Take care the next time you take a walk through the woods. Or through your yard, for that matter. An acquaintance's child was recently diagnosed with lyme disease. Normally that would just be a reminder to the rest of us to be careful. But this story is a little different; this child has not spent any time recently in any of the risk areas identified by the CDC. As far as she can tell, the tick came from right here in Lincoln. That's something worth thinking about.
In an odd coincidence, shortly after my dad heard about the child he discovered a tick on himself. Fortunately it was not yet embedded. The tick likely came either from the Abbott Sports Complex or from my father's own yard. Neither matches most notions of ideal tick habitat.
The grassy and wooded areas near Beal Slough, on the other hand, do strike me as prime tick habitat. Daisy and I walk along the creek all the time. You can bet I'll be checking both her and I for ticks after our walks from now on.
If you do happen to find a tick on yourself, remove it immediately and make a note of when you removed it, and when and where you may have acquired it. If you become ill shortly thereafter, that information will help your physician determine whether or not the tick caused the illness.
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