Humans certainly are not the only living beings on this earth. There are many other lives or organisms living together with humans such as animals. While it is certainly great to take care of animals such as cats and dogs at home, it is best to make sure that you are really taking good care of your pets by making sure they are vaccinated and their hygiene is well taken care of. Tick bites may occur if a person does not pay attention to their pet’s hygiene. Tick bites not only affect the animal but also the human themselves. In this DoctorOnCall’s article, we will be learning more about tick bites.

            Before answering on when should you be worry of tick bite, you may want to understand what is actually tick bite. Tick bites are bites from ticks. Ticks are small, spider-like creature that feed on blood of mammals including humans. Since ticks survive on blood, they usually live in areas with variety of mammals live in such as gardens, grassy areas and woodland. A person may get the ticks attach to them when they brush past plants. Once the ticks manage to attach on a human, it moves to warm and moist place on the body such as hair, armpits and groins. You can get a tick attached to you if your pet’s fur contains the ticks and the ticks travel to your stuff such as bed sheets or pillows. Ticks may be confused with fleas since both do need blood to survive but ticks do not fly or jump just as fleas and tick bites are typically larger than flea bites.

            Tick bites in general do not cause pain and often only lead to red lump to the area that was bitten. However, in some cases, it may cause serious issues such as swelling, blistering, bruising, rash, fever, fatigue, enlargement of lymph nodes, stiff neck, headache, muscle pain and joint pain. People with an allergy towards tick bites will show signs of allergic reaction such as difficulty breathing, swollen throat and loss of consciousness. Although most ticks do not carry diseases, some are able to carry pathogens that could lead to adverse health issues such as Lyme disease and tularemia. Symptoms of one variety of ticks may not be the same with another but common symptoms can be expected following tick bite.

            Thus, when should you be worried about tick bites? You should be worried of this disease when you start to develop a rash or begin to experience flu-like symptoms after being bitten by the ticks. It is best to get medical advice whenever any symptoms appear. If you do experience an allergic reaction, you should be worried about this and immediately get treated by doctors by visiting the hospital emergency department especially if this occurs for the first time. Allergic reactions often seem as symptoms such as itching and swelling but it can get worse to paralysis that occur within 24 hours of removing the tick or breathing difficulty. It is worth noting that being bitten by a tick does not necessarily mean you will be infected. However, it is necessary to watch for symptoms for the first 30 days after a tick bite.

            Tick bites must bite a human first before spreading diseases. This means that if you find yourself with a tick that crawls on you, you should try to remove it slowly but firmly by using tweezers. It also means that the ticks may be more than just that one tick. Hence, you should carefully check for it on other body parts. Ticks need a certain amount of time before they are able to cause diseases. This is why it is important to remove ticks as quickly as possible to reduce risk for infection. You can kill the ticks by using spray containing ether. Ether-containing spray will kill the tick within 5 minutes and will drop off from skin. If you are scared of doing it by yourself or could not kill the tick properly, you can always ask a healthcare provider for help. It is important to not forcibly remove the tick and immediately get medical assistance when it is impossible to remove it safely and quickly. It is also important to avoid disturbing the tick by scratching something that cannot be seen and to avoid attempting to remove the tick by applying chemicals beside spray containing ether or products that can help freeze the tick. Over-the-counter medicine should be able to relieve discomfort. In some cases, antibiotics may be prescribed to prevent diseases.

            To prevent tick bites, besides making sure the pet is free from infections or infestations such as tick bites, you may want to treat your skin with insect repellents if you know you will be in a tick-friendly area. You may also want to avoid rubbing against trees, plants or grass especially being outdoors. Remember to wash off by taking a shower 2 hours after being outdoors. You may want to consider washing your clothes or gear with permethrin to repel the ticks.

Also read – Dengue Prevention.