Craghoppers insect-repellant clothing is one possible answer to growing tick-borne disease issues.
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.
