In the last couple weeks I have several friends who have had bad outdoor experiences. This includes one child with lime disease, a parent with lime disease, and a child with poison ivy. As many families try to get in one last fun summer experience before school starts, I decided today's post would be short and practical, with helpful information - emphasizing key aspects of some of my earlier summer nature posts - in hopes that everyone can safely enjoy their time outdoors.
Knowledge is power. It is important to introduce children to the concept of outdoor hazards. You can find my nature hazard post from earlier this summer here https://ivyartz.com/blog/blogpost.php?permalink=nature-and-safety-
The goal is for your child (and you) to learn what is safe and what is not and to feel confident in exploring outside. Start by teaching your child to identify possible hazards in your area from plants and animals to slippery or steep paths.
This post will briefly cover tick basics and poison ivy identification. If you are not familiar with Poison Ivy here is a link to an site with plenty of pictures, advice and safety pamphlets. http://www.poison-ivy.org
If you or your child has touched Poison Ivy you have a limited time to remove the oil from your skin before an allergic reaction may take place, generally under 10 minutes. You want to rinse the skin with cool water. Some people use rubbing alcohol. If you use soap, use something like Dawn dish detergent that breaks down oils is best. Many hand soaps contain oils which can spread the poison ivy oil so stay away from those!
You can find excellent information about ticks and tick carried diseases here https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/index.html
Their information on the actual tick removal is dated, they suggest tweezers which is what you should use if that is all you have. If you are going to be outside I suggest you get a tick key. They allow easy removal of ticks without squeezing them like tweezers do. You don't want to squeeze the tick as you pull it off as that forces tick saliva into the host. Tick keys remove ticks completely without squeezing and can be found at http://www.tickkey.com You can also find them on Amazon.
Ticks and Poison Ivy are around for 3 or 4 seasons depending where you live so know what you are looking for and be prepared. That way you can enjoy your time in the great outdoors.
