Why I started the Tick Awareness Australia campaign and why I brought TickEase to Australia.
My name is Francene Lee Taylor. I am an Australian, who has spent much of my life overseas. 17 years ago I returned to the beautiful Byron Shire on the far north coast of NSW, to enjoy the clean, safe and wholesome lifestyle that the Byron Bay region has to offer. I settled in Wilson's Creek in the Byron Bay hinterland, created organic gardens and roamed free and fearless in the hills. For a time, life was idyllic but this was not to continue!
Little did I know that the NSW north coast was a high-risk area for ticks so whenever I was gardening, bushwalking, or clearing lantana I was often the recipient of literally hundreds of tiny nymph tick bites. I had no idea that ticks were so prevalent in Australia there were no warnings of the dangers of ticks here or that one tick bite could change my life forever. As a result of too many tick bites, I am now chronically ill and suffer from many debilitating symptoms. None of the tests I underwent in Australia determined the cause of my symptoms and it was not until I was tested by laboratories in the United States that it was confirmed I had several tick-borne diseases including Lyme disease. Discovering the incredible work happening globally (particularly the USA) I realized it was time for Australia to have its own Tick Awareness campaign.
This was the birth of Tick Awareness Australia in 2013.
While the Australian Government, medical professionals and scientific community are still in conflicted debate about tick-borne diseases existing in Australia, I watched many people (including myself) fall through the cracks. Being proactive by nature, I quickly realised by focusing on; education, raising awareness, prevention of tick bites and the safest removal of ticks, we could help many Australians prevent infection and remain free from tick-borne diseases. To read more about Tick Awareness Australia, click here.
How I found TickEase
The safe removal of ticks plays a critical part in the prevention of tick-borne diseases. Researching for several years I found that the most frequently used method for the safe removal of ticks is the use of pointy tweezers.
The TickEase tool was invented by Dan Wolff in the USA. It is the only dual sided tick tweezer designed specifically to remove ticks from humans and pets with precision, and Tick Awareness Australia is proud to be the sole distributor here.
To read more about TickEase Australia, click here.
Awareness will help many Australians prevent infection and remain disease free.
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