| Author |
Message |
    
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2829
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 2:30 pm: |     |
We went up to the res yesterday with our dogs, and in the shower this morning I found a tick digging into the side of my knee - His head was all the way in (And we saw tons of deer all over). I checked the internet, and it looked like a black legged tick, which carries lyme (I think). Anyway, I made a doctor's appointment for tonight. Am I being paranoid? Has anyone else had this? |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1690
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 2:56 pm: | |
did you save the tick? that's important. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2830
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 3:00 pm: | |
Nah - Todd lit it and it popped. |
algebra2
Citizen
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 1691
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 3:02 pm: | |
smoked it? |
tjohn
Citizen
Username: Tjohn
Post Number: 2332
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 3:34 pm: | |
I think the doctor's appointment is premature. Lyme Disease has an incubation period, so the doc wouldn't be able to tell if you are infected just yet. However, I have also heard that the tick has to be embedded for about 24 hours for transmission. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2831
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 3:42 pm: | |
I don't want to wait to see if I develop symptoms... |
Addy
Citizen
Username: Addy
Post Number: 70
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 3:43 pm: | |
I recall being in same situation about ten years ago and I think I was put on antibiotics for a week or 2.
Heisenberg may have slept here |
Sylad
Citizen
Username: Sylad
Post Number: 417
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 4:08 pm: | |
Our dog gets ticks from the reservation whenever we go and the temp is above 40. We don't use any of the flee/tick stuff because we have two small kids and don't want the chemical getting on them. If you remove all ticks within 12-18 hours based on my experience your dog will be fine. I don't know how long the incubation period is, I would think that vet would be able to tell you that and would not be able to test until that time has expired. |
bobk
Supporter
Username: Bobk
Post Number: 4916
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 4:22 pm: | |
Sylad, Mem had the tick, not the pooch. And I believe there is a vacine available for dogs.
Mem - "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Go for it.
|
Paddy
Citizen
Username: Paddy
Post Number: 156
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 4:26 pm: | |
I went through this last year. You should remove as much of the tick as possible with a tweezer (don't burn with a match) and bring it to the doctor with you. They can test for lyme.
Lyme can be effectively prevented if antibiotics are given right away (within the first 48 hours of the bite). Not worth waiting to see if you have symptoms. |
harpo
Citizen
Username: Harpo
Post Number: 1335
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 4:46 pm: | |
Mem.
Robert Roe, the town health officer can probably answer some of your questions if you can't wait to talk to your doctor. But I recommend getting answers from a pro. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 2566
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 4:53 pm: | |
Mem:
Keep the doctor's appointment. At best he can prescribe medication to prevent or lessen the impact of any symptoms which develop. At worst, he can tell you what to look out for.
It would really be a good idea to bring any remaining tick fragments to the doctor's with you since a negative finding for Lyme Disease on the tick could save you a lot of worry.
I have a friend who wasn't diagnosed with Lyme Disease until after the symptoms appeared and over thirty years later, she still suffers from the disease.
Good luck!
Go to the doctor! |
cody
Citizen
Username: Cody
Post Number: 494
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 8, 2004 - 5:16 pm: | |
The last time my dog picked up a tick, I spritzed the area where the tick was with tick repellant. It backed out so quickly, head and all, and I put it in a plastic container and killed it. With the tweezers or vaseline, I've always been concerned that I wouldn't get the entire tick out. This was the easiest way I have ever removed a tick. I only thought of it because I was somewhere without tweezers available. |
mem
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2833
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 - 10:40 am: | |
Update:
I went to the doctor and he had to dig the head out. Ugh! So now I have a little crater where the critter was stuck. Dr. says it was most likely a dog tick, it was black and larger than a deer tick. I have to take doxycycline to be sure.
He showed me a deer tick he had in a tube, and it was very tiny and red - I can't imagine being able to see one of these.
Thanks all for your help. |
Maplewoody
Citizen
Username: Maplewoody
Post Number: 489
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 - 8:49 pm: | |
ANYONE WHO LETS THEIR DOGS
RUN LOOSE OR EVEN WALKS THEM THROUGH
THERE IS NUTS!
Ticks do not jump, fly or drop from trees, but grasp passing hosts from the leaf litter, tips of grass, etc. Most ticks are probably picked up on the lower legs and then crawl up the body seeking a place to feed. Wear light-colored clothing with the pants tucked into socks. Repellents can substantially increase the level of protection. On returning home, remove and wash the clothing. Carefully inspect the body and quickly remove any attached ticks. Tick bites are usually painless and, consequently, many people may be unaware that they have been bitten. Also, carefully inspect children and pets. Ticks may attach anywhere on the body. Pets can bring ticks into the home, resulting in a tick bite without the person being outdoors. Many tick bites are thought to occur around the home. Ticks may not be infected, and studies have indicated that it may require 36-48 hours or more for transmission to occur from an attached nymph. Therefore, a tick bite does not necessarily mean a person will develop Lyme disease.
Prompt removal of an attached tick will reduce the chance of Lyme disease infection. Use thin-tipped tweezers or forceps to grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible. Pull the tick straight upward with steady even pressure. This should remove the tick with the mouthparts intact. If the mouthparts break off, it will not affect the chance of getting Lyme disease. Disinfect the area; a topical antibiotic may also be applied. A dead tick can be saved in alcohol. If a tick is to be tested for spirochetes, place it in a small vial or jar with a blade of grass to keep it alive. Note the site and date of the bite. Other methods of tick removal (e.g. petroleum jelly to suffocate the tick) are not effective. Use of heat from matches to make the tick back out or gasoline or other chemicals are unacceptable. Watch for signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.
 |
cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 29
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 9:09 am: | |
maplewoody: do you realize how many zillions of dogs are in the reservation on any given warm day?
i'm all for being careful, but i think you're being a bit alarmist. has there been an epedemic of lyme disease? |
Maplewoody
Citizen
Username: Maplewoody
Post Number: 490
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 8:45 pm: | |
I see MANY dogs there! I bet the ticks aren't even found on most of them. Have you seen the deer UP CLOSE there? Some are COVERED with ticks! I'd rather walk with my dogs in the many parks in town! |
Crazyguggenheim
Citizen
Username: Crazyguggenheim
Post Number: 536
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 11:24 am: | |
Wow! Call me crazy, but how do you get up close to a deer?
Call me crazy |
Duncan
Citizen
Username: Duncanrogers
Post Number: 1637
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 11:37 am: | |
why you shoot it first of course.
"The truth is always a compound of two half- truths, and you never reach it, because there is always something more to say."-- Tom Stoppard |
Crazyguggenheim
Citizen
Username: Crazyguggenheim
Post Number: 538
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 11:41 am: | |
(here Chunky! c'mon Buster!)
Call me crazy |
Earlster
Citizen
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 138
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 11, 2004 - 12:14 pm: | |
My families old house recipe for removing ticks, is to drink Martinis (or other booze of choice) until you pass out. The tick drinking you blood will get so drunk you can easily find it later on the rim of your toiled seat puking it's guts out.
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