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A NatureSkills.com exclusive
Prevention of Lymes Disease
While the treatment of Lymes disease would be a whole other topic that would take a web site to discuss, the prevention of Lymes disease is a simple.
Every outdoors person or really anyone who goes outside in areas where Lymes disease is prevalent should know these tips.
When I first started working for Wilderness Awareness School in 1990, we were located in New Jersey where Lymes disease was already widespread. Many people we taught knew it came from deer ticks, and that wearing a hat outside would be a suitable prevention of Lymes disease.
Well, ticks are blind, and they can’t really see you coming from the tree tops so they can make a perfect landing on your head. The hat thing is a myth. They attach to you as you brush by them in grasses or other low level places.
Once they are on you, they cruise to the nice warm dark moist places. They relief is in that they take 24 hours to embed in your skin, so you have that day to get them off of you.
Tips for the prevention of Lymes Disease
1. For tick bite prevention, we have always recommended Eucalytus essential oil and Dr. Bronner’s Eucalyptus Soap.
Author Andrea Candee writes…
“The safe, natural way to prevent tick bites is with the essential oil of eucalyptus found at the health food store. The strong but pleasant smell seems to effectively repel the ticks. There are three ways to use this aromatic oil.
In a spray bottle, add 16 ounces of water to 1 ounce of eucalyptus oil. Spray on the skin before an outdoor activity, like gardening. The bottled mixture remains potent for many months.
For longer protection, such as a hike in the woods, mix 10 drops eucalyptus into 1 ounce almond or sunflower seed oil and apply to skin and clothing. A larger amount can be pre-mixed for a camping trip or for sending off with a child to summer camp.
Protect your dog and cat from ticks and you will also be protecting yourself! Your pet may be transporting the ticks into the house. Dip a thin rope into the eucalyptus oil and wrap in a bandana. Tie the bandana around your pet’s neck, refreshing the rope twice a week. Your pet will look fashionable and be protected at the same time! It is best not to tie the eucalyptus rope directly onto your pet’s skin as it may cause irritation. The spray bottle of eucalyptus and water may also be used to spray your pet’s coat before an outdoor romp in the grass or in the woods.
2. Take your clothes off before entering the house if you are outdoors all day. Wash those clothes before taking them back in your bed room.
3. Do not let your dog or cat back in the house without checking them over. MANY times people get Lymes disease from their dogs bringing the tick inside.
4. SHOWER AND CHECK YOURSELF OVER EVERY DAY! When I lived back east, I was extremely careful and checked myself over daily. Especially check the moist dark spots like behind your ears, under your arms and around your groin area.
5. When you shower, remember to use Dr. Bronner’s Eucalyptus soap (liquid or bar). I used the liquid soap as a shampoo too. You can get it any any health food store.
Bullseye?!??!
The tell tale bulls eye rash does not always appear. The test for Lymes is extremely inaccurate. The common anti-biotic treatments are not beneficial to your overall health. SO… the ultimate Lymes disease prevention is AWARENESS!
You know, if you want to really increase your outdoor awareness and knowledge of nature, try the Kamana Naturalist Training Program.
Stay alert and practice the simple prevention of Lymes disease tips I have given you.
For more techy info about Lymes, visit the CDC’s web site
John Gallagher, CCH is a community centered herbalist and is webmaster for NatureSkills.com. He also runs FamilyHerbalRemedies.com and LearningHerbs.com.
THIS JUST IN!!!!
Here is a word from Charlene Miller. I found this gem on the Kamana online discussion group on the prevention of Lymes disease....
In NJ we could not go any where without getting several ticks! George came from Michigan and couldn't believe the tick infestation in NJ. He said he'd occasionally get a tick or two a year in Michigan, but in NJ we got several ticks EVERY time we went out!
We wore light pants tucked into our socks and tucked our shirts in too, so that if there was a tick crawling up us we could see it before it ever came in contact with any skin. We checked our dogs for ticks every time we took them for a walk too. Ticks can crawl off your dogs and onto you if they like to cuddle up or sleep with you.
If we find a tick on our clothing we take it off with tape then fold the tape over on itself and didn't have to worry about killing the tick. If we find an embedded tick on our skin, we tape it to an index card with the date and place and wait for some signs of infection because if you go to test for Lyme it will NOT show up positive until at least ten days.
Most doctors will automatically give antibiotics if someone comes in with a tick bite, just to be on the safe side. Just as with anything else in life - too much of a good thing can cause problems too. Too many man-made antibiotics in one's system can make your body produce less of your own important antibiotics. The more we depend on artificial drugs the less our bodies can take care of these things on their own.
We have had several embedded ticks over the years but never got any of the symptoms for Lyme because not all ticks carry the disease.
I know many people who got very sick from Lyme but they also did not check themselves often and the ticks that bit them were embedded for several days. As a rule the infected tick has to be attacked to your body for more than 24 hours to infect you.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule - some people may get reactions immediately but most average people have enough antibiotics in their own body to fight the disease if the tick has not been attached for more than a day. The longer the tick stays embedded, the more infection it spreads.
We've lived in the Endless Mountains of PA for two years now and just found a tick on our dog this week, yet we have more deer and wildlife in our yard than ever before!
We are amazed that we encountered so many ticks during every season except during winter when the ground is covered with snow in NJ, and none until this summer in PA! This was a dry summer this year, whereas last summer it was very wet.
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