Maybe someone can make this a sticky.
This was posted in my forum and I thought it was very helpful and very informative.
Ticks, bugs, and mosquitoes are part of biking and simply being outdoors, so let's get started....
Well...usually when it comes to ticks there's like different reactions....
- "and now what?" - the clueless guy
- "meh...nothing can happen, I got a shot" - the partially clueless
- "ahh, there was something, but they don't jump from trees" - the almost well informed
- "Ok, now we've got to get some misinformation out of the way" - that's the job of this thread
Unfortunately infections from ticks are on the rise, but this is mostly from uniformed or misinformed patients as well as doctors!
Here we are going to address Lyme disease which is a bacterial infection spread by an infected tick.
If treated early, it is pretty curable, but treated in later stages it can become chronic and very hard to treat, that's why time is crucial.
First, let's rule out some misinformation about ticks:
- You can get a shot for tick bourne illnesses. well, that's not completely correct. You can get vaccinated for Tick-borne encephalitis virus. It's recommended for people who are outdoors a lot , but it's a 2 stage process and not suitable for everybody and it does have side affects.
- ticks jump from trees. No, you can get ticks through many ways, but that they sit in a tree and jump down on a biker is extremely unlikely. They usually are in the grass and bushes, 1-2 feet high and are waiting for someone to come by.
- You got to turn the tick when you pull it out. Absolute nonsense, the tick didn't drill into you, so there is no need to do that! You actually increase the risk of tearing the tick apart and leaving a body part under your skin.
- Or cover the tick in oil to get it out easy. A huge DO NOT! Oil, butter etc. may cause the tick to suffocate and even throw up into your blood stream, which increases the risk of an infection.
How to avoid ticks:
Usually you will find ticks in slightly higher grass in the woods and more likely near streams and creeks. But they can also be found in parks and gardens and back yards. Here they wait until you come by and they hold on to your legs or the hair on your legs. A tick won't bite immediately, it will first crawl on you to find the perfect spot, this can take hours.
You will feel it crawl, but you won't feel the bite as the tick makes the spot it's going to bite into, numb first.
They usually look for warm, moist areas on your skin and where thinner skin can be found.
So, armpits, scalp, genital areas etc.
So stay on the path/trail and stay away from grass and deeper woods.
You can spray your body and clothing with deet. Deet repels ticks and mosquitoes etc.
The Center for Disease Control recommends 30-50% DEET to prevent the spread of pathogens carried by insects.
Off Deep woods for example has 30% deet.
Deet however is also pretty aggressive and can dissolve plastics, so some people might experience burning on their skin or even an allergic reaction.
Well, there is something else....Icaridin! (Also called Picaridin)
Tested by the European army, it's been proven to be as effective as deet, but way more skin friendly!
Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent contains 20% Icaridin.
You can combine that with Citriodol, another natural repellent and you will have an excellent tick and bug repellant, like a higher percentage deet.
It is possible to get a tick by riding through higher grass or coming in contact with little bushes.
The best thing to do, is to look for them after a ride and take a shower as soon as you get home, also shake out clothing, because they can also be in there.
Water won't kill it, but maybe it gets rinsed off of you while you take a shower.
So, what to do, after you were bitten?
Well, first thing is don't panic! It's important to get it out the right and proper way.
Grab them with some tweezers as close to the skin as possible and and pull upright. You don't want to damage the tick or pull the body off and the head sticks still in your skin.
You can also buy a tick card which helps to pull a tick out and it can be put in your wallet like a credit card.
If you have a very small tick, then consider going to your doctor to get it properly removed.
Once you got it out, disinfect the bite! Also don't throw the tick away, tape it to some paper and keep it.
Even though you might forget about the bite rather quickly, it is important to watch out for symptoms after the bite and always tell your doctor that you are outdoors and/or you had been bitten.
Statistically, the amount of time the tick was on you is in direct correlation to the infection risk. Well, first off, not all ticks are infected and will spread the disease. But within 12 hours the risk of getting an infection is pretty low, however cases have been reported after just a couple of hours.
So, what to do if you have symptoms after a bite:
The bulletproof sign that you have Lyme disease is the Bullseye around the biting area. Red in the center and another red circle around, the bullseye. See your doctor ASAP.
Unfortunately, the bullseye as well as the symptoms don't show always! You can get LD without ever having had a bullseye. Also, symptoms and/or the bullseye can occur days, weeks, even years later!
So, for that, you need a good doctor who is capable of making the diagnosis quick and will test for it.
Symptoms:
Early signs and symptoms -
These signs and symptoms may occur within a month after you've been infected:
Rash. A small, red bump may appear at the site of the tick bite. This small bump is normal after a tick bite and doesn't indicate Lyme disease. However, over the next few days, the redness may expand forming a rash in a bull's-eye pattern, with a red outer ring surrounding a clear area. The rash, called erythema migrans, is one of the hallmarks of Lyme disease. Some people develop this rash at more than one place on their bodies.
Flu-like symptoms. Fever, chills, fatigue, body aches and a headache may accompany the rash.
Later signs and symptoms -
In some people, the rash may spread to other parts of the body and, several weeks to months after you've been infected, you may experience:
Joint pain. You may develop bouts of severe joint pain and swelling. Your knees are especially likely to be affected, but the pain can shift from one joint to another.
Neurological problems. Weeks, months or even years after you were infected, you may experience inflammation of the membranes surrounding your brain (meningitis), temporary paralysis of one side of your face (Bell's palsy), numbness or weakness in your limbs, and impaired muscle movement.
Less common signs and symptoms -
Several weeks after infection, some people develope:
Heart problems, such as an irregular heartbeat. Heart problems rarely last more than a few days or weeks.
Eye inflammation.
Liver inflammation (hepatitis).
Severe fatigue.
The diagnosis is not easy, that's why you need a competent doctor who can do this! Also, many times, doctors will say, oh...it can't be that....well insist that he/she tests you for it. This subject is rather difficult and I am not a doctor.
This was posted in my forum and I thought it was very helpful and very informative.
Ticks, bugs, and mosquitoes are part of biking and simply being outdoors, so let's get started....
Well...usually when it comes to ticks there's like different reactions....
- "and now what?" - the clueless guy
- "meh...nothing can happen, I got a shot" - the partially clueless
- "ahh, there was something, but they don't jump from trees" - the almost well informed
- "Ok, now we've got to get some misinformation out of the way" - that's the job of this thread
Unfortunately infections from ticks are on the rise, but this is mostly from uniformed or misinformed patients as well as doctors!
Here we are going to address Lyme disease which is a bacterial infection spread by an infected tick.
If treated early, it is pretty curable, but treated in later stages it can become chronic and very hard to treat, that's why time is crucial.
First, let's rule out some misinformation about ticks:
- You can get a shot for tick bourne illnesses. well, that's not completely correct. You can get vaccinated for Tick-borne encephalitis virus. It's recommended for people who are outdoors a lot , but it's a 2 stage process and not suitable for everybody and it does have side affects.
- ticks jump from trees. No, you can get ticks through many ways, but that they sit in a tree and jump down on a biker is extremely unlikely. They usually are in the grass and bushes, 1-2 feet high and are waiting for someone to come by.
- You got to turn the tick when you pull it out. Absolute nonsense, the tick didn't drill into you, so there is no need to do that! You actually increase the risk of tearing the tick apart and leaving a body part under your skin.
- Or cover the tick in oil to get it out easy. A huge DO NOT! Oil, butter etc. may cause the tick to suffocate and even throw up into your blood stream, which increases the risk of an infection.
How to avoid ticks:
Usually you will find ticks in slightly higher grass in the woods and more likely near streams and creeks. But they can also be found in parks and gardens and back yards. Here they wait until you come by and they hold on to your legs or the hair on your legs. A tick won't bite immediately, it will first crawl on you to find the perfect spot, this can take hours.
You will feel it crawl, but you won't feel the bite as the tick makes the spot it's going to bite into, numb first.
They usually look for warm, moist areas on your skin and where thinner skin can be found.
So, armpits, scalp, genital areas etc.
So stay on the path/trail and stay away from grass and deeper woods.
You can spray your body and clothing with deet. Deet repels ticks and mosquitoes etc.
The Center for Disease Control recommends 30-50% DEET to prevent the spread of pathogens carried by insects.
Off Deep woods for example has 30% deet.
Deet however is also pretty aggressive and can dissolve plastics, so some people might experience burning on their skin or even an allergic reaction.
Well, there is something else....Icaridin! (Also called Picaridin)
Tested by the European army, it's been proven to be as effective as deet, but way more skin friendly!
Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent contains 20% Icaridin.
You can combine that with Citriodol, another natural repellent and you will have an excellent tick and bug repellant, like a higher percentage deet.
It is possible to get a tick by riding through higher grass or coming in contact with little bushes.
The best thing to do, is to look for them after a ride and take a shower as soon as you get home, also shake out clothing, because they can also be in there.
Water won't kill it, but maybe it gets rinsed off of you while you take a shower.
So, what to do, after you were bitten?
Well, first thing is don't panic! It's important to get it out the right and proper way.
Grab them with some tweezers as close to the skin as possible and and pull upright. You don't want to damage the tick or pull the body off and the head sticks still in your skin.
You can also buy a tick card which helps to pull a tick out and it can be put in your wallet like a credit card.
If you have a very small tick, then consider going to your doctor to get it properly removed.
Once you got it out, disinfect the bite! Also don't throw the tick away, tape it to some paper and keep it.
Even though you might forget about the bite rather quickly, it is important to watch out for symptoms after the bite and always tell your doctor that you are outdoors and/or you had been bitten.
Statistically, the amount of time the tick was on you is in direct correlation to the infection risk. Well, first off, not all ticks are infected and will spread the disease. But within 12 hours the risk of getting an infection is pretty low, however cases have been reported after just a couple of hours.
So, what to do if you have symptoms after a bite:
The bulletproof sign that you have Lyme disease is the Bullseye around the biting area. Red in the center and another red circle around, the bullseye. See your doctor ASAP.
Unfortunately, the bullseye as well as the symptoms don't show always! You can get LD without ever having had a bullseye. Also, symptoms and/or the bullseye can occur days, weeks, even years later!
So, for that, you need a good doctor who is capable of making the diagnosis quick and will test for it.
Symptoms:
Early signs and symptoms -
These signs and symptoms may occur within a month after you've been infected:
Rash. A small, red bump may appear at the site of the tick bite. This small bump is normal after a tick bite and doesn't indicate Lyme disease. However, over the next few days, the redness may expand forming a rash in a bull's-eye pattern, with a red outer ring surrounding a clear area. The rash, called erythema migrans, is one of the hallmarks of Lyme disease. Some people develop this rash at more than one place on their bodies.
Flu-like symptoms. Fever, chills, fatigue, body aches and a headache may accompany the rash.
Later signs and symptoms -
In some people, the rash may spread to other parts of the body and, several weeks to months after you've been infected, you may experience:
Joint pain. You may develop bouts of severe joint pain and swelling. Your knees are especially likely to be affected, but the pain can shift from one joint to another.
Neurological problems. Weeks, months or even years after you were infected, you may experience inflammation of the membranes surrounding your brain (meningitis), temporary paralysis of one side of your face (Bell's palsy), numbness or weakness in your limbs, and impaired muscle movement.
Less common signs and symptoms -
Several weeks after infection, some people develope:
Heart problems, such as an irregular heartbeat. Heart problems rarely last more than a few days or weeks.
Eye inflammation.
Liver inflammation (hepatitis).
Severe fatigue.
The diagnosis is not easy, that's why you need a competent doctor who can do this! Also, many times, doctors will say, oh...it can't be that....well insist that he/she tests you for it. This subject is rather difficult and I am not a doctor.