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lyme disease

Lyme disease may be out there A tick carrying Lyme disease has been found in Lions Bay, adding to sites in Squamish, Sechelt and Powell River, the Coast Garibaldi Community Health Services Society warns.

Lyme disease may be out there A tick carrying Lyme disease has been found in Lions Bay, adding to sites in Squamish, Sechelt and Powell River, the Coast Garibaldi Community Health Services Society warns. The disease can be life threatening, advises Dr. Paul Martiquet, medical health officer. You may have the disease if you have a skin rash that looks like a "bull's eye," headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue or weakness of the face muscles. The rash may not be where the tick bite was. Antibiotics are needed to prevent complications of the disease. To protect yourself, walk on cleared trails, wear light coloured clothing, tuck shirts into pants and pant legs into socks. Put insect repellent with DEET onto clothing and on all uncovered skin. Reapply as needed. Check clothing and scalp (covered or not) when leaving an area where ticks may live and examine household pets that venture into tall grasses or wooded areas. To remove a tick, use tweezers or forceps and grab the tick as close to the skin as possible. Don't handle the tick with your hands. Avoid jerking the tick, lift it straight off the skin. Wash tick bites and your hands with soap and water or rubbing alcohol. If possible, save the tick in a tight container, date it, noting the person bitten, where the bite is and where the incident took place. Take the container to the local health unit to test the tick for the disease.