Spring means tick time in Kamloops.

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As the weather warms up and people are getting out to enjoy the scenery, Interior Health has advice for dealing with tick bites.

Ticks are tiny bugs that bite, feed on blood, and carry diseases. They usually like to live in tall grass or wooded areas.

Interior Health has some precautionary measures for people and pets who like to get out in nature, according to a news release. 

"There are easy things you can do to protect yourself from ticks, such as covering up before you head outdoors and checking for ticks when returning from a walk, hike or bike ride," Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Fatemeh Sabet said in the release. “Most tick bites do not result in illness. However, any bite from a tick should be cleaned because infection can occur whenever there is a break in the skin.”

Ticks have toxins that can cause temporary muscle weakness and even paralysis if they are attached for several days. Children and seniors are especially susceptible to tick toxins, but the symptoms go away after the tick is removed from the skin.

Interior Health said one of the best ways to reduce the risk of tick borne illnesses is to do a skin check on yourself, your children, and pets after being outdoors.

Here are some other tips from Interior Health; walk on cleared trails in tall grass or wooded areas, wear a hat, long sleeves, pants, and light coloured clothing, use bug repellent with DEET on uncovered skin, check clothing and scalp for ticks.

READ MORE: Kamloops woman finds tick on her cat

When removing ticks use gloves and avoid crushing the tick because it could inject the stomach contents into the skin. 

Interior Health said to use needle-nose tweezers and gently grasp the tick close to the skin, and pull straight out without squeezing to remove the pests. After the tick is out clean the area with soap and water, and if you find one tick check carefully for others.

There is a free identification platform called eTick that can identify ticks in a photo and then provide information about whether the tick is likely to spread disease or whether further steps are needed.

Most ticks in the Interior Health region don’t carry the Lyme disease bacteria, but they can spread other diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Ticks that spread Lyme disease are more commonly found in the coastal areas of B.C.

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