Check Kids For Ticks

Parents are being warned after a Penticton girl was temporarily paralyzed after an encounter with a tick.

Three-year-old Avery Schneider began having trouble walking after visiting a playground with her mother, Crystal, last weekend. says her daughter starting crawling and falling down.

A tick was discovered burrowed into her hair.

Schneider says after it was removed, her daughter returned to normal.

Medical health officer with Interior Health, Dr. Paul Hasselback, says there have been a few recent cases like Avery’s in the South Okanagan.

“People are very concerned about tick-related diseases, such as the temporary paralysis and Lyme disease. They are rare, but they do happen,” says Hasselback.

He says one way to prevent getting these diseases is to check yourself and your children.

“When going outside, wear long pants tucked into your socks. Ticks can climb up a sock and burrow into the skin at the top, but having your pants tucked in prevents them from latching on,” says Hasselback.

He suggests wearing light-coloured clothing to make the ticks more visible and any ticks found should be removed by using tweezers which have been cleaned with rubbing alcohol.