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Justus S.
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Justus S.
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 5:28 pm 
Ok, So after my hike Saturday I get home and boom there is a dumb little bug in my leg. Yeap, you guessed it, one of those little ticks we all never like to see having its dinner. I can't believe I forgot to do a quick tick check at the car. doh.gif I had even mentioned ticks during the hike. Anyway, I have documented the bug bite with pictures. Of course one can't tell if they got lyme until weeks later. Went into the doc today and got some antibiotics so I may never know for sure. What do you guys think? Don't think I'll be forgetting my tick checks now. agree.gif Lyme Disease
The Bug
The Bug
3hrs
3hrs
12hrs
12hrs
26hrs
26hrs
50hrs
50hrs
72hrs
72hrs

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Kat
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 6:08 pm 
Oh... My... God. Were you wearing shorts? And hey thanks for the shots, now I know exactly what to look for eek.gif eek.gif eek.gif

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rdyhiker
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 6:15 pm 
Yikes. Sorry to see/hear this. Keep us posted on news from the doc. Where were you hiking... Eastern WA?
Kat wrote:
And hey thanks for the shots, now I know exactly what to look for eek.gif eek.gif eek.gif
ditto.gif ditto.gif

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Justus S.
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Justus S.
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 6:16 pm 
I was wearing my fleece pants, but probably should have worn gaiters. Problem was I didn't do a check back at the car. I was hiking out by Leavenworth.

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Sabahsboy
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 6:39 pm 
Yup...lots of ticks thereabouts this time of year. They will hang out on low tree/shrub limbs, sense body heat and drop on to you. I do not take the dogs there at all....well, maybe in high mountains much later or in autumn. The Lyme Disease is carried by the Deer Tick, which is tiny. Was this tick "tiny" (often described as the size of a pin head)? Your photo suggests the tick was larger (I don't know how many species of tick reside in E. WA.). I hope you and the doc watch this....Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever, etc. can be carried by other ticks. All the ticks I encountered were benign. Very lucky! I still have a tick "bite" on one knee....collected at Lake Chelan back in 1980's. These are nasty critters....I wonder what God's purpose it for them. The deer tick cycle does include warm blooded animals, usually deer, thus the name. Best of luck and hope nothing more comes of the ichy sore. Can't recall...but it might get itchy, too.

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Chippster
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 6:46 pm 
looks like you jut have some irritation around the bite...i've been bitten many a times by ticks of all different genres, and had the same reaction edit: they have a sense of heat seeking in them and can jump upwards of 3 or 4 ft to a host...and then go for the warm spots...lower back, armpits, crotch, etc but not always tongue.gif

https://nwtd.co Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.
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Justus S.
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Justus S.
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 6:57 pm 
Sabahsboy wrote:
The Lyme Disease is carried by the Deer Tick, which is tiny. Was this tick "tiny" (often described as the size of a pin head)? Your photo suggests the tick was larger (I don't know how many species of tick reside in E. WA.).
Here you go. link

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solohiker
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:02 pm 
Your photos look a lot like the infection my golden retriever got from a tick after hiking up Thomas Mt last June. It never occurred to me that she may have had Lyme, I thought it was just a tick bite that abscessed - it did seem to affect her quite a bit, she was not herself for several days.

I have never been lost, but I'll admit to being confused for several weeks. - Daniel Boone
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Justus S.
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Justus S.
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:05 pm 
Like I said, I don't know if I got the disease as it takes awhile to know for sure. It could just be a nasty bite. I just went to the doc to be on the safe side.

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MCaver
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:12 pm 
Wikipedia has a couple of photos of the "bullseye rash" from Lyme Disease: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

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Sabahsboy
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:18 pm 
Justus S., you have absolutely done the right thing. did the "head" or a portion of it end up in the wound? That causes serious irritation and infection. Last I read, the deer tick made up about 10% of tick poulation in E. WA. No stats on W. WA...well, I have not done research for years. I recall that a deer tick wound gets red, about the size of a dime, and an outer circle emerges, giving the site the look of a bulls-eye. No matter, any tick wound is serious. The deer tick entered WA on plants or hay...as did many invasive plants. Lyme Disease is nothing to play with...it goes on and on and the longer it awaits treatment, the worse and more far reaching the effects. The damage becomes irreversible at some point. The hot spots for Lyme Disease appear to be the Mid-Atlantic states and portions of the Mid-west, though that is not absolute by any means; the disease was named for the town in Connecticut where the disease was first tracked...and not all that long ago.

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Schmidt Alti-Dude
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Schmidt Alti-Dude
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:23 pm 
This thread and all the links definitely gives me the willies. All your pictures sure look like a black legged tick.

Anything stated by me in no way reflects the attitudes or opinions of my wife
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Justus S.
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Justus S.
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:24 pm 
The whole tick came out so that was good. up.gif

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Tom_Sjolseth
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Tom_Sjolseth
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:28 pm 
Yuck!
I too was out in L-Worth this weekend, but didn't see any of these little buggers. I was thinking about them, though. Good to be informed and know what to look for. Just out of curiosity, what were the temps like where you were at? We didn't get above freezing where we were, so maybe that's the ticket?

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BeyondLost
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PostWed Apr 23, 2008 7:53 pm 
It's not a deer tick and not a bullseye, target lesion. I have documented personal experience with both. frown.gif At this time of year (spring) a deer tick requires a magnifying lens to even see it and in the fall it is still so small you can barely see it with the naked eye. Vey few people ever see the tick that transmits the disease and it is the target lesion that tips you off. My contact was late fall when the ticks are at their largest size. If it had not been for the typical lesion I would have missed it entirely and only became sure it was there when I looked with a magnifying glass. Edit: good news is that at the bite stage it is curable with a short antibiotic treatment and almost all doctors will order that rather then take a chance.

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