Ticks

[Joe]

This topic was raised on the NS post, and thought it should be discussed here too:

Lyme Disease is only carried by the Black-legged tick, aka Deer tick. It is much smaller than the common Wood Tick, about 1x2 mm. In NB about 10% of these ticks were found to carry the Lyme-causing spirochetes, however last summer in Saint John a small outbreak of Lyme disease occurred, and 20% of the ticks had the spirochete. It appears the disease is on the increase in NB, so it may also become more common in NS. The medical circles are just starting to pick up on Lyme disease, so your family doctor may or may not be aware of it.
If you find a very small tick on you, carefully remove the tick with tweezers as outlined earlier. The danger of applying heat, oils, etc. to the tick is that the tick may regurgitate its guts into your bloodstream, and if its a carrier, you're in trouble. Always retain the tick, and submit it to your doctor for testing. The classic sign of Lyme Disease is a red, circular rash around the bite site, however only 60% of those contracted will develop the rash. After that, symptoms are flu-like feelings, followed by pain in the joints and severe lethargy. If not treated, the disease can be life-threatening. However if detected, it is easily treated with antibiotics. Actually a co-worker of mine who has Lyme Disease has been seeing a specialist in Port Hawksbury (of all places) and apparently this doctor is nationally recognized. But the best prevention is awareness. If you travel in tick country, it is in your best interest to learn about Black-legged ticks and Lyme Disease. By the way, June and July are the worst months for ticks.

[martha]

Thanks Joe,

Where are they typically found in NB. I've never seen a tick of any sort here since I moved here in 2001.

[Fred]

Is the wound easy to detect or is it easily mistaken as a bug bite?

[Nihoa]

me neither cara. in maine they are everywhere and they hang out on grass, bushes, overhead on leaves waiting for you to brush by and they hop on. they are in leaves and debris on the ground you sit on and crawl up onto you.

fred, any that were on me i didnt know i had until i saw the tick. they are gonna hang out on you sucking blood and you eventually notice them. if they bite and dropped off before you catch them it looks like a black fly bite for the big ones anyway.

Thanks Joe,

Where are they typically found in NB. I've never seen a tick of any sort here since I moved here in 2001.

[Fred]

I had one on me in NS that started to burrough its way in put we pulled it out with tweezers. I'm just wondering if it had had lime disease would it get all big and puffy around the bite? Or does it just sneak its way into your blood stream unnoticed?

[martha]

I had one on me in NS that started to burrough its way in put we pulled it out with tweezers. I'm just wondering if it had had lime disease would it get all big and puffy around the bite? Or does it just sneak its way into your blood stream unnoticed?

you are probably still dying a slow death from it....

[Murph]

I had one on me in NS that started to burrough its way in put we pulled it out with tweezers. I'm just wondering if it had had lime disease would it get all big and puffy around the bite? Or does it just sneak its way into your blood stream unnoticed?

A bite may result in a typical bull's-eye type rash. This develops at the site of the tick bite in about 80% of Lyme disease patients about 3 to 30 days following the tick bite.

[Burley]

Found 2 on dog#2 and removed. Also, in the woods a couple weeks ago and found 3 on me and 2 on nephew - they were on our clothing. Even found one crusing the floor in our kitchen a few weeks ago.

[Mike D]

Erick .... perhaps a silly question, but are you picking up these ticks at Cochrane Lane?

md

[Burley]

The ones on my nephew and I didn't come from Cochrane lane. As for dog#2... I have no idea where they came from Mike... were found a couple weeks apart.

I spend half of my "woods" time at cochrane lane and other half is other areas with thicker cover - mainly Musquash which isn't far from Cochrane lane.

[Burley]

And I found another tick (no question - deer tick) on the floor by the dog dishes. None on the dogs or me.

This one more than likely came from Cochrane Lane (but how would you know) - Dogs and I were there 4 days last week playing in the dirt.

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[Stan]

Lovely little creatures!
We have them in Siberia - the two on the left on your photo Eric. 5-7% of those lil' suckers carry TBE (tick-borne encephalitis).

[cory]

There is an information meeting regarding ticks, put on by Public Health, Thursday July 23, 7pm at Millidgeville North School.