Prevent tick bites and Lyme disease

Do You Know How to Protect Yourself?

Prevent Tick Bites and Lyme Disesase

In this season there are plenty of unwelcome intruders waiting for us on every step. The main cause is the last winter being too mild and failing to kill them off, and so they multiply and bother us more and more. Luckily, we know just how one can protect oneself from ticks in a natural and effective way.

icks can be found all over forests, fields and meadows. Every year the media tells us about the dangers of the diseases ticks carry in their bite. The only solution offered is vaccination, yet the manufacturers tend to obfuscate the negative side effects that may express themselves after the application of the vaccination. An effective prevention is hard to find. So how do we make ticks avoid us? First and foremost, keep in mind that not even the best recipe will ever be completely tick-proof. Either way, we can certainly lower the risks a tick bite carries into the human body, and by a large measure. T

1/ Make a DIY repellent. Mix beer yeast (if you don’t have it, just use a normal one from the grocery store), fresh garlic and flax oil. Cover the entire body with this mixture, and especially the legs as far as the knees.

2/ If the previous tip seems a bit too much, you can also use a variety of natural means. Some of those entail using repellent herbs like lavender, mint, rosemary or cedar. Any one of these herbs (or a combination of them) can work well in the making of a strong infusion, which can be then used to cover our body before going outside. Once again, this should be used especially on the legs.

An even easier way is to purchase these herbs’ essential oils. A home-made repellent can then be made like this: add 10 drops of lavender, 5 drops of rosemary, 5 drops of cedar and 2 drops of mint essential oils into 1 dl / 3.5 Fl oz quality cold-pressed oil. Mix properly, pour into a spray container and use on the entire body.

3/ If you are purchasing essential oils, give tea tree oil a try as well. It can be used both as a natural repellent on various places on the body (without the necessity of diluting it in oil; it can be applied directly to the skin), but it also serves as perfect disinfectant once a tick has already attached itself to the body. After removing the parasite, put a single drop of tea tree oil on the wound. It can completely clean the wound and kill off dangerous microorganisms.

4/ Wash yourself properly with regular soap before entering the forest; the smell repels ticks. This effect can be further enhanced by applying a strong walnut leaf infusion on the legs.

BORRELIOSIS Have you heard of the common herb called wild teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris)? It is a tall biennial herb often used for decoration in dried bouquets. This plant is a great means of dealing with borreliosis, known as lyme disease. Wild teasel grows especially where there is enough water – by streams, ponds, roads, on grazing lands, sides of brushes, forests and dams. It thrives in nourishing clay, earthy and stony soils, ideally rich in calcium and nitrogen. In autumn, most of the plant’s strength is concentrated in the root. And since the root is used for medicinal purposes the most, the end of summer is the ideal time for picking wild teasel.

Apart from treating borreliosis, wild teasel is also used in natural medicine in treating rheumatic pains. It also helps deal with fissured skin, painful nipples or eczema. Externally, it is supplemental medicine for skin cancer; internally for gastrointestinal cancer. It also cures stomach and duodenal ulcers.

TINCTURE FOR BORRELIOSIS Ingredients: Several one-year old roots, pure alcohol Preparation: Clean the roots properly, cut them up into small pieces and place them into a clean glass. Pour a quality alcohol into it; ideally pure alcohol, vodka or brandy with at least 60% alcohol content. Put the glass on a windowsill and let it infuse for at least three weeks. It is also good to give it a shake every once in a while. After three weeks, filter the tincture through linen and pour it into a clean glass. Store ideally in the dark in a temperature not over 15 °C / 59 °F. Use three times a day for at least a month.

My Herbs Tip:

Fuller’s teasel (Dipsacus sativus)

It has more or less the same medicinal effects as wild teasel. Both these herbs can be used in the form of a tincture, ideally in combination with thermal therapy. This consists of preparing a bath as hot as we can stand and getting into it. We can also add certain essential oils to enhance the cure. Suitable enhancements are juniper or pine.

Common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum)

It blooms in July and August. It contains bitter substances, iridoids, saponins, caffeic acid derivates and glycoside. It supports the body’s self-cleansing mechanisms through sweat, urine and bile, and is traditionally used in treating rheumatism and skin illnesses. It is nowadays considered to be a borreliosis medicine and has also been recorded as an effective counter-agent in treating viral infections like herpes. The tea is very bitter and activates the immune system. Pour 250 ml / 8.5 Fl oz over one spoonful of dried root and infuse for at least ten minutes. Drink three cups a day.