as exposed skin. Permethrin applied to clothing and then dried is a proven way of killing the ticks that cause Lyme disease. Always read and follow label directions.
• Shower or bathe within two hours of being outdoors. Daily “full body” checks for ticks should be performed: ticks attach themselves to the skin so they can be found and removed, which usually prevents infection if this is done early enough (within 24-48 hours). Be sure to check children and pets for ticks as well.

 10% Permethrin - $36.00/quart - instructions on how to soak your clothing included.