You may have seen the vaccine commercial that says “shingles doesn’t care” about the active, healthy life you lead. Well, neither do ticks. As a Lyme disease survivor, I am fortunately here to say, a tick can take you down, and might if it gets the chance, with Lyme or a host (tick pun) of other illnesses.

Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention’s Division of Disease Surveillance has a load of information at https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/tick-messaging.shtml to educate us all on the four-letter word I believe I have previously noted is made up mostly of “ick.”

The site includes tick-avoidance and tick-finding tips, concise enough to share here, and timely as spring is getting the winter-weary among us outdoors more:

• Wear EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)-approved repellents. 
• Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter.
• Walk in the center of trails.
• Wear long-sleeved, light-colored clothing. 
• Tuck your pant legs into your socks and your shirt into your pants.
• Check your clothing and gear for ticks and do a full-body tick check when coming back indoors. Pay special attention to under the arms, behind the knees, between the legs, in and around the ears, in the belly button, around the waist, and in the hair.
• Take a shower within two hours after spending time outdoors, which will wash off any unattached ticks. 

Heard it all before? So had I. The tick didn’t care. And ah yes, I had shingles as a child. And I can tell, if you are interested, or not, the commercial is right about shingles not caring.

Week’s positive parting thought: Have a tick-conscious and otherwise safety-minded spring.