Preventing and treating tick bites and poison ivy Posted: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 at 5:51 PM
Bringing home a good batch of mushrooms might also mean bringing home some unwanted pests like ticks and poison ivy.
We spoke to Dr. Ernie Wallace at Quincy Medical Group.
Dr. Wallace said over the past couple of weeks they've seen 12-20 patients per day for ticks or poison ivy.
He said most larger ticks can be removed safely, but if you leave part of the tick embedded in your skin...it's best to have a doctor remove it.
He also told us even though lyme disease is the first thing folks worry about after a tick bite...it's very rare in the Midwest.
Dr. Wallace said if you contract poison ivy you don't have to worry too much about spreading the rash to your family.
"Contageousnes is a little bit of a myth with poison ivy. The first day or so when the resin is not fully bound to your skin it's possible to get it under you fingernails and spread it early on. But once you're two to three days into that the resin is fairly stuck to the skin...it's not going to spread to another person at that point," Wallace said.
Dr. Wallace said if you feel like you've come in contact with poison ivy you can wash vigorously with soap and water to prevent a rash...but once you have it...all you can do is treat it with anti-itch creams.
If you feel those creams aren't working...especially for severe cases on the face or eye, Dr. Wallace recommends seeking medical treatment for a prescription steroid.
-------------------- **Eat Chocolate** Posts: 942 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
I sent in my comments - lets see if they put in on the page after the "editors" review it.
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
So far they haven't posted my comments. I'm trying to track down this guy's address so I can send him an email, a letter or some info, etc.
I just can't let this go even though I don't live in Illinois.
Did anyone else write a comment?
Please?
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Seems to me midwestern LLMDs and their patients as well as any midwestern support groups could be notified about this article for response.
Posts: 13171 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
mojo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9309
posted
Hey they posted my response and another one.
Write in everyone! We need to set the record straight.
Posts: 1761 | From USA | Registered: May 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks for posting the article and link. I posted a comment yesterday - I hope Dr. Wallace is reading the comments!
Posts: 117 | From Chicago, IL | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic