Woke up like any other morning, went to take a shower and realized I had this burning sensation in a portion of my left leg. I got out of the shower and since I didn’t have my glasses on I was thinking what the heck is this? Something was attached to my leg! ACK!! ICK!! Talk about gross. I grabbed it and yanked it off and it dawned on me, this thing must be a tick, dagnabit I probably shouldn’t have just yanked it off.
I put what I yanked off on the counter, it was such a tiny thing and a few seconds later it was no longer there! WTH?? I looked around and it had crawled into the sink, oh no you don’t! I’m saving you so I can figure out what the heck you are! I got a lunch baggy and put it in so Ronda could see what it is. I just can’t see anything that small.
So when I got to work this morning I checked out what I should have done by looking online, pretty much everything I did was wrong. They say don’t touch it with your fingers, don’t squeeze it blah blah blah… great. Now it’s night time and I showed the mark it left behind to Ronda and she says “I think the head is still in there”… nuts…
After a few hours of trying to figure it out, we still don’t know if I got it out or not… so we’ll see what happens after a few days. It’s such a small critter I’d need a magnifying glass to see it properly and I don’t have one.
Don’tcha just love it when nature gives a parting gift for visiting? I was going to post a picture of the little bugger but it’s just plain gross looking. Makes you think how this thing fits in the great scheme of things.
18 comments:
Anti biotic ointment so it won't get infected...?
Rod - I forgot to mention that I put some on, thanks for reminding me!
um..so...do u realize that through your entire thing there you still didn't say what it was??? It's called a tick dude. It's a TICK! lol...you crack me up! S'anyways...lets give it a day or so and see if you survive. ;-)
Love you honeybunches! ;-)
Holy crap, you're right, I'll fix that right away, doh...
My bad...u did mention a tick. Okay...so anyways...lets see what happens. Could be interesting! :-D lol!
Oy
just Oy! lol! :)
Their small until they start sucking your blood then they really get disgusting looking. They look like grey pinto beans with legs. Check you dog really good they lay eggs and then you have a trillion of the dirty things.
JO - Agreed, Ronda checked the dog real good, she is clear. Although early in the season Shiloh got bit by one as well, she had a heck of a time removing the little bugger.
Erik,
Keep it because you may want to send it in to have it tested for lime disease. I would check online and see if maybe it was a dog tick that is what I had to do this summer. Val and I know a couple our age (in Crystal Lake) and both of their adult children ended up with lime disease at different times. Their son is in bad shape with chronic lime disease and the daughter fared much better. We ran into this couple at a restaurant a few months ago and they told us about it. They also said a friend of theirs went for a hike on the path at the Hollows between Crystal Lake and Cary which is part of the Mchenry County Conservation District. Their friend was aware of the disease and knew of the difficulties they have faced. Well this lady knew that you had to go through 3 or 4 weeks of antibiotics to not be infected. Her doctor wouldn't do more than a week of antibiotics so she sent the tick to be tested and it came back positive. She then went to Wisconsin to have the full antibiotic treatment and is doing fine. Our friends said the doctors around here don't respond like they do in Wisconsin where they see it a lot more often. I don't think their son can even work anymore though they have seen some improvement over time. Bruce (&Val)
Bruce and Val - Agreed, we have it safe in a lunch baggy. I have been putting neosporin (sp) on it and will keep an eye out. So far I don't think it's infected, it didn't feed on me judging by its size and it looked like a male tick.
Thanks for the advice, I will definately listen! :)
I don't think the dog tick is a carrier but do your own checking. If nothing else perhaps we can all be a little more cautious and know what to do to be safer when bitten by a tick. Bruce
Bruce - Agreed, heck considering how much time I have spent in the woods since I was a kid this is the very first time I have been bitten by one! I will be much more cautious going forward for sure.
Thanks.
If you want to know where they sent it I can find out and I don't know if it will show up as infected right away. If it's not ticks it's mosquito's with West Nile or Hantavirus from mice droppings. Lets all go camping! :) Bruce
Bruce - If they know the place that would be great, thanks!
Agreed, let's go camping! :)
Waqtch the place for a bulls eye redness. If you are unsure go to a doctor and tell him you have a tick bite with the head possibly still in it.
Val was finally able to reach the people we know about the tick info. you can go to http://ag.umass.edu/services/tick-borne-disease-diagnostics This is something that could be useful since campers are always going to be around the woods and walking paths.
Bruce
Bruce,
Thank you both for the info. :) The bite spot is healing nicely, it had the bullseye for 2 or 3 days and now is almost gone.
Ronda has the tick saved just in case any symptoms show up.
Thanks again and have a great Sunday!
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