Camping and Hiking Trips: Tick Bite and Lyme Disease Prevention in Brampton

Not every trip involves a passport. As the weather warms, many Brampton families head north to cottage country, pitch tents in provincial parks, hike along the Bruce Trail, or explore conservation areas closer to home. Those trips bring fresh air, exercise and time together, and they also bring a small but growing health concern: ticks.

Blacklegged ticks, sometimes called deer ticks, can carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Over the past couple of decades, the areas of Ontario where these ticks are established have expanded, and Lyme disease has become more common in the province. Ticks can also be found in wooded and grassy areas well beyond the main risk zones, because birds and animals carry them around.

The good news is that simple steps greatly reduce your risk, and prompt removal of a tick lowers the chance of infection. This guide explains how to prevent bites, check for ticks, and when to seek help. At Wellness Point Pharmacy, 115 Dufay Road, pharmacists offer tick bite assessments and Lyme disease prevention when appropriate.

Where and when ticks are active

Blacklegged ticks live in wooded areas, leaf litter, tall grass and brush, especially along the edges of trails. They do not jump or fly. Instead, they wait on vegetation and climb onto people or animals who brush past.

In Ontario, ticks are most active from spring through fall, but they can be active any time the temperature is above freezing, including mild days in winter. Young ticks, called nymphs, are tiny, about the size of a poppy seed, and are most active in late spring and summer. Because they are so small, they are easy to miss.

Public Health Ontario publishes an estimated risk area map each year showing where blacklegged tick populations are known to be established. You can find Lyme disease information on the Government of Canada’s Lyme disease page, and Peel Public Health shares local updates on its website.

Dress and prepare for the trail

Before you head out:

• wear light-coloured clothing so ticks are easier to spot
• choose long sleeves and long trousers, and tuck your shirt into your trousers and your trousers into your socks
• wear closed-toe shoes rather than sandals
• use an insect repellent containing an ingredient effective against ticks, such as DEET or icaridin, following the label directions
• consider clothing treated with permethrin for longer outdoor trips

Ask the pharmacist which repellent products are suitable for your family, particularly for young children, and how often to reapply.

On the trail and at the campsite

Stay in the centre of trails, avoid brushing against long grass and bushes, and do not sit directly on the ground or on logs in wooded areas. At the campsite, set up tents away from tall grass and leaf piles. Keep gear off the ground when you can.

Pets can bring ticks back into tents, cottages and cars. Talk to your veterinarian about tick prevention for dogs, and check them after outdoor time. When you pack up at the end of a trip, give tents, backpacks and blankets a good shake and inspection before loading them into the car, so you do not bring unwanted passengers home to Brampton.

The daily tick check

A full-body tick check is one of the most effective ways to prevent Lyme disease, because the risk of infection is much lower when a tick is removed quickly. Do a check every day after spending time outdoors in areas where ticks may live, and check children and pets too.

Look carefully at:

• the scalp and hairline
• behind and in the ears
• the neck and armpits
• the belly button and waistband
• the groin and behind the knees
• between the toes

Showering soon after coming indoors can help you find ticks that have not yet attached. Use a mirror or ask a family member to check places you cannot see. Putting clothing in a hot dryer for a while can kill ticks that may be hiding on fabric.

How to remove a tick safely

If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove it as soon as possible:

1. Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool.
2. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.
3. Pull upward slowly and steadily, without twisting or crushing it.
4. Clean the bite area and your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer.

Avoid folk remedies such as burning the tick, covering it with petroleum jelly or nail polish, or squeezing its body. These can irritate the tick and do not help.

Place the tick in a sealed container or bag. Note the date and where you think you picked it up. You can take a photo of it and, in Ontario, tick identification services such as eTick allow you to submit a photo for identification. This information can help a health care provider assess your risk.

When to ask a pharmacist about prevention

After a tick bite, preventive antibiotic treatment may be appropriate in some situations, depending on factors such as the type of tick, where the bite happened, how long the tick was likely attached, and how much time has passed since it was removed. In Ontario, pharmacists can assess tick bites and, when criteria are met, prescribe preventive treatment.

If you have been bitten, contact the pharmacy promptly and bring the tick if you have it, along with details of where and when you were bitten. The pharmacist will assess whether preventive treatment is appropriate or whether you should see a physician. Timing matters, so do not wait several days to ask.

Symptoms to watch for afterwards

Even with prompt removal, keep an eye on your health for about a month after a tick bite. Early symptoms of Lyme disease can appear between three days and a month after the bite and may include:

• a red rash that often expands over days, sometimes looking like a bull’s-eye, at or near the bite site
• fever and chills
• fatigue
• headache
• muscle and joint aches
• swollen lymph nodes

Not everyone gets the classic rash, and it may be harder to see on darker skin tones. If you develop any of these symptoms after a known or possible tick bite, see a health care provider and mention the bite. Untreated Lyme disease can spread and affect joints, the heart and the nervous system, but it is treatable with antibiotics, especially when caught early.

Keeping children safe outdoors

Children are more likely than adults to roll in the grass, explore under bushes and sit on the forest floor, which makes them more likely to pick up ticks. They are also less likely to notice or mention a small bump. Make tick checks part of the evening routine on camping trips, the same way you brush teeth, and pay particular attention to the hairline, behind the ears and along the waistband.

Teach older children what a tick looks like and ask them to tell an adult if they find one, without trying to pull it off themselves. Choose a repellent suitable for your child’s age, apply it yourself rather than letting young children handle it, and avoid their hands and face. If a child is bitten, the same rules apply: remove the tick promptly, save it, and contact a pharmacist or physician for advice.

Ticks closer to home

You do not need to travel far to encounter ticks. They can be found in wooded ravines, conservation areas and overgrown edges of parks in and around the Greater Toronto Area, and occasionally in backyards that border natural areas. Keep grass short, clear leaf litter and brush from the edges of your yard, and place play equipment away from wooded borders. After a walk along a ravine trail or a day of gardening near brush, a quick tick check is a sensible habit.

Taking precautions further afield

Ticks are not only an Ontario issue. Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections occur in other provinces, the northeastern United States, Europe and parts of Asia. If your summer plans include hiking abroad, mention it at a travel consultation. The Travel Health Clinic can review tick-borne and other risks for your destination, and you can read our article on building a travel medicine kit for packing ideas, including a tick-removal tool.

Talk to Wellness Point before and after your outdoor trips

Ticks should not keep you from enjoying Ontario’s trails and parks. Pack repellent, dress for the trail, check yourself daily, and know what to do if you find a tick. If you are bitten, the pharmacy can help you decide on the next step quickly.

Reach Wellness Point Pharmacy at 115 Dufay Road, Brampton, ON L7A 0B5 by calling (905) 843-7155. Use the contact page for directions or the booking page to request an assessment. If you have found an attached tick, call as soon as you can, and bring the tick with you if possible.

This article provides general information on tick bite prevention. If you have been bitten by a tick or have symptoms after outdoor activity, consult a pharmacist or physician promptly for individual advice.