[pct-l] How to avoid being ticked off at ticks. By WA Health Dept.

Wed May 1 08:42:05 CDT 2013

Thanks for this helpful post. Ticks are the bane of my existence
On May 1, 2013 8:04 AM, "Cat Nelson" <sagegirl51 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Ticks
>
> Ticks are small blood-feeding parasites that can transmit diseases to
> people. Some types of ticks perch on the edge of low-lying vegetation and
> grab onto animals, and people, as they brush past. Other ticks are
> associated with rodents and their nests and may only come out at night to
> feed. Once aboard, ticks crawl until they find a good spot to feed, then
> burrow their mouth parts into the skin for a blood meal. Their bodies
> slowly enlarge to accommodate the amount of blood ingested. Ticks feed
> anywhere from several minutes to several days depending on their species,
> life stage, and type of host.
>
> Avoiding Tick Bites
>
> Outdoor Activities
>
> When working, camping, or walking in a tick habitat - wooded, brushy, or
> grassy places - a few simple precautions can reduce your chance of being
> bitten.
>
> Wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck your pant legs into socks or
> boots and shirt into pants. This can help keep ticks on the outside of your
> clothing where they can be more easily spotted and removed.
> Wear light colored, tightly woven clothing which will allow the dark tick
> to be seen more easily. The tight weave makes it harder for the tick to
> attach itself.
> Use tick repellent when necessary, and carefully follow instructions on the
> label. Products containing DEET or permethrin are very effective in
> repelling ticks. Take special care when using repellents on children.
> Check yourself, your children, and pets thoroughly for ticks. Carefully
> inspect areas around the head, neck, ears, under arms, between legs, and
> back of knees. Look for what may appear like a new freckle or speck of
> dirt.
> Shower or bathe (preferably within two hours after being in tick habitat)
> to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you.
> Cabins and Rodents
>
> When staying in summer cabins or vacation homes, especially in eastern
> Washington, make sure rodents, and their ticks, aren't spending the night
> with you. Practice rodent control by not attracting rodents, sealing them
> out of your living areas, trapping rodents, and properly cleaning up
> rodent-contaminated areas.
>
> Around the Home Management
>
> Focus your management of tick habitat to areas frequently used by your
> family, not necessarily your entire property.
>
> Use brick, paving, decking, gravel, container plantings, and low water
> requirement plants to encourage bright sunny areas immediately around your
> home - open sunny areas are less likely to harbor ticks.
> Keep grass mowed, shrubs trimmed, and restrict the use of ground cover in
> family or pet areas.
> Keep dogs and cats out of the woods to keep them from bringing home ticks.
> Tick control products are available for pets - follow label instructions
> and talk to your veterinarian if you have questions.
> Widen woodland trails.
> Move swing sets, sand boxes, and other children play areas away from the
> edge of woods and place them on a wood chip or mulch foundation.
> Use plantings that don't attract deer or exclude deer through fencing.
> Practice rodent control to discourage rodent activity in and around your
> home.
> Removing a Tick
>
> Promptly remove the tick using fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick as
> close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even
> pressure. Avoid removing the tick with bare hands. Don't twist or jerk the
> tick -- this may cause the mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin.
> If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers.
> After removing the tick, disinfect the bite site and wash your hands.
> Note the date that you found the tick attached to you, just in case you
> become ill. If a fever, rash, or flu-like illness occurs within a month,
> let your doctor know that you were bitten by a tick. This information may
> assist your doctor in diagnosing your illness.
> Avoid Folk Remedies to Remove a Tick
>
> Hot matches or coating the tick's body with petroleum jelly, soap, or nail
> polish do little to encourage a tick to detach from skin. In fact, they may
> make matters worse by irritating the tick and causing it to release
> additional saliva, increasing the chance of transmitting disease. These
> methods of tick removal should be avoided.
>
> Identifying Ticks
>
> Neither the Washington State Public Health Laboratory nor the CDC test
> ticks for disease. We can, however, identify ticks to species. Because
> different tick species transmit different pathogens, knowing the tick
> species may help a health care provider diagnose an illness that could be
> associated with a tick bite.
>
> Healthcare providers and local health departments investigating a possible
> human tick-borne disease case should submit a tick for identification using
> the Microbiology Submission Form (PDF). Mark "Parasitology" and indicate
> the tick exposure location under the "Comments" section.
> Ticks found on you, a family member, or a pet can be submitted for
> identification using the Tick Identification Submission Form (PDF).
> Diseases Spread by Ticks
>
> Washington has relatively few tick-borne disease cases reported each year
> in comparison to some areas of the United States. If you think you have
> symptoms of a tick-borne disease, contact your doctor. Doctors are asked to
> notify local health department of suspected or confirmed cases of
> tick-borne disease (see Notifiable Conditions). The following diseases can
> be transmitted by a tick bite in Washington.
>
> Lyme Disease
>
> The first sign of Lyme disease is usually an expanding circular rash which
> starts at the site of the tick bite. The rash may have a target-shape or
> "bull's-eye" appearance. Fever, headache, muscle aches, and joint pain may
> also occur. If left untreated, later symptoms can include recurring joint
> pain, heart disease, and nervous system disorders. Lyme disease is the most
> common tick-borne disease in the United States, but is rare in Washington.
> Only 0 to 3 Lyme disease cases per year are reported to be infected in
> Washington. Lyme disease is caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria,
> which can be transmitted through the bite of a western black-legged tick,
> Ixodes pacificus. Western black-legged ticks pick up the bacteria after
> feeding on infected rodents. These ticks live in forested or brushy areas
> of western Washington. Learn more about Lyme disease.
>
> Tick-borne Relapsing Fever
>
> Symptoms include relapsing (recurrent) periods of fever lasting for 2 to 7
> days, disappearing for about 4 to 14 days, and then reoccurring. One to 12
> cases of tick-borne relapsing fever are reported each year in Washington.
> Most people become infected while staying in rural, mountainous cabins of
> eastern Washington during the summer months. The soft tick, Ornithodorus
> hermsi, typically feeds on rodents, which is where they pick up the
> Borrelia hermsii bacteria. The infected tick can then transmit the bacteria
> by feeding on a person for short periods of time while they are sleeping.
> Since these ticks are associated with rodent burrows and nests, it's
> important to keep rodents out of cabins and other sleeping areas. Learn
> more about tick-borne relapsing fever.
>
> Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
>
> Initial symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever may include fever, nausea,
> vomiting, muscle pain, lack of appetite, and severe headache. A rash
> generally, but not always, appears a few days later. Abdominal pain, joint
> pain, and diarrhea can also occur. Each year, 0 to 3 cases of Rocky
> Mountain spotted fever are identified in Washington. Some of the cases are
> infected in Washington, some are infected elsewhere. The bacteria that
> causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever is transmitted by the bite of an
> infected American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, or Rocky Mountain wood
> tick, D. andersoni. These ticks are found throughout the state and prefer
> woodland areas, medium height grasses and shrubs between wetlands and
> woods, and sunny or open areas around woods. They are especially common in
> eastern Washington. Learn more about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, CDC.
>
> Tick Paralysis
>
> Tick paralysis is caused by a neurotoxin from an attached tick. This
> condition is characterized by a progressive paralysis that usually starts
> in the legs with muscle weakness, loss of coordination, numbness, and
> difficulty standing or walking. The symptoms progress upwards to the
> abdomen, back, and chest. If the tick is not removed, paralysis of the
> chest muscles can lead to respiratory failure and death within 24 to 48
> hours after symptoms begin. Prompt removal of the tick usually leads to a
> complete recovery. Twelve cases of tick paralysis have been reported in
> Washington from 1990 through 2011. Ticks associated with tick paralysis
> include Ixodes and Dermacentor species that live in forested and brushy
> areas or along edges between open grassy areas and woods. See Tick
> Paralysis Case Report, CDC.
>
> Tularemia
>
> A tick bite is one way people can get tularemia. Symptoms of tularemia
> following a tick bite include sudden fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes,
> and a skin ulcer near the bite. One to 10 cases of tularemia are reported
> each year in Washington - only some of these are due to tick bites and some
> cases are acquired in other states. Ticks that can transmit tularemia in
> Washington are the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, and the Rocky
> Mountain wood tick, D. andersoni. These ticks are found throughout the
> state and prefer woodland areas, medium height grasses and shrubs between
> wetlands and woods, and sunny or open areas along the edge of woods. Find
> out more at Tularemia, CDC.
>
> Anaplasmosis
>
> Symptoms of anaplasmosis include headache, fever, chills, and muscle aches.
> No human cases have been reported in Washington, however, anaplasmosis has
> been diagnosed in numerous dogs in our state. Western black-legged ticks,
> Ixodes pacificus, can carry the bacteria that cause anaplasmosis and are
> found in the western part of the state living in forested or brushy areas.
> Learn more about Anaplasmosis, CDC.
>
> Babesiosis
>
> Symptoms of babesiosis include fever, chills, fatigue, muscle pain, and
> anemia. Since 1990, only 2 cases have been reported as contracting the
> disease in Washington. The western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus, is
> considered the vector of this disease in Washington. This tick is found in
> forested or brushy areas of western Washington. See Babesiosis, CDC.
>
>
>
> Content Source: Zoonotic Disease Program
>
> Cat
> sagegirl51 at gmail.com
> WA Trail Angel
> 253-861-3425
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