Ticks

[Hoomi]

:laurel:

Quite the double entendre!

Trust me. It's a lot less sexy and a lot more gross when you are ACTUALLY covered in ticks. :wink1:

Even one is gross.

There is just something particularly disgusting about a creature that buries its head in your flesh and lives to do nothing more than suck your blood until it swells up like a balloon.

What's even more disgusting is how many of them we elect to public office...

 

[highdesert]

Three hours .........!?!? How much skin you got?

 

[seapanther]

Local diving (finally!) Water temp around 46F, vis about 10 feet, 14 mm neoprene.

Lovering Lake won't be a diving vacation destination any time soon.

The ticks aren't in the water, but they invade you on the way to the cars (thru the long grass) and when you get to your clothes, they have taken residence there.

The buggers are so sneaky. I was chucking them out of the car for the hour drive home, and probably had 12 more hiding in my gear when I got home.

For anyone that isn't familiar with ticks, you can't kill them by squishing them - they're too tough. Then they bite into you (painlessly) and hold on!!! Tweezers are the only way to get rid of them once they bite in.

I'm glad I went, though. Crayfish mating season - they were fighting like crazy.

Anyone in contact with ticks (two types carry Lyme Disease) should take as much precaution as possible to keep ticks away from themselves and their environment, including their pets. After 8 weeks hospitalilzed, 4 pelvic to pelvic bone abdominal operations, 4 units of blood, 2 units of dilaudid every 2 hours (that allowed me to watch tv--and a lot of unpleasantries I won't go into), I recommend anyone to read about ticks on the CDC site. One tick took an entire summer of diving from me in 2006. You can remove some from your skin manually, but keep a watch out for a rash which may expand and evolve into a bullseye. I understand that it's not a good idea to squash a tick that is attached to your skin. Takes one to thirty days to kick in after the tick bite, and if removed within 38 hours one may have the chance of avoiding Lyme Disease if they happen to get a Lyme carrier tick. There is also co-infection, ie Lyme plus another disease by the same or another tick. Some tests are just ineffective, so if you believe that you have the symptoms, get to a physician quickly, and do not take "You're clear" for an answer if you know you have most of the symptoms. Diagnosis and treatment are actually fuzzy, and there are different symptoms for some people. I live in Miami, and begin the "tick battle" around April. I got infected from one of my dogs, though I have our yard and house sprayed and the inside/outside dogs vaccinated and regularly flea/tick bathed, I have already this year taken about 5 "mother ticks" from my dogs. Take a look at your neighbors' dogs, too. Hope this helps someone from losing his or her summer! Happy healthy diving, and best wishes for avoiding those truly nassssssy tickes! I'm not an MD, but I sometimes agree with a few. May not be at all statistically significant in your area, but the CDC does have stats for the US. And yes, princessaprilia, I totally agree that it's all worth it! seapanther

 

[princessaprilia]

Yeah seapanther, I've heard that Lyme Disease is one of the nastiest. The symptoms can be confused with so many other things, and the onset can be anywhere from a week to YEARS after the tick is dead.

Luckily (touch wood) we don't have Lyme here, yet. I still hate the buggers.

(BTW, I was including the time it took to de-tick my gear in the 3 hrs, highdesert :laughing

 

[syonker]

If they're larger than the head of a pin, chances are you're not dealing with the ticks that carry Lyme Disease (unless they're already engorged)...

The ticks that carry Lyme Disease are called "Blacklegged Ticks" (also called Deer Ticks), and are extremely small and lik (you guessed it) deer for the most part. The general precaustions around avoiding them involve using a DEET insect repellent, wearing long clothing without exposed skin, and staying away from deer and known paths/areas that deer frequent.

The larger ones are *usually* various dog or wood ticks, which can carry other diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but fortunately if caught early these are not serious, and not permanent (like Lyme Disease). When you remove them (folk remedies are not considered a good idea by medical folks, so use tweezers or forceps and make sure nothing is left over) keep the tick for identification.

More information on the removal of ticks can be found here: Tick Removal - August 15, 2002 - American Family Physician

And here's a handy site for tick identification: Common Ticks

These are nasty little critters, so make sure to do a "tick check" after you have been out and about where they may be. And that "shady bush or evergreen stand" may not be the best area to hang out for a break. Just be aware if stuff is falling on you - it might be ticks dropping down to a heat source.

Regards,


-S

 

[jwc3]

Another way to get them off is coat them with liquid soap, vasiline, or anything like that. They start to suffocate and extricate themselves quickly.

Actually, that is not the correct way to remove a tick.

"Smothering or burning a tick could make it release fluid-which could be infected-into your body and increase your chance of infection."
Source: How To Remove A Tick-Overview

 

[princessaprilia]

:furious:

I was ready to throw myself on an open flame to get rid of them all...

:furious:

 

[CamG]

Greetings Princess and I whole heartedly agree. I have wrestled with them since I was a kid. Being a avid outdoorsman I have picked up a few tricks over the years.
I purchased some Ryno skin which is a lot like a nylon breathable shell that keeps ticks off of the main body. This has worked well in conjunction with treating my outer clothing with a can of tick repellant. This spray is for garments only and contains "Perimethrine" misspelled I am sure, google will get it right. This has proven itself very lethal in stopping the critters. It is common to find them clinging dead to your garments. The Ryno shell is thin enough to wear under dive gear, and pondering the gear up area I wonder if you treated a sheet or rug with the repellant it may prevent them from taking residence in your clothes. I wish there was a safe medication to take like we give our dog to take care of the issue. But not yet so until then we just get by!
Good luck and I hope this gives you some ideas.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[Hoomi]

:furious:

I was ready to throw myself on an open flame to get rid of them all...

:furious:

Well, if you want to indulge the fantasy a bit...

Flame on!

(work and family safe, of course)

 

[shoredivr]

Crosses Lovering Lake off spring/summer/fall dive list. Ok for ice just off the lake dive list, though.