Ticks are out rampantly during the summer months. As temperatures rise, they begin to swarm around, making themselves known and finding people and animals to bite.
It’s especially important for parents to be aware of ticks and the dangers they pose.
Ticks can be potentially very dangerous for kids, especially since these young ones have a tendency to wander off and find themselves in places that ticks inhabit.
So before you let your children run around outside this summer, take a read of this story shared on Facebook as a warning from a mother from Ohio.
Beka Setzer took to the social media site to tell the tale of what happened to her daughter last year.
Emmalee, who was only three years old at the time, had been excitedly playing with a sprinkler outside her house and having a blast.
When she went back in for her routine afternoon nap time, Setzer started to change the girl’s clothes.
That’s when she noticed that there were several strange little black dots, appearing almost like dirt, scattered throughout her back and body.
Thinking it was just some dirt, Setzer went to wipe one of them off but realized that they weren’t coming off correctly.
She took a closer look and was horrified to discover that the dots appeared like small little bugs that clung to Emmalee’s skin.
She realized then that they were seed ticks – and there were more than 150 of them all over her.
The next 90 minutes were spent slowly picking off and removing every single one of those dots from her daughter’s skin.
Setzer acted fast. After detaching all the baby ticks, she placed Emmalee in a bath and then ran more baths a few more times before giving her some Benadryl.
She then moved to wash all the bedding that Emmalee used to ensure that they were gone.
In short, she took all the best steps needed to keep her daughter safe, and it worked – Emmalee was fine.
But since she’s seen more ticks this year, she figured that sharing this information on Facebook could potentially help other families and raise awareness on the dangers of ticks this season.
According to the Center for Disease Control, ticks become more active during the months of April till September.
To avoid getting bitten by ticks, you and your children should steer clear of bushy areas or wooded areas, especially those where leaf litter and tall grass is abundant.
This doesn’t mean you need to cancel your hiking trips, of course – just say on marked trails and don’t deviate too far off to the size of them.
You should also use insect repellent on the skin and clothing of yourself and your family.
The best kinds to use for the best tick safety are those that have 20% more Picaridin, DEET, or IR3535.
Be sure to avoid the eyes, mouth, and hands of your kids when putting these repellents on.
If you need to remove any ticks that have latched onto your child, take a tweezer and use it to grasp the body of the tick as close to the skin as possible.
Be patient as you put consistent pressure and pull upwards without jerking or twisting to detach them. You should then drop the tick into rubbing alcohol and give the bite a clean with water and soap.
Note that even smaller, immature ticks can be dangerous – especially as these have a higher risk of carrying Lyme disease.
Be safe this summer, and stay alert!