So what had happen was my son saw it on his leg while taking a shower. He pulled it off and thought that was when he was bitten. The tick had some of my sons skin in his mouth. I told my son it was a tick. He said well it has 8 legs thats a spider in my book. And he said it hurt like a spider. I told him to never pull one off like that again. Next time (and hopefully there wouldn't be a next time) to let me know and we would use tweezers to pull it off.
I picked up the tick with a tissue and put it in a bag. Then I dated the bag and wrote down the location of the bite on the bag (these are things the doctor will need to know, in case of swelling or if the area turns red). Next I headed into the kitchen and found a glass bottle with a lid and put the whole bag tick and all into it and closed the lid (don't want that darn thing to get out and bite someone else).
So what should you do when you find a tick on your body attached or not?
If you've received a tick bite:
- Remove the tick promptly and carefully. Use tweezers to grasp the tick near its head or mouth and pull gently to remove the whole tick without crushing it.
- If possible, seal the tick in a jar and keep it for a week or two. Your doctor may want to see the tick if you develop symptoms of illness after a tick bite.
- Use soap and water to wash your hands and the area around the tick bite after handling the tick.
- Call your doctor if you aren't able to completely remove the tick.
See your doctor if you develop:
- A rash
- A fever
- Muscle aches
- Joint pain and inflammation
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Flu-like symptoms
This is a photo of my sons spider (I think he knows what a tick looks like now).
If possible, bring the tick with you to your doctor's appointment.
What Diseases could a tick carry?
A tick could carry, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
A tick could also carry Lyme Disease
Symptoms
The first symptoms of RMSF may include
- Moderate to high fever, which can persist for 2 to 3 weeks if the infection is untreated
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Severe headache
- Deep muscle pain
- Significant tiredness
- Chills
- Lack of appetite
You should watch your kid (or whoever was bitten) for days to weeks to a couple of months after the bite. You want to watch for a fever, for a red-spotted rash, which often starts as small, flat, pink, non-itchy spots on your wrists, forearms, and ankles. These spots turn pale when you apply pressure. They eventually become raised on your skin. In the late stages of the illness, skin tissue begins to die and turn black – thus the original local name "black measles." A few people with RMSF never develop a rash.
Some people develop additional symptoms later in the disease, including rash on the palms of their hands or soles of their feet, abdominal pain, joint pain, and diarrhea.
Now for Lyme Disease
Signs and SymptomsLyme disease can affect the skin, joints, nervous system, and other organ systems. Symptoms, and their severity, can vary from person to person.
Rash. A small, red bump may appear within a few days to a month, often at the site of the tick bite — often in your groin, belt area or behind your knee. It may be warm to the touch and mildly tender. Over the next few days, the redness expands, forming a rash that may be as small as a dime or as large as 12 inches across. It often resembles a bull's-eye, with a red ring surrounding a clear area and a red center. The rash, called erythema migrans, is one of the hallmarks of Lyme disease, affecting about 70 percent to 80 percent of infected people. If you're allergic to tick saliva, redness may develop at the site of a tick bite. The redness usually fades within a week. This is not the same as erythema migrans, which tends to expand and get redder over time.
Flu-like symptoms. A fever, chills, fatigue, body aches and a headache may accompany the rash.Ok so now for the next month or two I have to visit my son while he is in the shower and look all over his body for rashes and red areas.
Sounds like so much fun.
He has been bitten before when he was younger. He made out fine that time. Hope he does this time.
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Exculsion is the best way to keep those things away.
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The worst tick story I can tell you happened two years ago when I was doing a geocache. I somehow walked through a nest of those seed ticks. I was covered with at least 250 ticks. I stripped myself to my undergarments at the car and doused myself with a full, large can of Repel. I had 30 bite in by the time I got home and could fully inspect myself.
STay on top of it is all I can say.
I have found ticks on the kids and my dogs before, but I have never had one on me....
and luckily no one has been bit by one either,,,
K got lyme disease last year. It was a rather miserable thing, but we caught it really early.
I wish the best for your son and good luck tick/rash hunting! I'll pray you don't find either :)
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One of my saddest moments was talking with a mom who said because her daughter's illness was misdiagnosed (Dr. Said it was Measles), she discovered too late that the medicine they were giving to their dog could have saved their daughter.
Great article.