Dwelling on outdoors may expose us to parasite bites which we may think are harmless yet may carry a deadly disease. Ticks are good examples of disease carrying mites that live in our natural surroundings.

It has found out that there are 850 species of ticks and 30 known major diseases derived from ticks. There are 82 inhabitant species in United States which can bring about nine diseases. Babesiosis, Colorado Tick Fever, Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Tick Paralysis, Tick-borne Relapsing Fever, and Tularemia are some of the diseases known to have been transmitted by ticks.

Usually people associate tick bites with Lyme disease, a common infection in the woody areas of northeast United States. Lyme disease is caused by dear ticks found mostly in the north central United States. Physicians have already proved that tick bites, although nonirritating, can often lead to many diseases.

Symptoms

You’ll know you’ve been bitten by a tick when there appears to be red swellings that often causes pain. The bite can cause chills, fever, muscle weakness, loss of appetite, swollen lymph nodes, difficulty in walking, and other flu-like symptoms. The latter symptoms are possible signs of a tick-borne disease.

Sometimes paralysis can result from the tick itself. This condition has the symptoms of weakness, incoordination, spreading paralysis, and tingling.

Risk Factors

Risk factors of tick bites are not directly related to the tick bite itself but of the areas and seasons people get exposed to. Summer Months are when people enjoy the outdoors actively. So, it will be a good precaution to monitor bites or rashes right after hiking, climbing, outdoor sports and other similar activities.

These are some of the specified areas where you might want to avoid or be cautious with:

1. Tree houses, swing sets
2. Piles of wood and brush, and rock fences
3. Bird baths and feeders
4. Areas surrounded by dense woods

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Treatment

Let’s start with the removal of the tick.

Use tweezers to grip the tick close to the surface of the skin. Pull the tick in a steady motion with an even pressure. Avoid jerking or twisting the tweezers. Be careful not to crush the tick’s body because it might hold dangerous infectious fluids that may enter your system. Once the tick has been removed, wash the skin, surrounding areas, and your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Ticks, after removal, may leave parts of its mouth in your skin. It is advisable not to remove them for removal may cause serious damage to the tissue. These parts will be discharged on their own.

Doctors may want to know details of the tick like its size, color, if it did sucked blood, if it was attached to the skin and for how long. Physicians need to compare the details of the tick along with the symptoms of the bitten individual to assess the necessary actions to be taken. This is essential especially when the tick is known to be a carrier of a dangerous disease.

Preventions

In areas where ticks are most likely to be existing, people should be wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and closed-toe shoes to avoid tick bites. Since ticks dwell on bushy vegetation, it is recommended to walk on clear pathways.

Tick repellant sprays are also effective barriers against ticks sticking to clothes. Ticks avoid diethyltoluamide (DEET), which is a component of repellants, but not strong enough to kill ticks. However, Permethrin is an active ingredient on aerosol sprays which can kill ticks when applied on clothing. Permethrin also has a high effective percentage reaching 100%.