They're Creepy and Crawly: Beware of Ticks

Hiking, camping, and exploring nature are many activities your child will enjoy now that it’s summer.

But, don’t forget to protect them from ticks.

“Symptoms can seem similar to the flu,” says Mary Anne Jackson, MD, chief of the Infectious Disease Section at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clincs. “Your child may have a fever, body aches, and headache, and in some cases, a rash can develop. If left untreated, complications of tick borne diseases can involve the liver, heart and nervous system.”

Tick borne illnesses most commonly seen in children from our area include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, tularemia or ehrlichiosis.

“There’s no question that there may be more ticks out there, but we don’t have any evidence that more ticks are infected,” Dr. Jackson says. “Research has been done in our area, and while there are a lot of ticks, and people can get tick bites, most don’t suffer any ill consequences. The majority of ticks do not carry an infectious organism and in order for infection to be transmitted, the tick must be attached for 12 to 24 hours.”

Dr. Jackson offers these tips to help protect your child from tick bites:

• Avoid tick-infested areas. If you are in a tick-infested area, walk in the center of the trails to avoid contact with vegetation.
• Use a repellent with DEET and wear long sleeves, hat, long pants and socks.
• Wear light-colored clothing, which allows you to see ticks crawling on your clothing.
• Tuck your pant legs into your socks.
• Check your children for ticks. Examine in and around the ears, inside the belly button, back of the knees, under the arms, in and around the hair, between their legs and around the waist.
• Reduce ticks in your yard by keeping play areas and playground equipment away from shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation.
• Prevent family pets from bringing ticks into the home by applying tick medicine to them or using a tick collar.