6 ms·

We are epically screwed if our only defense against this is "wear long sleeves and pants" and "try insect repellent"

by nyxtom 8y ago

Alex3917 8y ago
- All clothes that you wear into the woods should be treated with permethrin. (Don't apply DEET, because mixing permethrin with DEET is neurotoxic.) - Pants should always be tucked into socks. - Wear light-colored clothing so that ticks are easier to see before they get onto your skin. - Wear something like boxer briefs where there is tight elastic on both the wasteband and thighs. - If you get a tick in a certain park, never go back to that park. The distribution of ticks is highly uneven, so this is surprisingly effective. - Always check yourself in the mirror as soon as you get home, and then immediately take a shower and make sure you check every square inch of your body. - Any clothes you wore into the woods should either go into the laundry, or else be stored in a sealed container so that any ticks on your clothing can't start running around your bedroom. Tickborne illnesses are extremely serious, difficult or impossible to diagnose, and often deadly. But if you always follow these basic steps then you can eliminate the vast majority of the risk. Scientists used to believe that it took 24 hours after getting bitten to transmit tickborne illnesses, but this is no longer the case. When in doubt just do the 21 days of doxycycline, although obviously this isn't something you ever want to have to do. (Some tickborne illnesses aren't treatable with doxycycline, but this is a good starting point absent other specific symptoms.)
- jpm_sd 8y ago
  > mixing permethrin with DEET is neurotoxic [citation needed] - I haven't been able to find anything that says this is any /more/ dangerous than either chemical on its own Somewhat relevant, but involving other chemicals: http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-17/news/mn-59595_1_gulf-war http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-17/news/mn-59595_1_gulf-... https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/syndrome/abou.html https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/syndrome/abou....
  - Alex3917 8y ago
    A couple animal studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8637057 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8637057 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513590/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513590/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15287390490273569 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1528739049027356...
- analogmemory 8y ago
  This is almost enough to make me stop hiking. :(
  - Alex3917 8y ago
    Don't stop hiking, just don't go more often than you're willing to take adequate precautions. That's probably roughly the point of diminishing returns anyway in terms of utility.
  - maxerickson 8y ago
    I guess if you aren't in a Lyme disease area or pregnant or medically compromised, it isn't that big a deal. For healthy adults, stuff like Zika and West Nile pose a small risk of serious infection or complications.
- s0rce 8y ago
  If I can't go anywhere where I've seen a tick basically everywhere around the Bay area is no longer available for hiking. Not really sure that's a reasonable precaution. Also little gaiters I find are better than tucking in your pants.
  - Alex3917 8y ago
    Interesting. In Fairfield County and Westchester, there are lots of parks where I've spent dozens of hours in the woods without ever seeing a tick, and others where I've seen several the first time I've gone. And I'm usually mushroom hunting, so off trail and rubbing against lots of bushes.
- freeflight 8y ago
  Not to belittle your advice, which is probably very good advice. But it's kinda weird when going outside requires a response protocol like an ABC attack just happened. Tho you have a point, ticks get in the unlikeliest places: One time I had a tick on the inside of my wrist, right under the watch I was wearing. Which wasn't a good place for the tick, it was crushed dead between the wrist/my watch and simply fell off after I took off the watch.
  - inteleng 8y ago
    I had the exact same thing happen while weeding. Move my hands up, feel something move under my watch, lift it up - dog tick.
- saalweachter 8y ago
  Two precautions I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of are regularly hosing my outdoor boots down with repellant (most ticks are coming up from the ground and for short walks your boots are your only ground contact) and leaf-blowing trails (ticks prefer leaves).

We are epically screwed if our only defense against this is "wear long sleeves and pants" and "try insect repellent"

by nyxtom 8y ago

We are epically screwed if our only defense against this is "wear long sleeves and pants" and "try insect repellent"

- All clothes that you wear into the woods should be treated with permethrin. (Don't apply DEET, because mixing permethrin with DEET is neurotoxic.) - Pants should always be tucked into socks. - Wear light-colored clothing so that ticks are easier to see before they get onto your skin. - Wear something like boxer briefs where there is tight elastic on both the wasteband and thighs. - If you get a tick in a certain park, never go back to that park. The distribution of ticks is highly uneven, so this is surprisingly effective. - Always check yourself in the mirror as soon as you get home, and then immediately take a shower and make sure you check every square inch of your body. - Any clothes you wore into the woods should either go into the laundry, or else be stored in a sealed container so that any ticks on your clothing can't start running around your bedroom. Tickborne illnesses are extremely serious, difficult or impossible to diagnose, and often deadly. But if you always follow these basic steps then you can eliminate the vast majority of the risk. Scientists used to believe that it took 24 hours after getting bitten to transmit tickborne illnesses, but this is no longer the case. When in doubt just do the 21 days of doxycycline, although obviously this isn't something you ever want to have to do. (Some tickborne illnesses aren't treatable with doxycycline, but this is a good starting point absent other specific symptoms.)

jpm_sd 8y ago
> mixing permethrin with DEET is neurotoxic [citation needed] - I haven't been able to find anything that says this is any /more/ dangerous than either chemical on its own Somewhat relevant, but involving other chemicals: http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-17/news/mn-59595_1_gulf-war http://articles.latimes.com/1996-04-17/news/mn-59595_1_gulf-... https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/syndrome/abou.html https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/syndrome/abou....
- Alex3917 8y ago
  A couple animal studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8637057 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8637057 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513590/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3513590/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15287390490273569 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1528739049027356...
analogmemory 8y ago
This is almost enough to make me stop hiking. :(
- Alex3917 8y ago
  Don't stop hiking, just don't go more often than you're willing to take adequate precautions. That's probably roughly the point of diminishing returns anyway in terms of utility.
- maxerickson 8y ago
  I guess if you aren't in a Lyme disease area or pregnant or medically compromised, it isn't that big a deal. For healthy adults, stuff like Zika and West Nile pose a small risk of serious infection or complications.
s0rce 8y ago
If I can't go anywhere where I've seen a tick basically everywhere around the Bay area is no longer available for hiking. Not really sure that's a reasonable precaution. Also little gaiters I find are better than tucking in your pants.
- Alex3917 8y ago
  Interesting. In Fairfield County and Westchester, there are lots of parks where I've spent dozens of hours in the woods without ever seeing a tick, and others where I've seen several the first time I've gone. And I'm usually mushroom hunting, so off trail and rubbing against lots of bushes.
freeflight 8y ago
Not to belittle your advice, which is probably very good advice. But it's kinda weird when going outside requires a response protocol like an ABC attack just happened. Tho you have a point, ticks get in the unlikeliest places: One time I had a tick on the inside of my wrist, right under the watch I was wearing. Which wasn't a good place for the tick, it was crushed dead between the wrist/my watch and simply fell off after I took off the watch.
- inteleng 8y ago
  I had the exact same thing happen while weeding. Move my hands up, feel something move under my watch, lift it up - dog tick.
saalweachter 8y ago
Two precautions I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of are regularly hosing my outdoor boots down with repellant (most ticks are coming up from the ground and for short walks your boots are your only ground contact) and leaf-blowing trails (ticks prefer leaves).