As you may know, the prevelance of ticks and the incidence of Lyme disease are a growing concern here in New England. We take the risk of tick bites and the possibility of disease transmission from ticks very seriously and we do everything we can to safely manage that risk.
Facts
Ticks live in all the places we go on expedition. Depending on location and species, ticks can carry various diseases, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. Ticks transmit these diseases through their saliva when they bite a human. The longer the tick is attached, the higher the likelihood for disease transmission When detected early, treatment of tick bites and any related transmissions of disease, are easily managed with routine medical care and antibiotic prescriptions. The two best ways to manage the risk of tick bites are (1) prevention of tick bites and (2) early detection of any potential bite. We are proud to follow the below protocols which we adopted with consult from expert M.D. recommendations and are in alignment with the leading industry standards on preventing and safely managing the risk of tick bites in the wilderness.
What we do to manage the risk
- We avoid traveling through high concentration tick habitats such as grassy fields.
- All programs traveling through tick habitat apply “TICKSHIELD” cedar oil spray at least once a day.
- Students wear appropriate long-sleeve and long-pants clothing to minimize the chance of ticks getting access to bare skin.
- We do thorough tick checks at least twice each a day, depending on the environment. This allows us to drastically lower our risk by preventing them to embed in the first place.
For all ticks found embedded we:
- Extract, keep and label the tick with date and time.
- Rigorously monitor the patient for any signs and symptoms of illness.
- Immediately evacuate for treatment if necessary.
Our philosophy/how we see it
Similar to stormy weather or honeybees, living with the risk of tick bites is an inherent risk when living and traveling outside. We, along with every outdoor education organization throughout the US and the world, safely manage this risk every year.
