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Ticked

I got up and headed for work about 5:45 this morning.  Just as I was getting ready to leave I started sneezing.   I sneezed all the way to work.  Then at work I was sneezing.  I sometimes have allergies, so I take a form of Zertec every morning as my doctor instructed.  On ocassion I run into something that sets off my allergies.  Sneezing, runny nose (very), watery eyes, the whole bit.  So I take an antihistamine or two in addition to the generic Zyrtec.  I did this as soon as I got to work.  After about an hour the runny nose and all slowed down and I was able to function better.   About noon, it all just started up again.  So I took a couple more antihistamines.

TickWell driving home, for some reason I felt a tiny bump under my shirt.  It was attached to my chest, just under my right nipple.  It didn’t take long to figure out that it was probably a tick that had attached itself to my body.  I couldn’t really see for sure as I was driving down the interstate.  So, as soon as I got home I took a look at it in the mirror… and sure enough it was a tick.  So I immediately Googled tick removal and found the proper way to remove a tick:

Remove a tick from your skin as soon as you notice it. Use fine-tipped tweezers to firmly grasp the tick very close to your skin. With a steady motion, pull the tick’s body away from your skin. Then clean your skin with soap and warm water. Throw the dead tick away with your household trash.

Avoid crushing the tick’s body. Do not be alarmed if the tick’s mouthparts remain in the skin. Once the mouthparts are removed from the rest of the tick, it can no longer transmit the Lyme disease bacteria. If you accidentally crush the tick, clean your skin with soap and warm water or alcohol.

Don’t use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove a tick.

I did just that.  It came out in two pieces, but that’s his problem, not mine.  It was a stubborn little thing.

I learned this about my tick:

  1. Are there white markings on the rear margin of the tick’s back OR a single white spot in the center of the back?

YES: This is the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) . These ticks are common in the midwest. They have long, narrow mouthparts (as in the illustration above) and their bodies are somewhat round in shape rather than oval-shaped like other ticks. Lone star ticks can transmit tularemia and other diseases including one similar to Lyme disease but milder.

I also learned this about ticks in general:

 A tick needs a blood meal from a host in order to molt (progress to the next stage of its life cycle), and to reproduce (lay eggs).  This feeding process continues for several days to a week until the tick is fully engorged with blood.  It then releases its hold on the host, drops off, and subsequently molts or lays eggs.

I’m assuming my body was reacting to the tick by presenting the allegy symptoms.  I already feel better now that that varmint is dead.

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14 thoughts on “Ticked”

  1. ~How did you get it? In the woods, house, from pet, yardwork?
    ~How do you know now that you don’t have, or won’t get, lyme or tularemia or other horrors? Do you have to take something as preventative?
    ~When I was a Boy Scout (shockingly some 40 years ago), we were taught to use the old hot match remedy. I wonder when that changed, and why?
    ~I’ve lived in the Midwest all my life, and this is one bug that’s managed to avoid me…so far so good.

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  2. Huh…it’s weird for a tick bite to present with allergy symptoms. Sometimes FLU symptoms (fever, joint aches, weakness) come along if you get lyme disease, but I’ve not really heard of people having a sneeze/sinus reaction to a tick–especially while it’s still attached (usually the tick produces a secretion that completely masks it from the host’s senses). Kinda interesting…

    Might still be worth a trip to the doctor, just to ask if any anti-bodies are recommended. DEFINITLY go if you get a “target” shaped rash…that’s almost definitly lyme disease, and untreated it can cause your heart to expand and stop working…not a heart attack, but an actual expansionof the heart muscle that’s pretty difficult to fix, if it’s not just wholly irreversible…so you’ll want to get on an antibiotic regimine ASAP if you see the “target” developing at the source of the bite (or elsewhere, but it’s most likely at the bite-source).

    …and NEVER burn a tick. You may cause it to either burst inside of you or to vomit out the whole of its insides…either option is highly toxic and has caused extreme sickness, infection, or even a septic-condition in humans. I’m thinking the “burn it off” method developed because you CAN do that if your dog has a tick attached, because a dog’s DNA is different from a human’s, and they aren’t effected the same way. There are actually few real medical technicians that have EVER recommended that for humans…but the Boy Scouts and most campers adopted the practice anyway…of course a few years ago, Boy Scout leaders were getting arrested faster than Catholic priests…so maybe that tell you something, too. 😉

    …why do I know so much about ticks???

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  3. DJ,
    I cut my grass last Friday (right next to a wooded area), and walked down to my deck Wednesday at dusk to take some picture of the solstice moon. (the area is kind of overgrown around the deck and walkway).
    I also visited with my daughter and her family and was playing around with her dogs a little.
    I guess you have to wait and see as far as catching some disease. If all of a sudden I disappear forever you can blame the tick.
    I’ve gotten ticks before, but it’s been quite a while… mostly because I don’t hike or spend too much time in the woods.
    Jonco

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  4. Aren’t you afraid of posting a nipple shot with infidel around?
    .
    I live in a wooded area and ticks are a part of life here (yes, NJ has lots of woods, forests, etc.). Removing it within 24 to 48 hours is the key to avoid lymes 9at least according to our doctor). A bullseye redish area is an indicator you MIGHT be infected. See your doctor if you have any doubts.
    .
    Avoid any methods that might squeeze the body of the tick, burn it, or smother it with anything. All those methods INCREASE the chance of the tick regurgitation into your body. The dramatically increases your chance of contracting lymes.

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  5. This was the most interesting information I’ve rec’d all week. Thanks.

    But, I’m thinking infidel might hit that tick. Then we all regurgitate.

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  6. Mike,
    I took that pic with my Sony DSC-H3 in macro mode.
    Jonco

    WooHoo,
    A bullseye redish area? That kind of sounds like nipple to me.

    I’m still ticking…errrr kicking!
    Jonco

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  7. I’ve had over 20 this year. A couple here and there, nothing worth writing the web about…
    After a spring walk, last year, I counted 45, and my buddy had 60 and stopped counting, Icky! Now THAT”S worth writing about…

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