What Should You Do if Bitten by a Tick?

Parasites are never a pleasant thing to discover on your body, but ticks are of special concern, as some strains carry and transmit Lyme disease, a harrowing medical condition which may result in long-term fatigue, joint pain, facial paralysis and severe headaches if left untreated.

Here is what you should know about dealing with ticks

Locating the tick

Ticks like humidity and warmth. As a consequence, their favorite haunts are areas of the body that also offer them a lot of concealment, like the armpits, under the breasts, between toes and on the groin. Make sure to check these tricky areas when returning from an outing in a grassy area.

Identifying the threat

Ticks aren’t actually bugs like fleas. They’re arachnids, related to spiders and scorpions. That means that, unlike insects, they have eight legs and no wings. They have a wide oval body and are incapable of jumping or flying. Ticks are very small, and nymphs, which carry the greatest risk of transmitting Lyme disease are tiny- about the size of a poppy seed.

Time is of the essence

Do not use any “remedy” like applying a cream to the area and the tick or painting the tick in nail polish, and do not wait for the tick to detach on its own. The average time it takes for a tick nymph to transmit Lyme disease is around 36-48 hours. Try to gauge how long the tick has been there by remembering the last time you’ve been around grass and looking at the tick. The longer the tick has been feeding, the more obviously bloated its abdomen will be.

Removing the pest

Grasp the tick with fine-tipped tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pull it upwards with a steady hand. In case the tick is torn in the process, with the mouth still attached to the skin, remove it separately with clean tweezers. Place the tick in a plastic bag or sealed box. It may be important to keep it, as not all ticks transmit Lyme disease, and identifying the culprit may be important. After handling the tick, clean the bite area with alcohol or soap.

Follow Up

If you develop a rash at the site of the tick bite after removing the tick, consult with a doctor. The rash may take weeks to manifest, so try to remember the time and spot of the bite. Make sure to mention the tick to the doctor. The rash is typically painless, does not itch, and may grow in size, appearing like a “bull’s eye”. The rash doesn’t always appear this way, and in 20% of cases, there won’t be a rash at all. If no rash is present, be on the lookout for other symptoms, such as fever, fatigue and joint pain. If a knee begins to swell painlessly and without connection to any physical activity, that too may be a telltale sign of Lyme disease.

Early identification and treatment is crucial, as it may save you from some of the harsher, permanent symptoms of Lyme disease, including long-term brain damage.

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Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, a bacterium that’s transmitted to humans when they are bitten by an infected black-legged or deer tick. Once infected, symptoms can occur anywhere from 3-30 days after the bite, and they can be wide-ranging, depending on the stage of infection. The chances of contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite depends on the kind of tick, where you were bitten, when the bite occurred, and how long the tick was attached to you. According to the CDC, black-legged ticks must be attached for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease.

 

What Are the Symptoms of Lyme Disease?

 

Early signs and symptoms of this disease include chills, fever, fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes. In about 70-80% of infections a rash is seen. This rash will gradually expand over a period of days and can grow to around 12 inches wide. It may feel warm to the touch, but it shouldn’t be itchy or painful, and it can appear anywhere on the body.

As the infection progresses, symptoms can include:
• Severe headaches or neck stiffness
• Heart palpitation or an irregular heartbeat
• Inflammation of the spinal cord and brain
• Loss of muscle tone or drooping on one or both sides of the face
• Additional rashes on other parts of the body
• Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, particularly in the knees
• Shooting pains, numbness, and tingling in the hands or feet

How is Lyme Disease Diagnosed?
Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms and history of tick exposure. A two-step blood test may also be taken, but the accuracy of this test depends on the stage the disease is in. For example, in the first few weeks of infection, the test may be negative, as antibodies take a few weeks to develop. These tests aren’t recommended for patients who don’t have any of the common symptoms of Lyme disease.

 

How is Lyme Disease Treated?
The antibiotics amoxicillin and tetra cycline are used, usually for 10-21 days. Other antibiotics that might be used are cefuroxime and doxycycline. If you get treatment for Lyme disease when the infection is at an early stage, it is likely that you will make a full recovery.

How Prevalent is Lyme Disease?

 About 30,00 cases are reported each year, but the CDC estimates that you can add another 300,000 infections to this figure. Infection is more common in males up to age 15 and between the ages of 40 and 60. The reason for this is these are people who are more likely to play outside, and go hiking, camping, and hunting.
What Areas Are More Likely to Have Lyme Disease?

Black-legged ticks can be found in 43 states, but they behave differently according to the climate. For example, in the South, which is more prone to hot weather, ticks tend to stay under leaf litter and don’t come out to feed as they’ll dry out. This means that Southern ticks don’t transmit Lyme disease frequently as they don’t tend to feed on humans.

What’s Driving up Lyme Disease Numbers?
While increasing temperatures worldwide has made more areas  hospitable to ticks, the population of deer carrying the ticks probably plays a much bigger role.

Development led to record low numbers of deer early in the last century, but the deer population has increased as a result of reforestation over the past several decades, meaning the tick population has increased as well. Furthermore, white-footed mice, which also transmit Lyme disease to ticks that bite them, are moving closer to humans as their habitat disappears.

Another reason is that warm weather and mild winters may bring more people outside, increasing their chances of being bitten, especially in Lyme-prone areas.

How Do You Know If You’ve Been Bitten?

Since ticks are the size of a poppy seed, you’ve got to have pretty good eyesight to spot them. The CDC recommends that if you’ve been walking in the woods, tall grass, or working in your garden, that you check your skin afterwards, ideally in the bath or shower.

What Do You Do If There’s a Tick Under Your Skin
Remove it with a pair of tweezers as soon as possible, pulling upward with steady pressure. If parts of the tick remain in your skin, try to remove them with the tweezers. After everything is out, clean the area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Put the tick in a piece of tissue, and flush it down the toilet.

When should You See Your Doctor?
A rash is a pretty good indication that you might have Lyme disease. Therefore, if a rash starts to develop in the area you were bitten, you should visit your doctor immediately. At this stage of the illness, treatment with some antibiotics will likely see you make a full recovery.

What’s the Best Way to Prevent a Tick Bite?
Ticks cannot fly or jump, but instead live in shrubs and bushes, and grab onto someone when they walk by. To avoid getting bitten, wear pants and socks in woods, areas with a lot of trees, and while handling fallen leaves. Wear some tick repellents and clothing that has lemon oil, or eucalyptus.

Shower as soon as you get home. This lets you look at your skin and wash any ticks out of your hair. Furthermore, put the clothes you were wearing into a hot wash to kill whatever ticks might remain.
 

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Tick bites

Ticks can cause major medical problems if their bites are left unnoticed and untreated. Common diseases include Lyme, STARI and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Lyme usually (but not always) causes a bull’s eye rash, which looks similar to the lesion caused by STARI. Rocky Mountain spotted fever causes a rash usually on the ankles, arms and wrists. If untreated Lyme disease may lead to muscle and joint pain.
  If you see or feel a tick on your body, you should remove it as quickly as you can with a pair of tweezers. Go as close to the skin as you can to remove the pest. If after having been bitten you subsequently fall ill (up to 4 weeks after) go and see your doctor, as it may be you have contracted one of the above diseases without exhibiting symptoms.

 this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.
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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes

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Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is an infection that is transmitted through the bite of a tick infected with a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. Ticks typically get the bacterium by biting infected animals, like deer and mice. Most people who get tick bites do not get Lyme disease. Not all ticks are infected, and the risk for contracting the disease increases the longer the tick is attached to the body
 
Within one to four weeks of being bitten by an infected tick, most people will experience some symptoms of Lyme disease. A circular, expanding rash (called erythema migrans) at the site of the bite develops in about 70%-80% of cases. Some people report flu-like symptoms at this stage, including fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, joint pain, and muscle aches.

If the disease is not detected and treated in its early stages, it can spread to more areas of the body, affecting the joints, heart, and nervous system (after several weeks to months after the initial bite). More rashes may occur, and there may be intermittent periods of pain and weakness in the arms or legs. Facial-muscle paralysis (Bell's palsy), headaches, and poor memory are other symptoms at this stage, along with a rapid heartbeat and some loss of control of facial muscles.
 This is the most serious stage of the disease, when treatment was either not successful or never started  occurring many months after the initial bite. Joint inflammation (arthritis), typically in the knees, becomes apparent, and may become chronic. The nervous system can develop abnormal sensation because of disease of peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathy), and confusion. Heart problems are less common, but can include inflammation of the heart muscle and an irregular beat.
 In NE and north-central U.S., the black-legged tick (or deer tick) transmits the disease. In the Pacific coastal U.S., the disease is spread by the western black-legged tick. Other major tick species found in the U.S., including the lone star tick and the dog tick, have NOT been shown to transmit the Lyme disease bacterium. But beware: Lyme disease has been reported in all 50 states, as well as in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.

Pets, even though bitten by the tick, can't transmit the disease.  Insects such as mosquitoes, flies, or fleas cannot spread the disease to humans either. Only infected ticks spread the disease.

 Doctors can diagnose the disease through physical examination such as a "bull's-eye" rash along with a history of symptoms. But not everyone has the rash, and not everyone can recall being bitten. Special blood tests can be taken three to four weeks after suspected contact to confirm the diagnosis. Other tests, such as a spinal tap or skin biopsy, may be done to help diagnose or rule out other conditions.
 Lyme disease is mostly curable with antibiotics, particularly when the infection is diagnosed and treated early.  Later stages might require longer-term, intravenous antibiotics.

Avoid tick bites whenever possible by staying clear of grassy or wooded areas, especially May to July. Cover your body head-to-toe when entering possible tick-infested areas. Apply an insect repellent containing DEET directly to your skin. Insect repellents containing permethrin can be applied to clothes to kill ticks on contact, but never apply to the skin. When coming in from outdoors inspect your body thoroughly for ticks; do the same for pets. Wash your skin and scalp to knock off any ticks that are only loosely attached.

To remove the tick from your body, use  fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the part of the tick that's closest to your skin -- you want to grab the head, not the belly. Slowly pull the tick straight out, without twisting it. Wash the bite site with soap and warm water. Throw the dead tick into the trash. Do not use a lit match, nail polish, petroleum jelly, or other topical agents in an attempt to remove a tick.


THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.








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