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Ticks Poisonous Ingredient:
Where Found:
Symptoms:
Ticks can be the source of several diseases including: The symptoms below refer more to the problems resulting from the bite itself, not the diseases it may cause. Some of the symptoms are specific to one variety of tick or another but not necessarily common to all ticks.
Home Treatment:
Remove the tick (see tick bite ). Be careful not to leave the head embedded in the skin.
Before Calling Poison Control:
Determine the following information: - the patient's age, weight, and condition
- the name of the insect
- the time the bite occurred
- the part of the body affected
Call Poison Control:
They will instruct you if it is necessary to take the patient to the hospital. See Poison Control centers for telephone numbers and addresses.
If possible, bring the insect to the emergency room for identification.
What to Expect:
Prognosis:
The prognosis (probable outcome) will depend on what type of infection the tick may have been carrying and how soon appropriate treatment was instigated.
This is one suggested method of tick removal. Care must be taken not to squeeze the body of the tick, as this may force infectious fluid back into the skin. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
This is a white tailed deer (fawn). Deer carry ticks that can transmit Lyme disease to humans. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
This is an adult female deer tick, Ixodes damini. It is a "vector" or insect that transmits Lyme disease to humans. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Facial paralysis (palsy) may be associated with Lyme disease. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Andrea Kiesk M.D., Marquette Clinic, Marquette, MI.)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintain statistics on diseases, including Lyme disease. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Protective clothing may prevent Lyme disease-carrying ticks from attaching to the body. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Pfizer, INC.)
This photograph shows the natural habitat of ticks. Note that this is a park campground intended for both adults and children. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.
Ticks often hang from overhead branches and drop when they sense body heat below. A favorite site for ticks is the hairline on the back of the neck. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and B. McKie.)
This is a close-up photograph of a tick embedded in the skin. Ticks are important because they can carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, Lyme disease, and others.
Erythema chronicum migrans is the initial lesion of Lyme disease, and often appears at the site of the infecting tick bite. It is a red, enlarging rash, flat (macular) or slightly raised, and may reach from 4 to 20 inches across (the average rash is 6 inches). (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete similar to spirochetes of other diseases, such as relapsing fever and syphilis. This organism causes Lyme Disease. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
This is an illustration of deer and wood ticks. Diseases are often carried by ticks. These diseases include: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, Lyme disease, and tularemia. Less common or less frequent diseases include typhus, Q-fever, relapsing fever, viral encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever, and babesiosis.
There are many species of ticks. Of these, a large proportion are capable of carrying disease. Diseases carried by ticks include Lyme disease, Erlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, tularemia, typhus, Q fever, hemorrhagic fever, and viral encephalitis. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintain statistics on disease, including Lyme disease. This chart illustrates the number of cases reported in 1992 for each state. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintain statistics on diseases, including Lyme disease. This graph shows the number of reported cases of lyme disease has increased since 1982. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
This picture shows an engorged deer tick (Ixodes damini) embedded in the skin of a human host. In the United States, these ticks are the primary source (vector) of Lyme disease. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and M. Fergione.)
Individuals living in areas where Lyme disease is common should be checked for ticks following outings, camping trips, or exposure in wooded, brush, or grassy areas. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Pfizer, INC.)
Lyme disease was a cover story in Newsweek. Lyme disease is now a nationally-recognized problem. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) maintain statistics on diseases, including Lyme Disease. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Deer ticks can carry lyme disease. These ticks belong to the genus Ixodes. The primary species of tick that is a carrier of Lyme disease is Ixodes damini, though other species of Ixodes may also carry Lyme disease. Research suggests that the tick must be attached about 48 hours before the disease is transmitted, so early removal may prevent disease. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium known as a spirochete because of its long, corkscrew shape. The infectious organism is named Borrelia burgdorferi. The photomicrograph shows the typical corkscrew appearance of a spirochete. (Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control.)
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