A Guide to Preventing Lyme Disease in the Great Outdoors
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by bacteria primarily transmitted by tick bites. There are many different types of ticks and many different strains of Lyme. The smallest "nymph" ticks (many the size of a poppy seed) are the most concerning, as they are almost invisible to the naked eye and often leave an undetectable bite.
Lyme is the fastest-growing infectious disease in the United States, 1.5 times more common than breast cancer and six times more common than HIV. Lyme disease is prevalent across the entire country, with cases in all 50 states. The Center for Disease Control acknowledges at least 300,000 new cases of Lyme each year, or 824 per day, over 200 of which are children. That's four school buses of children newly diagnosed with Lyme every day.
Read the full article by Phyllis Bedford on Outdoor Project's website here.
May 5, 2022
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LIFE OUTDOORS
MEDIA MENTIONS
Of all the creepy crawlers, ticks keep me on high alert. They can be very tiny in the nymph stage and difficult to see. They love to hang out in tall grasses along the trail and hitch a ride on hikers passing by. I plan on treating most of my clothes and gear with Sawyer Permethrin.
MEDIA MENTIONS
Ultra-compact and lightweight
MEDIA MENTIONS
I would often just drink directly from the sawyer squeeze if I was feeling lazy- which by the way works wonderfully.
