Every parent should educate themselves on tick and tick bites. Unknown to many tick bites are very common. Indeed one of the top ten “How to “ searches on Google seeks information on “How to remove a tick?â€.
A tick burrowing in a humna skin
The bite itself is not a big deal , the problem is the toxins , secretions that are transmitted through a ticks saliva when it bites into a human, a dog , cat or any other household pet.
Tick bites can be confused with flea bites or bedbug bites. However it is possible to have a tick burrowing in the body of a human or a pet.
Ticks go through several life cycles such as larva and nymph.
Tick bites are dangerous
Ticks are the leading carriers of diseases to humans in the USA( This is only second to mosquitoes worldwide). Ticks are dangerous as they can lead to various diseases such as Lyme disease (borreliosis) which can be transmitted by black-legged ticks such as deer ticks (hard ticks) , Rocky Mountain spotted fever also known as American dog tick and Rocky Mountain wood tick ,Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) , Tick-borne relapsing fever , Tularemia and Colorado tick fever.
There are some seasonal outbreaks of tick diseases such as from April to September in the USA when the ticks go through the growth stage to adults.
Ticks live in low brush which allows them to attach to animals such as deers and household pet.
Fastest way to get a tick
One study stated that the fastest way to acquire ticks is to lean against a tree or an old log. It takes just 30 seconds for the ticks to get to you or your clothes.
Ticks require blood to survive and they will attach themselves to humans, and pets. If ticks cannot find a host they usually die. Once they find a host they burrow with their barbed mouth parts into the exposed skin .They then deposit some toxins into the host body which numbs it from pain .( This was the case that happened to my neighbor’s 6 year old daughter who had a tick clinging to her but she was unaware of it and was not feeling any pain). This makes some people not notice the bite .They may also not find the tick if it falls off as some are really small. If you find the tick burrowed into your body or that of a pet there are safe ways to extract it. The site of the tick bite will turn reddish. However if it turns into a bulls’ eye , that may be a sign of serious trouble or even lyme disease.
Some tick bits can cause muscle weakness and or paralysis. Some people are allergic to tick bites and will immediately react to it .
Tick Bite symptoms
Other develop symptoms such as Flu-like symptoms, Numbness, Fever symptoms,Pain and swelling in the joints,Rash ,Confusion, Shortness of breath,Nausea and vomiting,Weakness,Palpitations and Paralysis. However most of the bites do not result into serious problems.
So if you have pets in the house, or are an outdoors person who goes camping and hiking it is important to educate yourself on tick bites, how to protect yourself and how to apply treatment.
Please use the links provided in right hand side for more information about specific tick bite related issue.
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