So I wake up at 3:00 am today to go fishing and......
 

I feel a slight burning sensation in that most sensitive area a guy has. Anyway, I go to the bathroom to check out my goods and find a TICK!!! Pretty sure it was a deer tick. Pulled it off and landed 4 fish shortly after around 20#. I'm a little nervous now. I guess I have to just wait for the signs.I don't know if I have enough room down there for a bulls eye. :eek:

Well that sucks, or at least the tick sucked for a little while....:laughs:


Seriously, I've never been bit by one of those bastages,,,, should every bite be brought to the doctor's attention OR only when you see signs?//??...AND, what are those signs?

Swelling in that area can be caused by a LOT of ......ummm....shtuff. :bounce:

IF you could see it, it not a deer tick. Those things are tiny.

I told you they are everywhere...4 fish to 20#, huh??? I hope the next time you feel a buring sensation down there it's a Doberman, not a tick, you jerk!
Love,

Your Big Brother

Juvinile deer ticks are the size of the head of a pin and are moslty harmless, but as they get older they get larger.. about the size of a cross section of a uncooked grain of rice. If they at one point in their lives came in contact with a deer, fox, mouse, etc that was infected with Lyme Disease, then you'll be in trouble. I just picked one off of my chest 2 days ago and picked one off of my kid's belly button. Both were large ones.. :(

I picked a pretty large one off my kid's clothing the other night after playing outside. I saved it to show my wife because she'd never seen one before. Now, every bug outside looks like a tick to her. We started checking ourselves every time we come in the house form outside.

IMHO get checked out by a Doc.

My wife has had lyme 3 times, each time with the bullseye rash. Caught it in time with antibiotics.

However, my daughter has had it , with no rash or symptoms until joint aches sometime later. She's had recurring problems from it for the last 8 years.:(

Whenever I go to a new area where ticks may be a problem, I do what I call the "tick-flick" before getting into my truck.
Check your clothes for the little suckers, and "flick" them off.
As for youngsters, give them a thorough checkover, since they are closer to the ticks target area than an adult, meaning that the kids are well within the ticks strike zone from head to toe. Adults are taller, so we will see them lower on the body/clothing.

Check it out just to be safe.

Nebe, I thought it was the juvenilees you needed to worry about and not the larger ones? I'm sure I read that a few times. Let me see...

I guess I was wrong,

Life cycle of blacklegged ticks
Blacklegged ticks live for two years and have three feeding stages: larvae, nymph, and adult. Tick eggs are laid in the spring and hatch as larvae in the summer. Larvae feed on mice, birds, and other small animals in the summer and early fall. When a young tick feeds on an infected animal, the tick takes bacteria into its body along with the blood meal, and it remains infected for the rest of its life. After this initial feeding, the larvae become inactive as they grow into nymphs. The following spring, nymphs seek blood meals in order to fuel their growth into adults. When the tick feeds again, it can transmit the bacterium to its new host. Usually the new host is another small rodent, but sometimes the new host is a human. Most cases of human illness occur in the late spring and summer when the tiny nymphs are most active and human outdoor activity is greatest. Adult ticks feed on large animals, and sometimes on humans. In the spring, adult female ticks lay their eggs on the ground, completing the life cycle. Although adult ticks often feed on deer, these animals do not become infected. Deer are nevertheless important in transporting ticks and maintaining tick populations

the tick has to be attached for awhile to transmit lyme. It is something like 24 hrs. or more. The doctor can't do anything for you as far as detecting lyme for 4-6 weeks (some say as soon as two weeks) by blood test. Only thing they could do for you is give you antibiotics as a precaution, which some will do any many won't. You can write the date you found it on the calender and keep track of any fever, joint pain, etc. over the next coupla weeks (check online for symptoms). then get the blood test in 6 weeks or so if you want. this is not medical advice, just what I know from having lots of tick bites in my life. As an aside, a month ago, my cousins wife collapsed while excercising and it turns out she has lyme that she got sometime in the past so the blood test is probably worth it at some point just so you know.

Need for treatment — The clinician will review the description of the tick along with any physical symptoms to decide upon a course of action. The Infectious Disease Society of America recommends preventive treatment with antibiotics only in patients who meet all of the following circumstances [3] :

Attached tick identified as an adult or nymphal I. scapularis (deer) tick
Tick is estimated to have been attached for ≥36 hours (by degree of engorgement or time of exposure)
Prophylaxis should begin within 72 hours of tick removal
Local rate of infection of ticks with B. burgdorferi is ≥20 percent (these rates of infection have been shown to occur in parts of New England, parts of the mid-Atlantic States, parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin)
Doxycycline is not contraindicated (ie, the patient is not pregnant or lactating or a child <8 years of age)
If the patient meets the guidelines, the recommended dose of doxycycline is a single dose of 200 mg for adults and 4 mg/kg up to a maximum dose of 200 mg in children ≥ 8 years
found this online....

I went hiking with the wife around 4:00 PM yesterday. That's when I think I picked it up. Found it at 3:00 AM. That's only 11 hours so I think I'm OK as far as Lyme Disease. I am still abit sore though. I told my wife to really dig the tweezers in to make sure she got the head. Of the tick that is.

SO
I was woke up this morning at 3am for work . Stupid systems people havent a clue . have been up and working ever since . A tick on your #^&#^&#^&#^& ? now thats more than I wanted to know . glad you made up for it by catching fish .

Bring the tick in for a medical evaluation. Never know what it could catch from you.

Shoulda burned it off with a butt

Lyme disease isn't the only thing a deer tick carries. Last summer, my wife was introduced to something called "babesiosis". The symptoms are malarial--high fever with alternating sweats and chills. The doctors at Cape Cod Hospital told her they see at least 3 new cases every week.

Uh huh....."hiking with the wife" you call that?

mike
i'm surprised the thing didn't drop dead when it got past your waist band!! they sure are tough animals!! might even be tougher than roaches.