Concerns Associated with Advocacy of Lyme Disease

• Antiscience and ethical concerns associated with advocacy of Lyme disease.

Let's Target Lyme! Ministry of Health Campaign

How to Avoid Ticks...

• Wear light coloured clothing, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes. Tuck your pants into your socks.

• Avoid walking in the long grass.

• Use an insect repellent with DEET.

• Check yourself each day for ticks (include armpits, groin, scalp and the back of your body).

• Protect your pets, check them for ticks, and discuss prevention with their vet.

Click on the images below to enlarge them.
	How to Recognize a Tick
	Black Legged Tick Lone Star Tick Dog Tick Image showing appearance and relative sizes of adult male and female, nymph and larval ticks.

If You Spot a Tick on Yourself...

• Don’t squeeze the tick or try to burn it off or put anything on it.

• Grasp the tick by the head as close to your skin as possible.

• Pull it straightout, gently but firmly. Use tweezers if possible.

• Disinfect the bite with rubbing alcohol.

• Save the tick in a jar and contact the Health Unit to have it identified and tested.

• Only ticks removed from humans will be accepted by the Health Unit for further analysis.
  
  
• Questions and Answers About My Tick Submission

Lyme Disease and Ticks...

• Lyme disease is caused by the bite of a black legged tick infected with the bacteria.

• A red rash may appear within 3 days to several weeks following the bite, a bulls-eye rash may be present in the area of the bite. You may also have a fever with the rash.

• Symptoms of the disease may include fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint pain. These may disappear within 10 days. But if left untreated, Lyme disease can progress and affect the nervous system, joints and the heart.

• Consult your doctor if you have been bitten by a tick. Keep the tick for identification and testing.

The tick responsible for the spread of Lyme disease is now found in some locations of the 1000 Islands region of Eastern Ontario and in the Eastern seaboard of the USA and New York State as well as Long Point and Point Pelee areas of Ontario.

Tick Submission Forms

• Submission Form for Tick Identification (Health Canada)