HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — So as the weather warms up, many of you are ready to head outside and enjoy the great outdoors but, there is a small problem that you should be on the lookout for....ticks. "So, ticks are technically not insects," Dr. Wes Stubblefield, Medical Officer for the Alabama Department of Public health shares. "They're actually in the same family as mites or spiders. They're arachnids. I would imagine that most people have either found to take on themselves or the kids have found a tick in their vicinity. it's just something we deal with in the south."
Some of those tiny creatures can carry very harmful diseases that can affect humans if bitten. Several tickborne diseases can be found in Alabama and some of these are under public health surveillance. Alabama's most commonly reported tickborne diseases under surveillance are spotted fever rickettsiosis (including Rocky Mountain spotted fever), Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis. "The most common infection we see is something called Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, which is a little bit more common in further south."
What is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?
*Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread through the bite of an infected tick. Most people who get sick with RMSF will have a fever, headache, and rash. RMSF can be deadly if not treated early with the right antibiotic.
Prevention
*Doctors Note: "What you should be focused on is knowing where ticks are in warm weather. Brushing wooded or grassy areas. Check especially on pets because if you're out with your pets, your pets can take them," Stubblefield shares.
You can lower your risk of getting a tickborne disease while outdoors by:
- Avoiding wooded and brushy areas where ticks tend to live
- Walking in the center of trails
- Using repellent that contains at least 20% DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin
- Treating clothes with 0.5% permethrin
- Finding and removing ticks from your body and clothing within 2 hours of coming indoors
To safely remove a tick attached to your skin:
*Doctors Note: "The goal is not to damage the tick or just to make it upset," Stubblefield shares. "So, you don't want to do things like burn it or paint on it with fingernail polish. All of these things you can people have said really the best way to do it."
- Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.
- Pull upward on the tick with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick.
- Dispose of a live tick by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed container, or flushing it down the toilet.
- Clean the bite area and your hands with soap and water, rubbing alcohol, or an iodine scrub after removing the tick.
Symptoms
*Doctors Note: "So if several days after a tick is bitten an area, if there is a very, very red rash that starts to expand from where the tick bite was or potentially a high-grade fever or a bad headache or a rash in other parts of the body, those can be signs of a tickborne disease, and you need to see a healthcare professional." Stubblefield shares.
Early symptoms of tickborne diseases can be variable, but often include fever, muscle aches, headaches, fatigue, and/or rash. An expanding, circular rash known as erythema migrans (EM) develops in most people infected with Lyme disease 3 to 30 days after being bitten by a tick.
Irritation and allergic reactions may also occur with tick bites. Although these sometimes look like EM rashes, they have some key differences: they typically appear within 2 days of the tick bite and are often itchy.
Sometimes, tickborne diseases may become severe or even life-threatening if not treated. For example, untreated spotted fever rickettsiosis may lead to encephalitis, shock, seizures, gangrene, and/or acute respiratory or renal failure within a week of becoming sick. Untreated Lyme disease may cause arthritis as well as various neurologic and cardiac problems days to months after first becoming ill.
Treatment
If you think you may have a tickborne disease, see your doctor immediately. He or she will evaluate your symptoms, exposure history, and test results to determine the best treatment course for you. Most tickborne diseases are easily treated with antibiotics, and early treatment can help you avoid serious complications.1
Find a Tick?
If you find a tick on a person or pet while outside, the tick can be sent to the University of South Alabama for tick identification. Find more information on how and where to send the tick at The Great Alabama Tick Survey.
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