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It’s spring time with summer around the corner, and if you plan on getting out into the bush or into the mountains, then it’s important you know how to spot ticks and remove them, or prevent them from getting onto you in the first place.
Because their bite can potentially carry harmful bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, Spotted Fever, and a series of other illnesses.
This doesn’t mean you need to be scared at all. Far from it.
It just means that you need to be informed.
You need to know what they look like, where to look for them, and what to do if you find one.
Or, better yet, how to prevent them from getting onto you in the first place so you can have a safe adventure and enjoy the outdoors without worry.
Ticks are small arachnids (in the same family as spiders) that can be found all over the world, usually in outdoor areas with grass, brush, or woods.
In the Australia we have several different species in different places:
These are just a few examples, but you get the idea of what they can do and why we need to take precautions to enjoy our time outdoors without issue.
Ticks can't fly or jump, instead they do something called “questing” to find someone to latch onto.
They’ll climb to the top of a blade of grass, or a leaf, and extend their front legs. Then, when an animal or person brushes against that blade of grass or leaf, it quickly climbs onto the them.
Once on you they tend toward certain areas on the body, such as the groin, scalp, and armpits, which are warm, moist, and well protected.
But even so, they can attach anywhere on the body, often in hard-to-see areas.
On pets they generally go to the armpits, elbows or hind legs. Though again, they can go anywhere.
How you check for them is simple.
And, while you can do some of this checking before coming home, the rest must be done once you get home.
Now, ticks are oval-shaped, somewhat flat, wingless, and have eight legs. Adults are about the size of an apple seed, while nymphs (young ticks) are about the size of a poppy seed. They can be brown, reddish-brown, or black.
But they’re small, so you have to look closely.
Do this:
Thoroughly check your entire body for ticks. Use a full-length mirror to do this so you don’t miss anything.
Be sure to check these parts of your body, your child's body, and any pets you have:
And, again, finish it up with a full length mirror examining your whole body to be sure.
If you find a tick attached to your skin, don't panic. The key is to remove the tick as soon as possible, but to do so gently and completely.
Do this:
If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor.
And be sure to tell them when the bite occurred, what the tick looked like, and where you most likely acquired the tick. This is so they can more easily identify what type of tick it is and know what to test for.
Tick bites are generally only dangerous if not addressed soon after, so don’t get worried, just go see your doctor.
Of course the best course of action is just to work to prevent ticks from getting on you in the first place.
And it’s pretty simple:
Ticks are part of life and you're bound to run into them at some point. But they’re no reason to not get out, go hiking or walking through the forest, or have a good time.
Be smart about it and apply the above and you should be just fine.
I hope this helps.
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We know about amino acids, hormones, and how different foods affect our ability to build lean muscle, burn fat and stay healthy.
But if we want to achieve maximum levels of energy, recovery, health and performance, and build the most lean muscle, then we need to go down to the cellular level.
After all, our bodies are just one big mass of some 100 trillion cells all bonded together.
How well we're doing is an exact reflection of how well our cells are doing.
And they require a multitude of nutrients and biochemicals, all held in equilibrium, to ensure they can work properly, produce energy, build muscle, and keep our body going.
When these aren't properly balanced we can get headaches, brain fog, low levels of energy, muscle cramps, slower recoveries from workouts, and imbalances in hormones.
But when everything is in place, we have the most powerful you that you can be.
So let’s see how this works.
While Heart Rate measures the amount of beats per minute of your heart, and Resting Heart Rate measures the amount of beats per minute when your body is at rest (not active), Heart Rate Variability measures the natural variation in time between beats.
When we measure heart rate (how many beats per minute), we’re getting a large picture of how the heart is doing. For example, if we’re running or exercising, our heart speeds up. Then, when we’re resting, it slows down.
Before we cover what actually causes Heart disease, I want to cover something that doesn’t, or at least not in the way most people think: Cholesterol.
You’ve probably heard of the Cholesterol Hypothesis.
This hypothesis states that higher levels of cholesterol, particularly LDL Cholesterol, are associated with higher rates of Heart Disease.
To prevent heart disease then, we take drugs known as statins that lower our liver’s ability to produce cholesterol.
This hypothesis has been so deeply ingrained in our understanding of how the body works, that the idea of challenging it is almost laughable. (Even though it’s still just a hypothesis after all this time.)