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How can I prevent tick-borne diseases?
The best way to prevent tick-borne diseases is to avoid being bitten by ticks. When you are outdoors, follow these guidelines:
Use tick repellents according to their instructions to help prevent bites. Tick repellents that contain DEET can be put directly on your skin or on your clothing before going into tick-infested areas. Repellents containing permethrin should be put only on clothing.
Wear shirts with long sleeves and wear long pants to prevent ticks from getting into the skin. Tuck pant legs into socks to help you see ticks before they get on your skin and bite. Check your entire body for ticks after you have been in tick-infested areas.
Remove any attached ticks as soon as possible. To remove an attached tick, use fine tweezers to grab the tick firmly by the head or as close to the head as possible and pull. Do not use heat, petroleum jelly or other methods to try to make the tick "back out" on its own. |
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