Tick Bites Treatment

If you are a person who spends plenty of time in the great outdoors, then being bitten by ticks will be a relatively commonplace experience. You are also likely to get bitten by ticks if you have a pet, that brings them into the house. There are more than 800 species of ticks throughout the world, and some of them transmit diseases to humans and animals. Larger ticks would be less than half an inch in size, whereas some are so small that you can hardly see them.

Ticks bite people and animals, and suck on their blood. Deer tick bites are the ones that can cause Lyme disease, so if a person is bitten by an Ixodes species of deer tick, a doctor may either begin with the treatment when signs or symptoms of infection develop, or prescribe preventive antibiotics. Tick bites treatment usually depends on the symptoms a person develops. Among the common diseases that you can get from a tick bite are Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Southern tick-associated rash illness, Tick-borne relapsing fever, and Tularemia. Less common than these are anaplasmosis, Colorado tick fever, and Powassan encephalitis.

Most people pick up ticks while gardening, camping, hiking or just playing outdoors. In the outdoors, there are certain areas that are infested, and the ticks may attach themselves to you when you walk through such an area, or if you come in contact with infested vegetation.

Treatment for Tick Bites

The first step to take is to remove the tick as soon as possible. There is a method to be followed here- use a pair of tweezers to grasp the tick near its head or mouth. Gradually pull it out backwards, using a steady force even, steady pressure. Try not to puncture the body of the tick while doing so. Now deposit it in a jar and seal the jar. Wash your hands, as well as area around the tick bite with soap and water. You can show it to the doctor of you develop signs or symptoms of illness after a tick bite. If some parts of the tick remain embedded in the skin, call the doctor.

There is no need to panic immediately, for the risk of acquiring a tick-borne infection is quite low. You should call the doctor if you develop a tick bite rash, muscle aches, fever, joint pain and inflammation, a stiff neck, swollen lymph nodes or flu like symptoms. If you managed to store the tick, take it along for the doctor to see. However, if you experience a severe headache, difficulty breathing, paralysis, chest pain or heart palpitations, consider it an emergency and call 911.

As is obvious, the treatment will depend on which disease the tick has transmitted to the person. However, a few steps are commonly carried out, which include cleaning of the area and application of antibiotic cream. If there is itchiness, then the doctor may recommend a preparation containing diphenhydramine (Benadryl). In some cases, oral antibiotics are prescribed, or a patient may be asked to give blood tests, or may be given IV fluids and medications.

As is often said, the best kind of treatment for tick bites is to prevent them. When you return from spending time outdoors, carefully check your entire body for ticks. Check under the arms, around the waist, in and around the ears, between the legs, inside belly button, in and around the hair and at the back of the knees. Another precaution is to wear long pants and full sleeves, and to tuck your pants into your socks.