Life cycle of ticks and what we should expect this year

[loanshark]

I've been removing them from my dog for a couple of weeks now. Removed one attached to my arm this A.M.

 

[erugs]

I am just keeping my "paws" crossed in hope that I never have to decide which way to go.

It's a gamble. From enjoying the outdoors and taking a chance to which "camp" for treatment you want to rely upon. Add to that the decision you might consider of whether to stay with your long-time physician (or one who is convenient and you've grown accustomed to) whose philosophy on this might differ from what you have been reading or learning from your friends, and trying to decide whether to stick with it.

My difficult decision was made after watching the film Under Our Skin, looking over the very lengthy checklist of possible symptoms, and realizing I was visiting my physician regularly for a wide range of issues for which there was no medical answer. My health and energy levels were declining and it wasn't old age, but it was getting old. Am I better now? Quite a bit, but not entirely.

 

[erugs]

I've been removing them from my dog for a couple of weeks now. Removed one attached to my arm this A.M.

Have you been able to identify the type of tick it is?

 

[Jason Berard]

7 on me after walking a 1 acre parcel. All deer ticks. Mosly adults with one nymph, I believe. MichaelJ, I thought it had been decided that dog ticks could carry Lyme disease?

 

[Nessmuk]

Tick Doctor App

Have you been able to identify the type of tick it is?

There's a free tick identity app by a doctor who specializes in expeditionary medicine, and is a member of my SAR team. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tickdoctor-tick-identification/id310916944?mt=8

 

[Puma concolor]

At the risk of jinxing myself, I'll say that IMO tick hysteria is way over the top particularly when you're aware of the issues. It takes a full day for a tick to burrow itself into you to be in a position to cause Lyme disease. So if you consistently examine yourself in tick country, your worries should be few. I've only had one "close call" (and it wasn't even really all that close) while in Arkansas one year. Tick had its head solidly into my leg and I noticed it about 4-5 hours after my hike. Simply plucked it out and that was the end of it. I worry far more about keeping them off my kids than keeping them off myself. Those who are unaware of the dangers are the most vulnerable.

 

[MichaelJ]

MichaelJ, I thought it had been decided that dog ticks could carry Lyme disease?

That link I posted to the American Lyme Disease Association (located in Lyme, CT, how cute is that?) said no, but I didn't do any further research.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

So if you consistently examine yourself in tick country, your worries should be few.

I've found them in my house days after people were out in the yard, and I have no pets, so you can't reliably use this mechanism unless you check yourself every day (probably morning and evening to be extra safe), regardless.

Tim

 

[erugs]

What kind of tick was it?

At the risk of jinxing myself, I'll say that IMO tick hysteria is way over the top particularly when you're aware of the issues. It takes a full day for a tick to burrow itself into you to be in a position to cause Lyme disease. So if you consistently examine yourself in tick country, your worries should be few. I've only had one "close call" (and it wasn't even really all that close) while in Arkansas one year. Tick had its head solidly into my leg and I noticed it about 4-5 hours after my hike. Simply plucked it out and that was the end of it. I worry far more about keeping them off my kids than keeping them off myself. Those who are unaware of the dangers are the most vulnerable.

 

[Puma concolor]

What kind of tick was it?

Deer tick as far as I know but I'm no expert. Picked it up hiking on Mount Magazine, Arkansas. Lyme disease isn't all that big down there; tularemia would have been a more likely outcome if it was carrying anything at all.

 

[erugs]

I thought it had been decided that dog ticks could carry Lyme disease?

This appeared in IMG's online newsletter which I received just now. It comes from Adventure Medical Kits. The highlighting is mine.

"Ticks are brushed onto people who pass close-by. Once a tick lands on a person, it clings to hair or clothing and waits for several hours until the individual is at rest. Then it moves to an exposed area, often around the tops of the socks or at the neckline, attaches itself, and begins feeding.

Ticks secrete saliva and disease-producing organisms into the victim while feeding. About a hundred tick species transmit infections to humans. The most infamous are the tiny deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus), which spread Lyme disease; the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), which transmits ehrlichiosis, Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), and tularemia; and the dog tick (Dormacentor variabilis), which transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia."

 

[Spiny Norman]

Our pediatrician here in Concord, NH told us that the bacteria lives deep in the ticks gut. The tick has to fill its stomach enough that the bacteria essentially becomes backwashed into your body. We were told most ticks have to feed for 24-36 hours before this happens. FWIW

 

[MichaelJ]

Some interesting reading this morning on http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma..._spike_in_ticks_but_may_lead_to_early_demise/

Winter’s warm temperatures have yielded an unusually robust bounty of springtime ticks that have attached themselves to pets and people in Massachusetts. But the same warm, dry weather that fueled an explosion of ticks may ultimately stifle survival of young ticks known as nymphs that are most prone to spread disease.

“Deer ticks are exquisitely sensitive to drying out,’’ said Richard Pollack, a tick researcher at Harvard’s School of Public Health. “This can shorten their survival, which could be good for people, but not so good for deer ticks.’’

 

[NH Tramper]

[...] I thought it had been decided that dog ticks could carry Lyme disease?

My understanding is that deer ticks are the only ones to carry Lyme disease. The real danger is not from the adults -- though they can pass along the disease -- but rather from the nymphs. The adults can be seen and thus removed without threat since it takes a while for them to pass the disease along to their hosts (ETA: as Spiny Norman noted). The nymphs, however, are so small you can't really feel them or see them very well so discovery of a nymph bite usually occurs once symptoms present; if they present. It's pretty scary.

Here are two articles, a few years old but still relevant, that may be helpful: Some Tick Tech (the author, the late Dave Simser, was a friend of mine) and The Grand Tick Hunt.

 

[Jason Berard]

Thanks for the clarification on deer/wood tick deseases, everyone!
I've been seeing about equal parts nymph and adult deer ticks so far. no wood (dog) ticks yet.

 

[erugs]

It you get bitten, don't wait, get the meds right away...This time it was our cat that brought the tick home. Despite being protected by FrontLine, the rotten little things can still get in their fur and stay on.

MichaelJ was right to say check your clothes as well as yourself. While I don't recommend the following for Jim Lombard and his cat bringing a deer tick home, if you find ticks on yourself, assume they will also be on your clothes. Because they are perhaps more difficult to find on clothes, pop them into your dryer for about 20 minutes on high heat. That's anti-environmental as it wastes energy, but it may save you from an energy-wasting illness.

Washing your clothes won't kill the ticks, and they can survive on your clothes even after washing, but the dryer dries them up and kills them.

 

[Maddy]

Didn't know that about the dryer. Thanx!

 

[Chip]

Our pediatrician here in Concord, NH told us that the bacteria lives deep in the ticks gut. The tick has to fill its stomach enough that the bacteria essentially becomes backwashed into your body. We were told most ticks have to feed for 24-36 hours before this happens. FWIW

This is how I understand it. Get the ticks off ASAP and chances are low you'll get Lyme. I suppose this is why dogs treated with Frontline can get bit repeatedly and not get Lyme; the tick still bites, but dies soon after.

 

[Chip]

It you get bitten, don't wait, get the meds right away.

My experience has been this: When I knew I was bit, it wasn't by a deer tick. When I got the target rash (right in the middle of my chest) and Lyme, I didn't know I was bit. When I got the rash and migraine, though, then I made sure I was treated aggressively. A friend was just given a 4 or 5 day course of meds for Lyme. We suggested he see another doctor.

Despite being protected by FrontLine, the rotten little things can still get in their fur and stay on.

As stated above; the dog or cat will get bit and not get Lyme as Frontline kills them before transmission. That's how I understand that.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I saw these two links about anti-tick clothing on the online version of Outside Magazine.

First - here are treated gaitors (BugOut) made by OR -
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/gear-guy/Outdoor-Research-Bugout-Gaiters.html

And here are zip-off pants made by ExOfficio. I assume they make them from women also -
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/gear-guy/How-Can-I-Guard-Against-Ticks.html