tick bite


tick bite

A wound produced by a bloodsucking tick. Adult ticks (and immature nymphs) may be vectors for infectious diseases, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever, tularemia, borreliosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Lyme disease. They can also produce tick paralysis, a disease that may mimic Guillain-Barré syndrome.

The bite itself may produce a localized reddened area of skin, which is typically of little importance. This area may be raised or slightly itchy.

Patient care

People who are exposed to environments where ticks proliferate (hikers, hunters, surveyors, or children and adults with more casual environmental exposures) should be educated about the importance of wearing clothing that leaves little skin exposed. The clothing should be pretreated with insect repellents or insecticides like permethrin. Adults and children over two should also apply repellent products like DEET, lemon eucalyptus oil, or picaridin directly to exposed skin. These products will prevent not only tick attachment but also other insect bites, e.g., by disease-causing mosquitoes. Attached ticks should be removed from the skin by taking a pair of small tweezers or forceps, grasping the tick firmly by the mouth parts, and pulling the insect directly out of the skin, leaving no body parts embedded.

CAUTION!

Ticks should not be removed by burning them with matches, by soaking them in petroleum jelly, or by injecting the subcutaneous tissue beneath their mouth parts with lidocaine. None of these methods is effective, and some may be hazardous. See also: bite

Patient discussion about tick bite

Q. I had a tick to bite me a few days ago now I have a headache on and off and feel nauseous and diarrhea My friend had a stomach virus last week is my symptoms coming from the tick or is it a coincidenceA. It sounds like the tick bite is just a coincidence. You probably caught a virus, not necessarily from your friend who was sick, but that's also a possibility. However, if the bad feeling doesn't go away, or your suddenly experience fever spikes, you should see a doctor, because you might have a bacterial infection that will need antibiotics.

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