Enjoy a relatively biteproof summer by following a few simple rules on dealing with mosquitoes and ticks.

Enjoy a relatively biteproof summer by following a few simple rules on dealing with mosquitoes and ticks.
The emergence of West Nile virus, which is carried by mosquitoes, has focused attention on how to avoid such arthropod-borne diseases. Dermatologist Dr Dirk Elston of Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, US, offers some useful tips for dealing with this issue.

West Nile virus, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are the main threat from arthropods in several states. To avoid them - and they can be life-threatening - you must do all you can to avoid mosquito and tick bites. The risk from a bite may be small - only one per cent of mosquitoes carry West Nile virus, for instance, and only one per cent of those bitten by these bugs get infected. But it's best to be safe.

If you are in an area where you know there are mosquitoes or ticks, wear long sleeves and pants outdoors. Stay indoors if you can at dawn and dusk, when the bugs are most active. Remove standing water in yards and clear clogged gutters - both are breeding grounds.

Use insect repellent containing either permethrin or DEET. The former is applied to clothes, the latter to skin. When walking in the woods, stick to marked paths and walk in the middle to avoid ticks. If you are bitten, remove the tick carefully with tweezers and never squeeze it. Itchy bites can be treated with cortisone products. And if you develop symptoms after a bite such as fever, headache, dizziness or fatigue, seek medical help.

Source

American Academy of Dermatology Meeting 28th July 2003