Tick bites can occur to anyone, especially if you are living, working, or playing in or nearby the woods or grassy area where ticks are known to live. Ticks feast on blood, and they rely on hosts for their food. Hosts are typically mammals, and they will feed on the blood of humans. Now this can lead to problems despite the discomfort of a bite. Unfortunately, ticks can transmit a variety of diseases.
One disease caused by ticks is the CCHF, or Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, which has been found in many places throughout the world. Humans can be infected with this disease through contact with ticks or infected animal blood. The symptoms of this disease come quickly, and symptoms can include headache, joint pain, back pain, stomach pain, high fever, and vomiting. Symptoms of this disease may last for two weeks, and you will likely need medical treatment.
Another disease is the Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness, which is caused by the lone star tick. Some of the symptoms of this disease include a rash, fever, joint and muscle pain, headache, and fatigue. If you have this condition, you may see a red lesion that develops around the site of the bite. This rash will usually show up within about seven days following the tick bite, and will probably expand to about three inches in diameter. This disease differs from Lyme disease in that it does not cause neurological, arthritic, or chronic symptoms.
Tick Borne Relapsing Fever is caused by a bite from a soft tick. This disease involves recurring episodes of fevers. The symptoms may also include nausea, joint pains, muscle aches, and headache.
Lyme disease typically begins with a rash called erythma migrans, which begins as a small red spot and then expands over days or weeks to become a rash shaped in an oval or circle and appears as a bullseye with a red ring, clear area inside, and then a red spot or circle in the middle. This rash can be the size of a finger or as large as about 12 inches in diameter. Some of the other symptoms of Lyme disease include a stiff neck, chills, fever, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and muscle aches. In more advanced cases, there may be nerve problems and arthritis.
Colorado Tick Fever is caused by the wood tick. It is common in Colorado, and some symptoms include weakness, joint stiffness, vomiting and nausea, headache, heavy sweating, sensitivity to light, light colored rash, and severe muscle aches. These symptoms usually appear about three to six days after the tick bite occurs. Fortunately this fever will normally go away by itself without any long-term effects.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever has symptoms that usually occur about three to twelve days following the tick bite. Some of the symptoms include a sudden fever that can last for two to three weeks, chills, deep muscle pain, fatigue, headache, nausea, and a rash. In order to treat the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, you will need antibiotics, and in some cases hospitalization.
Anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans via the deer tick and western black-legged tick. The symptoms of this disease usually occur around a week after the tick bite occurs, and can be mild to life-threatening. They can include fever, muscle pains, chills, and severe headaches. Treatment u
sually includes an antibiotic for 10 to 14 days.
Many of these diseases and conditions can be prevented if you know how. First, if possible, try to avoid areas that may be infested with ticks. Ticks are most commonly found in wooded areas and places with bushes and tall grass. If you cannot avoid these areas, be sure to dress to protect yourself by wearing long shirts and long pants. If you tuck in your pants and shirt, that will help too. Wearing light colors is also a good idea to help see any ticks that may climb onto your clothing. Be sure to check your skin and clothing for ticks frequently. Also check your pets. Do not let your dog wander in the woods. If your dog or cat does go in the woods, be sure to check him or her for ticks. If you have a tick attached to you, you need to remove it immediately using a tweezers. Be sure to pull the tick out from close to your skin so that you do not leave parts of the tick embedded in your skin. Also put antiseptic on your skin to make sure you do not get an infection.
Some tick species we will explore on this site include both hard and soft ticks. Some of the hard ticks include deer ticks, dog ticks, and lone star ticks. Some of the soft ticks inlcue the relapsing fever tick and the fowl ticks. There are some similarities and some differences with these ticks. They tend to live in different regions of the world and some are more dangerous than others.
If you click on the links above, you can learn a lot more about the types of ticks, the diseases that ticks cause, how to remove ticks, and lyme disease caused by ticks.
