For all you woodsballers...
Tick season is upon us, and we play in their habitat.
Here is some useful information on Lyme Disease and Ticks. All this information is directly copied from various medical-type websites. I am not a health professional. There is tons of info relating to Lyme disease and ticks.
The Great Imitator” ravages patients with at least 39 symptoms that make the infection difficult to diagnose. The similarity of Lyme symptoms to those caused by lupus, lymphatic cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV-AIDS, fibromyalgia, depression and other serious illnesses vexes doctors. Those who haven’t kept up with developments in Lyme research often write their patients off as hypochondriacs.
go see the doctor
go see the doctor
Clockwise from top: female, male, larval, nymph
DEER TICK Left to Right: un-engorged female, 1/4 engorged, 1/2 engorged and fully engorged. Note the circular dark spot above the mouthpart; this is the shield. The shield does not change as the tick engorges and it is the key component, along with mouthparts in identifying different ticks
BROWN DOG TICK The engorged deer tick is often confused with the brown dog tick; here is the same photo series so you can compare the two species. Although the shield appears dark and similar in shape the shorter mouthparts of the brown dog tick are easy to identify.
Here, from medical journals, newspapers, magazines, and clinical and epidemiological studies, are prime symptoms of the illness.
1. Rash at bite site or other sites
2. Muscle twitching of the face or other areas
3. Unexplained fevers, sweats, chills
4. Headache
5. Fatigue
6. Neck creaks and cracks, neck stiffness
7. Unexplained weight change (loss or gain)
8. Tingling, numbness, burning, stabbing sensations
9. Unexplained hair loss
10 Facial paralysis
11. Swollen glands
12. Eyes/vision: loss of vision, double, blurry, pain, increased floaters
13. Sore throat
14. Ears/hearing: buzzing, ringing, ear pain
15. Testicular pain/pelvic pain
16. Dizziness, poor balance
17. Increased motion sickness
18. Unexplained menstrual irregularity light-headedness, wooziness, difficulty walking
19. Unexplained milk production (lactation)
20. Tremors
21. Irritable bladder or bladder dysfunction
22. Disturbed sleep
23. Sexual dysfunction or loss of libido
24. Confusion, difficulty in thinking
25. Upset stomach or change in bowel function
26. Difficulty with concentration or reading
27. Chest pain or rib soreness
28. Forgetfulness, poor short-term memory
29. Shortness of breath, cough
30. Difficulty with speech
31. Heart palpitations, pulse skips, heart block
32. Joint pain or swelling
33. Mood swings, irritability, depression
34. Stiffness of the joints, neck or back
35. Heart murmur or valve prolapse
36. Muscle pain or cramps
37. Exaggerated or worse hangover from alcohol
38. Rash at bite site or other site
Deer Tick Habitat
Where do we find deer ticks?
Deer ticks live in wooded, brushy areas that provide food and cover for white-footed mice, deer and other small or large mammals.
This habitat also provides the humidity ticks need to survive.
Exposure to ticks may be greatest in the woods (especially along trails) and the fringe area between the woods and border.
Deer ticks search for a host from the tips of grasses and shrubs, not from trees.
Generally, ticks attach to a person or animal near ground level.
Deer ticks crawl; they do not jump or fly. They grab onto people or animals who brush against vegetation they are sitting on and crawl upward.
Deer Tick Life Cycle
Deer ticks live for two years and have three blood meals. The life cycle begins when the female lays eggs. As the eggs mature, they develop into larvae, then nymphs, and finally adults.
Nymph ticks
In the spring and summer of the tick’s second year, primarily fromMay through August, the nymph becomes active and takes its second feeding from a mammal.
If the tick is carrying disease agents from its first feeding in the larval stage, it can transmit them during this second feeding.
If the nymph was not already infected, it can become infected if the second meal host is carrying disease agents.
Nymph stage ticks often look like a speck of dirt or a freckle on a person’s skin.
Adult ticks
In the fall of the second year, nymphs molt into adult ticks. Female adults are red or orange and larger than males.
The adult female ticks feed and mate on large animals in the fall or early spring. The female lays her eggs, then dies.
If the ticks did not get a blood meal in the fall, they go dormant over winter and seek a meal in the spring. A frost does not kill deer ticks.
As female ticks feed over the course of several days, their bodies slowly enlarge with blood (engorge). Adult females infected with disease agents as larvae or nymphs may transmit disease during this feeding.
Male ticks attach, but do not feed or become engorged. Because the adult males do not take a blood meal, they do not transmit Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, or babesiosis.
Feeding and blood meals
Deer ticks feed on blood by inserting their mouth parts into the skin.
They are slow feeders and will feed for 3-5 days.
If the deer tick is infected, it must be attached for 24-48 hours before it transmits Lyme disease, and at least 24 hours to transmit human anaplasmosis.
Lyme Disease and Ticks
The first sign of infection is usually a circular rash called erytheme migrans or EM. This rash occurs in approximately 70-80% of infected persons and begins at the site of a tick bite after a delay of 3-30 days. A distinctive feature of the rash is that it gradually expands over a period of several days, reaching up to 12” across. The center of the rash may clear as it enlarges, resulting in a bull's-eye appearance. It may be warm but is not usually painful. Some patients develop additional EM lesions in other areas of the body after several days. Patients also experience symptoms of fatigue, chills, fever, headache, and muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. In some cases, these may be the only symptoms of infection.
Untreated, the infection may spread to other parts of the body within a few days to weeks, producing an array of discrete symptoms. These include loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face (called facial or "Bell's palsy), severe headaches and neck stiffness due to meningitis, shooting pains that may interfere with sleep, heart palpitations and dizziness due to changes in heartbeat, and pain that moves from joint to joint. Many of these symptoms will resolve, even without treatment. After several months, approximately 60% of patients with untreated infection will begin to have intermittent bouts of arthritis, with severe joint pain and swelling. Large joints are most often affected, particularly the knees. In addition, up to 5% of untreated patients may develop chronic neurological complaints months to years after infection. These include shooting pains, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, and problems with concentration and short term memory.
Most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with antibiotics; especially if treatment is begun early in the course of illness. However, a small percentage of patients with Lyme disease have symptoms that last months to years after treatment with antibiotics. These symptoms can include muscle and joint pains, arthritis, cognitive defects, sleep disturbance, or fatigue.
courtesy of X7og.net