[Justus S.]

Ok, BL but according to the CDC link above my tick sure looks like a female deer (blecklegged) tick. If it's not what kind of tick is it? Anyone know?

[Mike Collins]

Hey Justus...I googled "deer tick" and then clicked into the "images" section. The tick you have a picture of is a dead ringer for a deer tick, and as you mentioned, a female.

[then]

Antibotics.......huh. They didn't give me Antibotics for the tick they pulled out of my neck in Lithuania heh. Oh well at least they got the head out the second time around.

[meandmyaussies]

The safest thing for you to do, Justus, is to find out for sure what kind of tick it is and whether or not it is carrying Lyme disease. The only way that I know to do that is to take the tick to your local veterinarian (maybe call first). They can send it off to a lab and have it analyzed for a small fee. I spent the last 10 years in the Bay Area, where, like Eastern Washington, there are lots and lots of ticks. Seems like half of them ended up crawling over my dogs after a good hike - especially in Spring and Fall when there was a lot of moisture. I had the ticks tested a few times (some that were attached to me, some to my pups) - all came back negative. In fact, my vet mentioned that Lyme disease is pretty rare on the West Coast as compared to say Colorado or more towards the East Coast. Best of luck to you.

[BeyondLost]

I grant you it does look similar and I don't know enough about all ticks to identify. I learned that the only way I could accurately identify them was with magnification as they are really small even in the adult stage. This one appears larger then even the largest adult female deer ticks I've seen. Most I've seen have been in east TX and even though I spend all summer in eastern WA I have never yet seen a deer tick there. There are rare adult deer ticks that feed in the spring if they did not feed the previous summer/fall but almost all bites and transmission occur in August with nymphs. The skin lesion you have is quite different from a typical deer tick skin lesion. Much smaller, no rings or central clearing as time has gone along. This is more typical of "dog tick" reaction. I should back off in my statement which sounds awfully certain. I believe it is extremely unlikely that you have had a deer tick bite based on tick size and the skin lesion. I sure don't criticize you seeking out antibiotic treatment since even if there is a 1% chance the disease is so bad in the late stages that I would get treated also. I had good friend who had a 30 year old daughter in MN die from undiagnosed Lyme Disease. Edit: It is possible to culture the tick for the spirochete or even do DNA studies. For purposes of just wanting to know that can be done but if you received antibiotics already it is not absolutely necessary since the broad spectrum antibiotic is curative. You can get serum titers afterward if you want to monitor but they are notoriously inaccurate. This is the info given to me by an infectious disease specialist after I had Lyme. As an orthopedic surgeon I had no special knowledge of the right treatment.

[Mike Collins]

The "bull's-eye rash" can appear from one day to one month after the bite and is distinctive for infection with the Lyme disease causing bacillus. My insurance allows me to set up an appt with an Infectious Disease doc but maybe yours only allows you to see a vet. If you are short on cash I will cover your $20 co-pay.

[Justus S.]

I think this is a great discussion that we can all learn from. Please keep it going. Some more info CDC lyme cases by state images

[BeyondLost]

I'll have to check in again tomorrow. 11:15 in TX and I'm whipped after hard speed work in the heat tonight. I'm off to bed.

[Tom_Sjolseth]

It'd be even better if you answered my question about temps..

[Justus S.]

Sorry Tom, It was pretty cool out probably didn't get above 40-45. Here is the TR. I think I picked up the tick on the second hike (read my post) but can't be sure of course.

[kbatku]

Back in the late 90's I got the series of vaccinations for lymes. Too bad they pulled it (lack of a market). If they could combine that with one for West Niles Virus, it seems there would be a market at least with us outdoorsey folk.

[Tom_Sjolseth]

Thanks for the reply, Justus. I've never had a tick, only seen them a handful of times. I know to watch out for them around L-Worth in the early spring, and did so this weekend. I'm not sure why, but I reasoned that since it was so cold (we never broke through the freezing barrier), that the ticks wouldn't bother us. Now I'm not so sure..

[grannyhiker]

Please note that ticks spread other diseases than Lyme disease. The itty bitty deer ticks (size of a pinhead) are the ones that spread Lyme. The bigger ones can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever (found in nearly all states) and other nasties like tularemia. If you come down with flu-like symptoms and fever 10-14 days after the bite, head for the doctor (or Urgent Care) right away and let them know you had a tick bite. If you've saved the tick, even better! Prompt treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics generally does the trick, but it needs to start promptly. I remember getting shots for Rocky Mountain spotted fever in my teen years--4 shots every spring for the first three years and 3 shots every spring thereafter. In the late 1950's broad spectrum antibiotics came out and they stopped making the vaccine. I don't know why the current publicity is only about Lyme disease because Rocky Mountain spotted fever is often fatal unless promptly treated. The good thing is that ticks generally don't release any disease organisms they might carry until they're almost done with their meal. They will, however, release them prematurely if their body is squeezed (use tweezers on the head, not the body, or go to the ER if the head is buried) or if you use old-fashioned remedies like gasoline or hot match heads (especially bad in combination!) to try to get the tick to loosen up. Googling will get you more info about ticks than you probably wanted to know. Here is a good site about tick bites and medical treatment options. I suspect the rash shown in the pictures may have something to do with a severe reaction to the tick bite. I'd have run to the ER with it, too!

[treeswarper]

Veterinarians are the first to know how prevalent lyme disease is. When dogs start getting it, we will. Dogs get ticks more frequently. They are tick magnets. If you have a dog or cat, ask about the frequency of lyme disease. There is a vaccination for dogs and people, but there can be side effects. I never got the vaccination when living in WI but others did and one guy got quite sick from it. One logger was in the hospital because of Lyme Disease but that was there. I mostly pulled out "brush ticks" which are not carriers of Lyme Disease. All the time I've worked and played outdoors here in Warshington, I've only ever had to dig out one tick. They don't like how I taste and I like it that way. No need to freak out.

[BeyondLost]

This is another good link about Lyme specifically in WA although the statistics have not been updated as to incidence since 1997. http://www.nwcphp.org/docs/lyme/ Several people have commented about east vs west of the Cascades and seem to suggest that this is a more common problem on the east side. In reality the specific tick rarely exists on the east side and virtually all reported cases are from the west side. As I said in a previous post, I've never seen a deer tick on the east side.