| Title: | Naturism |
| Notice: | Site report index is in topic 7 |
| Moderator: | GENRAL::KILGORE |
| Created: | Tue Jan 26 1988 |
| Last Modified: | Thu May 08 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 457 |
| Total number of notes: | 3687 |
The majority of this report on ticks came from the June 1988 issue of SELF
magazine.
Beware of ticks -- summer is prime time for these little bugs. They habitat
in woods and grassy meadows and just wait for humans and pets to pass by so
they can latch on for a free meal...someone's blood.
Ticks don't cause disease but they do carry them, including painful, hard-to-
cure Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), which can be fatal.
4 New York city residents came down with RMSF and one died. 50% of the reported
cases now occur along the eastern seaboard, particularly in the south Atlantic
states.
Ticks are hard- or soft-bodied; eight-legged; and may be plumper than a
chocolate-covered raisin (after feeding) or no bigger than this "o" [the print
in the magazine is smaller than "this o"]. They become disease transmitters
via the pass-along route. Baby ticks -- larvae -- can pick up disease microbes
from a parent, just as human babies whose mothers have AIDS may be born with
the virus. Or teenage ticks ("nymphs") get the virus or bacteria duing a meal
on a "host". Depending on the ticks, the hosts might be -- among others --
mice, dogs, rabbits, wild rodents or deer.
Once infected, a nymph or full-grown tick who hops on a human can deliver its
cargo directly to the bloodstream at mealtime. The transfer isn't instantaneous
but the pass-alongs odds go up the longer a tick is attached. Good reason to
check for and remove these critters fast.
How to void Becoming a Tick's Meal:
o On hikes, walks, jogs, keep to the middle of trails and roads.
o Wear a long-sleeved shirt tucked into long pants, tuck pants into socks and
cover a common tick hideout -- your hair -- with a head-hugging cap. [This I
can tell is going over like a lead ballon! how the h*ll is a naturist going
to do this? Well, read on for 3 more bullets. jk]
o Opt for tightly, woven, slippery fabics -- nylon is ideal -- rather than
denim or sweats, so ticks can't grab hold.
o Use a skin-safe insect repellent containing DEET (diethyltoluamide), found
in Deep Woods Off and 6-12, among other brands. Or spray **just** on
clothing the tick-killer permethrin (in Permanone, available in hardware
stores). A 30-second spray lasts all day.
o Hike or walk with a buddy, and spot check each other frequently for ticks.
[My hiking buddy and I thoroughly check each other out for ticks again
after our hike is over. This is when we usually find the little buggers!]
Ways to Remove Ticks:
Do NOT use the following: "suffocating" a tick in nail polish, petroleum jelly
or alcohol; heating it with a match; soaking it in nail-polish remover or
gasoline. None of these methods is wise, though, since they allow the tick to
remain on the skin and are all likely to force the tick's stomach contents
into your bloodstream. If the tick **is** infected, you magnify your chances
of picking up a disease.
Instead, most experts agree that the best way to safely remove a tick is to
use a fine-tipped tweezers to grab hold of the tick as close as possible to
its mouthparts -- the "feeders" actually stuck into your skin. Since a tick
usually hangs on stubbornly, you may have to dig a bit into your skin to get a
good grip. Then gently but firmly pull it **straight** out, without twisting,
to make sure you get the mouthparts. Left in, these may cause infection.
Wash the bite site and your hands thoroughly afterward. Keep an eye on the
bitten spot for any signs of infection or rash, and see your doctor if you
develop flulike symptoms within a few days or even weeks.
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83.1 | don't go overboard | EXIT26::SOULE | ASMOP | Mon Jul 11 1988 17:59 | 20 |
I traveled to North Carolina a few years back; the state
with the dubious honor of having the highest incidence
of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (so why is it Rocky
Mountain?). I seem to recall from several articles that
the state makes sure that tourists see, it stated that
only 25% of the ticks are infected and that the tick had
to be attached to you, not just crawling around, for at
least 4 hours.
Now maybe that was the state Chamber of Commerce trying
to keep from losing business, but at least it was reassuring
to know that if you paid attention, you probably aren't
going to have a problem.
On the other hand, when we first arrived at our friends house,
walked to 30 feet of "lawn" (long grass), I found 2 ticks on
me right away. you just have to pay attention.
Without clothes, they should be fairly easy to spot, except
for in the hair.
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| 83.2 | Deer ticks avoid nudists | MRKTNG::GOLDMAN | With hope, good morning | Wed Jan 27 1993 16:55 | 41 |
CHICAGO (UPI) -- Deer ticks, which transmit Lyme disease, seem to prefer biting people wearing clothes, a Connecticut doctor reported Tuesday. In a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Henry Feder Jr. of the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn., said he found that among more than 300 people at a nudist camp, the only deer tick bites were reported by persons who were wearing clothes. ``What was surprising was that deer tick bites were very unusual occurrences at the camp,'' Feder said. ``This was not because nudists could not identify deer tick bites, as many of the nudists reported deer tick bites that occurred at their permanent homes.'' Experts generally recommend that people wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants in deer tick areas to deter bites. However, Feder said the deer ticks actually apparently prefer to get underneath clothing, such as under long pants not tucked into socks. Only one case of Lyme disease-associated symptoms had been identified by doctors treating the nudists, Feder said, even though the camp was in the deer tick's ideal environment. ``One explanation is that although deer are present, deer ticks are not yet established. A second explanation is that deer ticks do not like nudists, as ticks prefer to do their biting under cover,'' he said. A more formal study was being planned, he said. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that initially often causes a rash and flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue and aches. These symptoms may be followed weeks or months later by neurologic, heart or joint abnormalities. The disease was first recognized in 1975 in Lyme, Conn., but has been identified in at least 43 states and in other countries. % ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ====== % Received: by enet-gw.pa.dec.com; id AA29968; Wed, 27 Jan 93 07:17:53 -0800 % Received: from tsavo.hks.com ([192.101.199.210]) by argo.hks.com with SMTP id <2144>; Wed, 27 Jan 1993 10:17:37 -0500 % Received: by tsavo.hks.com (5.57/Ultrix3.0-C) id AA04048; Wed, 27 Jan 93 10:17:13 -050 % Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 10:17:13 -0500 % From: webb@tsavo.hks.com (Peter Webb) % Message-Id: <9301271517.AA04048@tsavo.hks.com> % To: shermer@bree.nlm.nih.gov, brian_calvert@cadsun.corp.mot.com, coconnel@athena.cair.du.edu, rdm@cs.utexas.edu, webb@sgihbtn.sierra.com, mrktng::goldman, select::zinger, js@ileaf.com, pclark@gsb-lira.stanford.edu, libby@linc.cis.upenn.edu, nelson@berlioz.nsc.com, olson@hsph.harvard.edu, ralph_h@edc.org, kalman@ncsa.uiuc.edu, koziol@ncsa.uiuc.edu, ebina@ncsa.uiuc.edu, lkay@northeastern.edu, andreab@e % Subject: [pwebb@ncsa.uiuc.edu: Report: Deer ticks avoid nudists] | |||||