Ticks

[Mauro]

Well, as I started the thread on chiggers, seems quite right to start the one about ticks.

Last weekend I spent the night in the forest (norfolk area, UK). After breakfast we went for a walk. Having found a nice patch of grass we laid down to be wormed by the morning sun. I did notice some fern laid on the ground, but I ignored them!

big mistake, I should have inspected the terrain more accurately!!! Some dear must have being laying there before us! result: 3 of us shared about 12 ticks!!!

Now we are all fine (even though one infected and my son had a big red spot for a few days, which is now going away) but it was not nice.

Anyway, if i learn something from this story:
- alway check were you sit. Hairy-four-legged-bush-dwelling creature may like the same spots as us!
- Take a tarp to put on the ground (I'll attach one outside my back pack)
- dress appropriately (the weather is cooling down, so it won't be difficult!)

enjoy

[Great Pebble]

I've got a big, slightly swollen red spot on my ankle from where I removed one of the wee beggars about a week and a half ago. Still debating whether or not to go to the Doctor as I often take worse than may be expected reactions to bites and it's right on the collar of my boot, which means it constantly gets rubbed.
If it hasn't disappered by the weekend I may go and have it looked at.

[Brynglas]

Nick,

have you tried some antihistamine cream such as anthistan? This may help. Otherwise some lavender essential oil which should help to reduce some of the inflamation.

[Adi007]

I've got a big, slightly swollen red spot on my ankle from where I removed one of the wee beggars about a week and a half ago. Still debating whether or not to go to the Doctor as I often take worse than may be expected reactions to bites and it's right on the collar of my boot, which means it constantly gets rubbed.
If it hasn't disappered by the weekend I may go and have it looked at.

Is that a red spot you have or a red ring? If it is a red ring you should seek medical attention soon as this is a sign of Lyme's Disease. A red spot is to be expected and less worrying.

[Great Pebble]

Haven't tried anything on it yet, it's just slightly itchy. I'm one of these people that tries to avoid any form of medication unless I really need it. Might gine the essential oil a go though.

Thanks for the tip.

[Lurch]

Having found a nice patch of grass we laid down to be wormed by the morning sun.

):

As an aside, you can pick ticks up from sheep infested areas (most any other animal really). I find places with bracken to be the worst, but that's likely just because the vegatation is higher.

[acw_akkermans]

When a tick gets onto your body, it will usually move to warm moist areas on your body. Once there, it will dig into your skin so it can feed itself on blood. After about 12 hours (sometimes a lot longer) the tick will release itself from your skin by injecting it’s saliva to dissolve the tissue around the bite. (Ticks are literally stuck with barbs into your skin). It is this saliva which can contain a number of different bacteria or virusses.
If Lymes disease has been contracted you may or may not find a “bulls-eye” like rask which is usually not itchy. Early on you may feel flu-ish. If the infection spreads, it can affect the heart, nervous system and joints. Early symptoms may be rashes, headache, stiff neck and sore joints. Fever and muscle aches are also common. If untreated, these symptoms could go on to affect your short-term memory and ultimately be fatal. The only way to prevent these symptoms developing is to be treated with antibiotics as soon as possible. There is no vaccine yet.
Because Lymes disease is transmitted through the tick’s saliva, it’s best to remove a tick as soon as it’s spotted and not leave it till it comes out by itself. (In some high-risk areas it’s best to check for ticks every 12 hours). For this reason, you want to be sure the tick is removed before it wants to remove itself. Putting on petroleum jelly to ‘choke it to death’ as some people suggest or burning it off with a cigarette, will only encourage the tick to try and get out by itself, thus injecting saliva. It is best to grab the tick with a pair of tweezers and pull it straight out before the tick realizes it’s being assaulted. Also, try and remove the whole tick. After you have removed the tick, clean thoroughly with an antiseptic wipe and try and remember where the bite was so you can identify any problems that may occur at a later date. In most areas in the world, a low percentage of ticks carry Lymes disease, but in some parts of the United States, as much as one-third of ticks may contain Lymes.However, if you check for ticks regularly and remove them properly, there is really nothing to worry about. Even in the case of contracting Lymes it is easy enough treated if the disease has not advanced too far.

Hope this helps

Anthonio

[CLEM]

I was told recently never to put petroleum jelly or anything that may suffercate it onto a tick which apprently encourages the tick to vomit its stomach contents into the wound it has made,this makes the likelyhood of it passing lymes on to its victim much greater as you can imagine.

[tomtom]

i think your getting the processes wrong way round there mate.. i though it was if you tryed to pull it off it dug its head in and vomited.. if you suffercate if before you try and pull if off then this doesnt happen..

[CLEM]

i think your getting the processes wrong way round there mate.. i though it was if you tryed to pull it off it dug its head in and vomited.. if you suffercate if before you try and pull if off then this doesnt happen..

No,iam getting it the right way round.Well atleast that was what i was told anyway.

[Cairodel]

Having found a nice patch of grass we laid down to be wormed by the morning sun. enjoy

Much better to see the Vet. about that :rolmao:

[tomtom]

No,iam getting it the right way round.Well atleast that was what i was told anyway.

I jus did a google search on it.. there seems to be conflicting arguements all over the shop.. :?:

[CLEM]

I jus did a google search on it.. there seems to be conflicting arguements all over the shop.. :?:

Agreed :?:

[Adi007]

For ticks that have been attached for 0 - 18 hours, the basic advice seems to be to carefully pluck them off with tweezers. After that, and you have to take a chance. Here in Wales I've not heard of any reports of Lymes Disease so I'd happily pull any I picked up after 24 hours. However, if you life in a Lymes prone area and find a tick that you think has been attached for more than 18 hours an you can seek medical advice, then you migth want to consider doing so. If you ask if I would, then probably not, I'd keep an eye on the bite for a few weeks (off and on, not obsessive like!) and watch out for a red ring to form around it - diagnostic of Lymes. Likewise, if I came down with a flu-like feeling soon after, I'd mention it to the doc.

Info at: http://www.healthnewsflash.com/condi...me_disease.php

[Jon]

I've heard it is a good idea to keep any tick that you remove. Then if later Lymes Disease is suspected the tick itself can be tested. As far as I recall keeping them in a screw top jar with a piece of damp paper seemed to be the recomendation. Also label the jar and date it.

[Elliott]

I am no authority on tick removal, but I can say that I was bitten for the first time ever by a tick over the August bank holiday. I did not see it but it must of been on for moments only (on my left upper arm) and I probably knocked it off with my rucksack. Anyhow you guessed it I developed Lymes Disease, not pleasant and I am only just over it now. The point here is that it was not attached for long.

The grating issue about this whole episode is that the day before I was bitten we had visited the vets with our two cats and I thought it would be useful to get one of those tick removal implements as our children had started coming out more frequently on country walks.

Moral of the story : If anything horrible is going to happen it is bound to be to me (natural selection and the weakest link spring to mind) :?:

Elliott

[Neil1]

Bushcrafting & ticks seem to go together like bread & butter in my haunts at least :shock:
Dressing properly helps, long trousers and canvas gaiter works well, as do long sleeves. I don't sleep on the ground, prefering to use a hammock if possible. But evetually I still manage to find they have pentrated my defences :?: , and you find them, in the pit on the back of your knee, your armpit, even on the scrotom(?)
Removing the ticks cleanly is vital if you are to avoid the nasty health hazards that go with them.
After talking to a local vet, he sold me a little tool for safely removing the little ******s called an OTOM for £1.50 or so. This bit of kit removes them in tact, jaws, head and stomach contents all where they should be, on them and not in me
The Trackertrail web-site has some good information on the hazards of ticks and there is a thread on here to with more info on the OTOM.
Hope this is of some help.
Neil

[TheViking]

I check myself every evening (when outside) and if I find one, it gets pullen out by the SAK tweezers. They're superb for that, well at least the small ones. :wink:

[Emma]

The first and as yet only time I've had a tick, I didn't really know what to do about it, so I left it, but as it was on an exposed bit of skin it got sprayed with deet. It shrivelled up and turned a lighter shade of brown after a few hours, and about two days later dropped off.
I haven't found anything on using deet but I doubt it's a good idea... what do you guys think?

[shinobi]

The first and as yet only time I've had a tick, I didn't really know what to do about it, so I left it, but as it was on an exposed bit of skin it got sprayed with deet. It shrivelled up and turned a lighter shade of brown after a few hours, and about two days later dropped off.
I haven't found anything on using deet but I doubt it's a good idea... what do you guys think?

It most probably shrivelled up and changed colour as it digested your blood. :shock: and then dropped off when it was done.
How the hell did you manage to resist knocking it off !!!

Cheers,

martin

[tomtom]

Emma how long ago was this?

[Emma]

July. I watched the area carefully for a month, and apart from the slight red bump there has been nothing else. No ring, certainly.

[tomtom]

ah righty thats ok then.. :biggthump in future you wana get them of asap..

who ever it was said you should put them in a pot and date it has never spent a week on dartmoor in summer.. i would have ended up with a pack full of ticks and pots.. not very pratical..

[Emma]

I know now. Made a point of doing a bit of research when I got home.
Hopefully I'll remember to do some again before the next time I head into tick country...

[Tantalus]

Elliot, just curious, how did the doc diagnose Lyme disease?

Is there a blood test?

As for keeping individual ticks, if ya tell the doc you are in the habit of sleeping under bushes I am sure he / she will believe that you know a lot about ticks, enough to recognise them correctly anyway ):

Tant

[RovingArcher]

In all the years I have been walking the bush, I've only had a couple of ticks. Just been lucky I guess, but ever since lyme disease came on the scene, I spray my clothing with a deet based repellent and let them dry prior to putting them on and I wipe down my exposed skin with Body guard towlettes. It seems to work very well on everything except one particularly nasty green biting fly.

[bambodoggy]

I've never had a tick personally but my hound gets three or four a year while he's sniffing through the underbrush. I tend to remove them carefully with tweezers and then have to swiftly put them into a small ziplock bag and dispose of them before he wrestles me to the floor and tries to eat it....my dog will eat ANYTHING (never know a hound to eat oranges, strawberries, wasps and bees and who likes taking pills as if they were sweeties!).

We use a product called "Frontline" which is a pretty standard flee/tick prevention product for cats and dogs. You drop a small amount of the stuff on the back of their neck and they are ok for a month or so....Samson's only got the ticks in the early summer and just before we start the summer course of frontline....
Anyway....my question (for those medically minded out there) is: Is there a human equivalent out there that we can use say once a month or so to keep the ticks/flees from the wilds off us too? Or are we reduced to using deet every day we're out?

[Moine]

Nick, you shoudl go see the doc immediately. Lyme disease starts with a red circle around the tick bite. This is a serious condition if left unattended, but that can be treated with antibiotics.

Go see your doc.

Every darn tick bite must be thoroughly disinfected with an appropriate product.

Cheers,

David

[Elliott]

Elliot, just curious, how did the doc diagnose Lyme disease?

Is there a blood test?

Tant

Initially from clinical presentation/symptoms and then confirmed via blood test, looking for the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi . She stated that it was not that rare - I live on the Dorset/Hants border close to the New Forest.

Elliott

[JeremyH]

We have plenty of ticks here on Islay. Especially as there are 2000+ Red Deer, countless sheep and other tickable beasts. The way I deal with them:

Plenty of Garlic in the diet - up to three cloves a week (Not Three Bulbs!!)
and remove them - if you get them ASAP with OTOM - a superb and lightwieght contraction like tweezer.
their website is
www.otom.com
We feed our dogs garlic too and they very rarely get ticks.
We always wear long trousers, boots and if short sleeves - check regularly

Beware of Lymes disease IT IS DANGEROUS!!!

Good luck
JeremyH