There will be a free presentation on “How to Have a Tick-Free Summer” and what to do if you do get a tick bite on Friday, June 14 at 2 p.m. at the Community Center in the Meadow Mall, Boothbay Harbor. The speaker will be Paula Jackson-Jones. Paula is a member of the board of the Boothbay Region Health Center and president of Midcoast Lyme Disease Support & Education. She also serves as co-chair of the Access to Care Services and Patient Support subcommittee of the federal Health & Human Services Tick-borne Disease Working Group. She is also the Maine-partner of the national Lyme Disease Association, a member of Maine’s CDC Vector-borne Workgroup, and active in Maine’s Lyme legislation and helping our Congressional Representatives and Senators push through legislation on the Federal level.

Paula will talk about the current epidemic of tick-borne diseases in Midcoast Maine, which diseases are most prevalent, and why they are so difficult to diagnose correctly. She will explain how to protect yourself when you are out on your lawn, in the woods, or in your garden, (or anywhere, for that matter!). And, why it is so vital not to take shortcuts. We all love to be outdoors in the summer.

If you do find a tick that has begun feasting on you, learn what steps to take. Remove the tick carefully and properly. Save it in a sealed plastic bag. Send it off to be tested to find out what disease(s) you may have been exposed to. If you do have an embedded tick, come get treated right away. Don't risk letting the infection take hold. Once you know what bacteria or virus your tick carried, you can stop treatment (if there were no diseases), or add additional treatments for specific diseases. If you find a bite but don't have the tick, or think you've been exposed, get a blood test from a lab that specializes in tick-borne diseases. The Boothbay Region Health Center uses two such labs. Or, if you find yourself with any of the symptoms of Lyme (or the other tick-borne diseases) come in for a specialized blood test. These are not diseases you want to carry around--they become quite debilitating and are very difficult to diagnose by non Lyme-literate medical providers. The good news is that the Boothbay Region Health Center now has Lyme-literate medical providers who can diagnose and treat tick-borne diseases right here. And, it accepts most health insurance.

This Tick Talk is sponsored by the Boothbay Region Health Center, 185 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, 633-1075.