What You Should Know About Tick Bite Fever
Although a tick bite is painless, one can expose you to several diseases and infections such as tick bite fever. Tick bite fever is a commonly contracted bacterial infection that is transmitted to you from the tick through its saliva. Although unpleasant, this infection is very treatable. For more information on this infection, read further.
Common Symptoms
If you’ve been outdoors and later discovered that a tick had burrowed its mouth into you and fed, you may have unknowingly contracted this infection. Pay attention to any symptoms that may manifest, and seek a physician’s advice. Special medication may be required to flush the infection out of your system.
There is an incubation period before you will begin to see any symptoms in your body. It takes approximately a week for the symptoms to manifest if you have an infection. The most common sign to look for is a black spot in the center of the bite site, but other symptoms will also occur. Tick bite fever symptoms can vary in intensity and may include a skin rash, fever, fatigue, headaches and migraines, confusions, vomiting, and swelling of the joints and lymph nodes. Clearly these symptoms are unpleasant, but your doctor should be able to help you through them.
If you experience shortness of breath, numbness, extreme weakness, or heart palpitations you need to seek emergency medical care immediately.
Treatment
As stated before, tick bite fever is very treatable. After an examination your doctor will be able to tell if you suffer from this infection, and generally will then prescribe you an antibiotic to kill the invading bacteria. The most commonly prescribed antibiotic for this infection is doxycycline. If you are allergic to this drug or cannot take it due to other reasons, then ciprofloxacin may also be prescribed.
It’s also important to note that some forms of this infection are very mild and do not require antibiotics. Mild cases usually clear up in two – three weeks, but proper medical care can significantly decrease this healing time and help with the side effects.
Other Dangers from Tick Bites
Tick bite fever, while unpleasant, is one of the more minor complications that may occur due to a tick bite. Ticks carry various diseases and because a burrowed tick may go unnoticed for a substantial amount of time, the risk of transmission is fairly high.
Some diseases and infections that ticks carry that can infect humans include Lyme disease, tularemia, various forms of human ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and in rare cases, babesiosis. These are serious, and in some cases potentially fatal diseases and infections.
Preventing Tick Bites
If you are going to be outdoors and live in an area that is inhabitable to ticks, there are certain things you can do to minimize your chance at playing host to a parasitic tick. In certain cases these methods won’t be practical, but there are some common logic tips to remember that will help reduce the risk as well.
Ticks are a frequent camping pest, particularly in wooded areas. When camping, be sure to keep your tent zipped. This will not only help prevent ticks from hiding in your sleeping bag, but it will keep out other unwanted guests as well.
If the weather permits, wear long sleeves and long pants. If you have boots, tuck your pants into them. This is a particularly handy trick for mountain hiking and campsite lounging. If you cannot wear long clothing, then at least spray yourself with insect repellant. Certain repellants are designed specifically for ticks.
If you plan on going hiking, be sure to stay on cleared paths. Going off-path will increase your chances of ticks getting onto your clothing as you brush against trees and foliage. In addition to reducing tick exposure, remaining on cleared paths will also ensure you not lose your way, and will reduce the likelihood of other unpleasant woodland creatures from running into you.