Tuesday 12 July 2011

Is there something lurking in the long grass?

By Trumpety Trump

We recently decided during a drive out one Sunday afternoon, that it would be nice to take a walk through a part of Ashdown Forest, the 'home' of Winnie-the-Pooh. The Forest is at the heart of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has national and international protection because of its wildlife, a great place to take the children.

We stopped off but as we set off through the heathland, I suddenly released how unprepared we were, not in terms of weather protection or footwear but from something far more insidious. Something that, if I had not previously researched the subject, would not even have registered - the risk of tick bites!


Now although the idea of a tick bite itself might seem quite unpleasant, it is the fact that ticks are among the most efficient carriers of disease that is more the issue. One website I had encountered put them only behind mosquitoes World Wide in this respect. It was discovered in the mid-1970s that ticks are the primary (and possibly only) transmitters, or vectors, for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is a debilitating, though rarely fatal, infection that is often misdiagnosed because early symptoms closely resemble the flu. Shuddering thought.

Ticks work by ambush, waiting on the tips of grasses and shrubs, for a moving animal or person to brush against them. They then quickly let go of the vegetation and climb onto the host. Ticks can only crawl but are often found on the scalp having usually crawled there from lower parts of the body.


Obviously the best way to protect yourself and your family against tick-borne illness is to avoid tick bites. If you are entering an area where you expect ticks to be present, then wear protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, boots or sturdy shoes and a head covering. Tucking your trouser bottoms in your socks also helps. Remember, ticks are easier to detect on light-coloured clothing. This was our first mistake, between us we were either wearing shorts or summer dresses.

I remembered that you should walk in the centre of trails and paths so that the plants do not brush against you. At least I could keep an eye on the children with regard to this and they were asked to walk in the middle of the paths.

Ideally you should apply an insect repellent known to be effective against ticks on your skin, to discourage any ticks that you do come into contact with from biting. Some sites including BADA UK also recommend the use of insecticide Permethrin to treat clothing, especially trousers. Obviously you should always follow the label instructions if you choose to do this. Neither of these were an option on this occasion but are worth remembering for the future.

Advice I recalled at the time was to check yourself, children and other family members every two to three hours for ticks. If you take pets with you, check them for ticks too. I was a little over-cautious and actually checked every half an hour.


We were lucky and no one was bitten but should you be less fortunate then remember the best chance of avoiding infection from a tick bite is to remove the tick within the first 12 hours. A tick's mouth parts are barbed and can remain embedded and lead to infection at the bite site, if not removed properly. You should not try to burn the tick with a match or cover it with petroleum jelly or nail polish, these methods distress the tick causing it to regurgitate its stomach contents back into you, immediately increasing the chance of infection.

The best way to remove a tick is to grasp it firmly with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and gently, but firmly, pull it straight out. Do not twist or jerk the tick. There are special tick removing tools on the
market, check out the links below.

Wash the bite area and your hands thoroughly with soap and water and apply an antiseptic to the bite site. If you experience a rash that looks like a bull's-eye, a rash anywhere on the body or an unexplained illness accompanied by fever following a tick bite, you should consult your doctor and explain that you were bitten by a tick. Disease carried by ticks can be treated with antibiotics. However, the type of antibiotic can vary and individuals should be treated early in the infection.

Trumpety Trump felt you should be aware of the potential threats of ticks and something to take into account when you are next wading through the long grass!

Reference websites

http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/index.htm Lymes Disease Action
http://www.bada-uk.org/ Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness UK
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/deer-tick/ Deer Tick