With summer comes a lot of woes: sweat patches, the constant feeling that you might pass out, and prickly heat.
And we can add tick bites to that cheery list, as they’re most prevalent during the summer months.
They’re found all over the UK, but favour those gorgeous countryside spots that we tend to romp around in the summer. We’re talking about the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Moors and the South Downs, amongst other places.
According to the Woodland Trust, they live in densely leafy areas, such as woodland, heathland and long grass, and are mostly around from March to October.
They can’t fly so attach themselves to their host as it brushes past — hence why you have to be super conscious.
This is especially important as ticks are known to carry Lyme Disease, the health condition that Bella Hadid and her mother Yolanda Hadid, famously suffer from.
It’s a bacterial infection that can cause memory and nerve problems, swelling in your joints and heart issues, amongst other symptoms.
There are estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 new cases of Lyme Disease each year.
How to tell if you’ve been bitten
It’s not always easy to tell if you’ve been bitten by a tick, which is… helpful! The bite itself doesn’t tend to be painful, so it’s easy to get bitten without even noticing.
They like to bite warm parts of your body, such as your hairline, groin and behind the knee.
Some ticks can be teeny tiny, so it’s important to have a thorough look over your skin after a walk in the countryside or where you’ve been around long grass.
Sometimes they can just look like a small, dark dot where the tick has burrowed its head into your skin.
You might get a skin reaction, like a rash or itchiness, like with mosquito bites, but for some, there are no skin problems around the site of the bite at all.
What to do if you’ve been bitten
If you find a tick, it’s important to act quickly. Here’s what the Woodland Trust recommends…
- Use fine-tipped tweezers (not the blunt tweezers you use to pluck your eyebrows) or special tick removers; both are available in most pharmacies.
- Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and slowly pull upwards. Avoid crushing or squeezing the tick and dispose of it once removed.
- Clean the bite with antiseptic or soap and water.
It’s important to make sure you get the head out — their mouths create a ‘cement-like’ substance to keep themselves nice and stuck in there — so if you are using tweezers, grasp as close to your skin as possible and twist and pull out, like a corkscrew movement.
How to tell if you have Lyme Disease?
If you’ve left a bite too long, you could go on to develop Lyme Disease. The early symptoms include a circular rash around the tick that looks like a bull’s eye on a dartboard, which develops after around three to 30 days.
But, according to the NHS, around one in three people with Lyme disease won’t develop a rash.
Other symptoms include tiredness and fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches, a high temperature and/or fever, chills and neck stiffness.
What to do if you suspect the tick bite has caused Lyme Disease
If you’re showing the early symptoms of Lyme Disease, your GP can prescribe you a course of antibiotics to kill the bacteria.
Final takeaways...
To make sure you enjoy the summer to the max without contracting Lyme Disease, here is what the NHS recommends you do…
- Stick to purpose-built paths that aren’t overgrown
- Wear long trousers in overgrown areas, and tuck your trousers into your socks so there’s no skin showing
- Wear insect repellent
- Check for ticks on your body and your loved ones’ bodies after walking or camping