naturally Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 After growing up in the country for 22 of my 35 years, I had my first tick encounter last night. We went to visit friends and 5 minutes after being there brushed a tick from my youngest DS3. After coming home, I brushed one out of my hair. We all scrubbed good last night and checked as careful as would could. But I need some info - DS2 threw his dirty clothes under his bed instead of in the laundry. How unnerved do I need to be about ticks in the house now? What about the car and carseats? I've done some reading but still feel unsettled. I HATE bugs! Can the tick bite and let go? I've just always heard about them embedding so I took that to mean that once it attaches it will never let go. I need some help in a "please don't freak me out more" way. How do I go about making sure all of us are safe? How long do I need to keep checking us? We live in the suburbs and have never seen a tick here. Our friends had just moved to a new house kinda of out in the country where I guess the back of the property hadn't been mowed in years. Ugghh. I don't need something else to worry about and stress me out right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Its not that big a deal! i've had tics on me, on pets, on family members, more times than I can count over the years. My husband never notices them when he gets them, and I'll see them on him in the shower the next day and pull it off. We've never gotten any tic-borne illnesses. I do flush them down the toilet when I find them, though. Not sure if its important, but my mom always did that when she pulled them off the dog, saying she was sending them to summer camp . . . put it out of your mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myra Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) Lyme Disease is a serious tick-borne disease. If caught early enough you might be able to avoid some of the serious side effects (not to scare you, but some can be life-threatening and totally debilitating) So if you have been bit by a tick and it has been embedded for 24 hours before you remove it, then I would see a doctor for a 3 week course of antibiotics to be on the safe side esp if you have the systems- bull's eye rash, fever, chills, etc. I'm not trying to scare you as we've lived in the country for years with ticks and haven't had a problem so most likely you won't have a problem. But just this year alone, both my 19 year old and I have been battling lyme disease. Myra Edited July 29, 2012 by Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Lyme Disease is a serious tick-borne disease. If caught early enough you might be able to avoid some of the serious side effects (not to scare you, but some can be life-threatening and totally debilitating) So if you have been bit by a tick and it has been embeded for 24 hours before you remove it, then I would see a doctor for a 3 week course of antibiotics to be on the safe side esp if you have the systems- bull's eye rash, fever, chills, etc. I'm not trying to scare you as we've lived in the country for years with ticks and haven't had a problem so most likely you won't have a problem. But just this year alone, both my 19 year old and I have been battling lyme disease. Myra We do not have tick problems in our area, so we haven't had to be vigilant. However, dh was just in Huntsville, AL and then in Manchester, TN...both places that have big tick issues and Lyme's on the rise. He found a tick on his neck and didn't know how long it had been there. At first he didn't think he'd been bitten, but within 24 hrs. of finding it, a very small bull's eye looking rash developed. We think we got him on the doxycyclene in enough time to stem the tide of infection, but we won't know for a while. This is a disease that is not worth messing with. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Ticks are not like fleas or bed bugs. Even if you have a few isolated ticks crawling around, it is not like having in infestation in the house. Tick-borne diseases are real and can be serious. However, the vast majority of tick bites are harmless. I've pulled dozens off of myself over the years and quite a few off my DDs and maybe hundreds off of various pets. We've never gotten sick or required treatment. You will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naturally Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 If the one on me came out while brushing my hair, could it have bitten me? The one on DS3 was on his shirt and couldn't have been there long. I'm most worried that one came home in the car or somewhere else and I won't catch it. So, most importantly I'm watching for a rash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 We spend a good amount of time hiking so we do the tick thing pretty frequently. We've never had a problem. I don't worry if the tick wasn't embedded. Even the few times we've had embedded ticks we didn't have problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Generally, they don't bite and let go...they let go when they are full. You would know. Also, I think they have to be attached for a period of time (like 24 hours) before they transmit disease. I definitely wouldn't spend a huge amount of time worrying about it. We live in TN, and it is infested with ticks around here. You just check yourself, and go on. :) (In fact I had to pull one off of myself this morning. :glare:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 The biggest worry is lyme disease and that usually makes a red ring-shaped rash like a bullseye. It can also cause cold/flu type symptoms. Tics will crawl around looking for a nice, warm, safe place -like an armpit or under a waist band. The one in your hair may fallen on to your head (they drop down from trees sometimes) and was still looking for a nice warm place. once they bite you have to pull hard to get it off. They will stay on for days and keep drinking blood, getting big and rounds - this doesnt happen on ppl because it itches, you scratch, and notice it. but on dogs this can happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned, but do keep an eye on it. If we went on antibiotics every time we found ticks on us, we'd be on antibiotics every year, all summer long. We find several ticks embedded in us every year. That being said, if we are in a tick-infested area we do check ourselves carefully, and we watch the area after we remove a tick. If it is a very small tick, the chances of Lyme's Disease are higher. Generally the bigger ticks don't carry Lyme's Disease. Usually ticks will not hang out on clothes, etc; they will get right to the warm flesh -- of a person or animal. Once, my son ate a full-tick that had fallen off of our dog because he thought it was a grape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I wouldn't be concerned. I honestly think the idea of antibiotics just because you had a couple of ticks is ludicrous. :) We have them quite a bit here. Like the others said, they have to be attached for a day or so to transmit anything. We just check for them regularly, and know what to look for when it comes to tick borne diseases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbpaulie Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 FYI.. The ticks that carry the Lyme disease are typically the really tiny ticks - the deer ticks. I was shocked to discover how tiny these really are. The larger ticks are not typicaly carriers of Lyme disease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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