In article ,
Bill who putters wrote:

In article ,
Boron Elgar wrote:

In areas where Lyme is rife, the common practice if there is a tick
bite from an unidentified tick is 24 prophylactic treatment with
tetracycline. Better safe.

Boron

This is insane. If you have a bulls eye then see a doc.

Bill

: Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 2007 Mar;19(1):27-38.
Links

Rickettsial and other tick-borne infections.
Flicek BF.
Internal Medicine of Newton County, 4181 Hospital Drive NE, Suite 404,
Covington, GA 30014, USA.

Tick bites are best prevented by people avoiding tick-infested areas.

When this is not possible, tick bites may be prevented by the wearing
of long trousers that are tucked into boots. The best method to avoid
tick bites is twofold: application of a topical deet
(N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) repellent to exposed skin, and treatment of
clothing with permethrin. This system is currently used by the US Army
to protect soldiers. Ticks can crawl underneath clothing and bite
untreated portions of the body; therefore, treating clothing is
imperative. Permethrin is nontoxic to humans, and can be used in any age
group. Permethrin is commercially available. Checking clothing regularly
while in tick-infested areas is highly recommended to back up the few
hours of protection provided by the insect repellents. It is also
recommended that the entire body be carefully screened for ticks and
other parasites by campers and hunters while they are staying in and
after leaving infested areas. Any tick found should be removed
immediately. Removing ticks may not be easy. It is best to use blunt,
rounded forceps, and a magnifying glass to remove ticks, especially when
immature ticks are found. The forceps are used to grasp the mouthparts
of the tick as close as possible to the skin, and then the tick is
pulled upward, perpendicular to the skin, with a continuous and steady
action. Usually any mouth parts of the tick retained in the skin are
eliminated uneventfully by the body. Other methods of removing ticks,
such as using fingers, lighted cigarettes, petroleum jelly, or suntan
oil, should be avoided. Killing the tick in situ may increase the risk
of regurgitation by the tick and the transmission of infectious agents.
Most stick bites are uncomplicated, and result only in benign cutaneous
inflammatory reactions that may be pruritic for a few days. As a result
of mouthparts being retained at the feeding site, a granuloma may rarely
develop. There are no data to indicate that antimicrobial prophylaxsis
is beneficial to the tick-bitten patient to prevent disease. It must be
kept in mind that the risk of transmission of disease increases with the
duration of attachment and generally requires greater than 24 to 48
hours. The degree of tick engorgement or the time since tick exposure
and discovery of the tick may be used to establish the likely duration
of attachment and the risk of disease transmission. Reducing and
controlling tick populations is difficult. Habitat modifications,
including vegetation management by cutting, burning, and herbicide
treatment, and drainage of wet areas are one strategy for tick control,
but their effects are often short-lived, and they can cause severe
ecologic damage. Chemicals used to control ticks may cause environmental
contamination, and therefore, toxicity for humans and animals. Biologic
control methods for ticks include the promotion of natural predators.
Natural predators of ticks are beetles, spiders, and ants, and parasites
such as insects, mites and nematodes. Tick control is best based on the
concept of integrated pest management, in which different control
methods are adapted to one area or against one tick species with due
consideration to their environmental effects. Tick-borne diseases are
increasing in prevalence. Perhaps it is because people are undertaking
more outdoor activities, which result in contact with ticks and their
pathogens. Clinicians should be aware of the clinical sign of
tick-transmitted diseases, because morbidity and mortality as a result
of these diseases increases substantially if there are delays in
diagnosis and treatment. Tick-borne illness occur in distinctive
geographic areas. The reporting of these illnesses and diseases to the
health department enables the gathering of information and statistics.
The public should be informed about the risks of disease in
tick-infested areas and the means of preventing infections. The most
common diseases are caused by Rickettsia, Borrelia, and Ehrichia, but
with continued study, new pathogens and diseases will continue to emerge.
PMID: 17338947 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


............
Bill who has had 4 deer tick and 6 regular ticks so far this spring.
Sucks but I dislike chiggers more. Spouse had Lymes in about 1975 before
it was named. Bell's palsy ...nasty.

--
Garden in shade zone 5 S Jersey USA

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