We live in Mississippi where it really doesn’t get cold enough long enough to have ticks go dormant. And we live with a big wooded area behind our house and street. And I have boys! So you know they love to be outside and exploring in the sticks and trees. Last weekend it was really nice outside so they were out a lot.
Saturday night after they had played outside most of the day and it was time to come in for the evening, we were sure to check both kids for ticks after their showers. I was in charge of our older one and David was in charge of our younger. We were in a hurry to get to family movie night, which we were all looking forward to. So when Andrew got out of the shower I checked him over for any sign of a tick. I had had two on me over a year ago and they creep me out. I will admit I looked him over quickly but perhaps not thoroughly enough…
The next day after church we were outside our church talking with friends when Andrew felt something on the back of his head. He showed it to my husband and sure enough, he had a tick trying to bury itself into my boy’s skull. Ewww! We said our good byes to our friends and headed home quickly to pull it out with tweezers. we got it all. It looked like a lone star tick to me. Deer ticks are the ones that usually carry Lyme so that was a relief. It was also pretty small. The bigger the tick the more cause for concern. Note: if you have a tick be sure to completely destroy the little bugger so it doesn’t find it’s way back and bug you!
I cleaned the area with Basic H2 really well, which is a safe and natural cleaning product that cleans so well bacteria cannot grow. Then we started increasing Andrew’s immune supplements to help build his health in case of infection. We have been using Vita C, Garlic, Nutriferon and Optiflora probiotic in addition to his typical children’s vitamins. It has been a few days and I continue to give Andrew these plus we inspect him for the bullseye daily, which would be an indication we need to take him to the doctor. We also have been watching for fever and nausea. So far he’s been doing great!
Note: We choose to use Shaklee’s supplements and products because of the proven absorption and the high pharmaceutical standards Shaklee holds to. This is not typical in the supplement industry. These products work very well for keeping my family healthy, and has helped Andrew’s immune system in this incident as well.
I learned my lesson that even in January, I should be more diligent for looking for ticks on my family, which includes my dogs. Catching it early, increasing good immune boosters and treating medically if necessary is really important. Oh, and don’t panic! If you can save the tick in a sealed container, your doctor should be able to test if it carries disease and treat if necessary.
Do you have issues with ticks in your area? Have you or someone you know been treated for tick disease?
Leave a Reply