Tick Disease Boosts Nosquito Clothing...

Craghoppers tells us that its insect-repellent Nosquito clothing is going down a storm in Holland thanks to an increase in the incidence of Lyme disease, carried by ticks, which are also a problem in the UK.

Apparently a medical report shows that cases of the illness in Holland have more than tripled in the last ten years from around 5,000 cases in 1994 to 17,000 in 2005. Numbers of ticks are also rising in the UK and hot spots now include the South Downs, New Forest, Exmoor, Yorkshire Moors and the Scottish Highlands.

Ticks hide in grass, shrubs and tree branches waiting for passing victims which they then latch onto and burrow into in search of a tasty helping of blood. If the tick is infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, it can in turn cause Lyme disease in the victim.

If contracted, a bullseye shaped rash may appear at the bitemark and symptoms can include tiredness, headaches, fevers and muscle pains.

If caught early the disease can be treated with antibiotics but late stage Lyme disease can cause severe headaches, swollen joints, heart problems and short-term memory loss.

Most tick-resistant clothing relies on a dense weave to repel the little blighters, but Nosquito and similar clothes are impregnated against mosquitos and ticks, which makes them far less likely to latch on in the first place.

Note that the best way of removing a tick is using a special tick removal tool which you can buy from vets, pet shops and some outdoor specialists. Don't attempt to remove the tick forcefully as it can leave its mouth parts buried under your skin causing infection and don't smother the tick with vaseline as this can make it regurgitate the contents of its stomach into your bloodstream.

More details of the Craghoppers Nosquito clothing at www.craghoppers.com.