(WFRV) – As Wisconsin inches closer to summer, people are beginning to spend more time outside, but as lovely as the outdoors can be, there is always some hidden dangers, especially ticks.
Ticks can cause serious illnesses, but there are ways to protect yourself, and health officials with ThedaCare spoke with Local 5 about some of those protections.
“It has to be the Deer Tick for it to be able to transmit disease,” began Dr. Zachary Baeseman, ThedaCare Family Medicine Physician. “Short of that, taking a typical household tweezers, and pulling [the tick] straight out in the direction that it went in is the most important thing.”
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“I think sometimes patients do get worried about leaving in a leg or leaving in a head, but the biggest thing for disease transmittance is the tick being swollen and/or engorged,” added Dr. Baeseman. “If it’s not swollen, there is not the same risk of disease transmittance.”
Dr. Baeseman also recommends covering as much skin as possible when going outdoors in potential tick-infested areas and to make sure to check other people or pets when coming back inside.
