OMG I just had to pull a tick from my daughters head -

[Hawkeye]

It was so GROSS. It was not engorged but the thing was attached on like a clam to the substrate. It was so so so nasty. I'm going to have a hard time eating dinner tonight. In Manhattan we dealt with roaches big and small and of course the kids had head lice check ups but out here in Jersey do I have to deal with TICKS.

gross...

I almost wanted to post this in emergency because we really had no clue what to do. I had to wait for the pc to boot up and open up some google threads on what to do. All the while my daughter sat in a tub with soapy head/shampoo in the hair waiting.

She was a trooper but man it took both my wife and I and carefully pull he tick off without killing it. It's in a ziplock bag now grossing me out. The thing is walking around relatively fast....yuck!

I'm saving it for the pediatrician. This sucker better not have lyme disease.
AAAAARG. My daughter claims never to have laid down on the lawn/woods but I just don't know how she go this. They had a school field day last friday but she claims it was itchy before that day. Could another kid pass it to her? Short of shaving her head bald - we've been washing and brushing the hair loooking for others or eggs. Anything else I need to do?

Sorry - i'm in a bit o shock and awe.

 

[Nickjr000]

You can get a tick just by walking through a patch of grass. They really arent that bad unless they're in to you already like your case. All you can really do is pull it off and make sure all of it is out of the skin. Wouldnt get too stressed about lyme disease cause while it is common, the odds of people that get it are still pretty low.

 

[qwik]

I had to do this a few times with my daughter . Ticks usually stay toward the top of the grass/plants and jump at you when you walk by so she did not have to be lying on the ground . The little ticks are the Lyme carrying ones . They are very small like a period in printed material . The one my daughter had on her thigh was very small and my wife thought it was actually a beauty mark she never noticed but questioned herself and asked me to check it . I never would of noticed, it was that small .I had to use a magnifying glass to see it was a tick .
The doctor tried to tell me it was a beauty mark, I then asked him ,in a not to friendly way, if beauty marks had legs and he looked again and saw it was a tick . Then he said to wait a week to see if there were any symptoms and then he would put her on antibiotics . I convinced him to put her on antibiotics then and there to prevent and treat the disease just in case it was transmitted. Better safe than sorry . Since we only give her antibiotics as a last resort when she is sick I was not concerned with giving them to her for this .
I was told it takes 24 hrs for the Lyme disease to be transmitted . You will also notice a bullseye looking bruise around the bite area if it was a Lyme tick .So if you removed it fast there shouldn't be an issue. I would still do like you are planning and get it to a Dr for safety's sake . Hope it turns out well.

 

[reefsandrotts]

Tics are very bad this year.....
Trust me I do turf management,you can call a local landscaper that does pesticides and have the yard treated for tics and fleas,do your self a favor don't call any of the "big name" guys they seem to miss alot of the areas that should be treated.....

 

[Hawkeye]

thanks....we're watching the "spot". My wife is upset with herself as she washed my daughters hair every day for the past 3 days and she only noticed it today. The daughter now claims it felt "itchy" since before friday. Hard to say if that was just normal dandruff talking or something biting her. But it was a big guy - not small like a period. I mean I could pinch it with my fingers and the freakin legs you could feel it rapidly trying to get away. It reminded me of a big fat flattened amphipod. Anyways - that was the only time I touched it (purell after that) and then we used tweezers to grab it off.

Nasty.

 

[MadReefer]

Phil,
I wouldn't worry to much. My son gets a few of these guys every year on him in the woods looking for frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, etc. The big ones are deer ticks, not suppose to carry lyme disease. My dog gets them all the time in the yard, even after we tretaed him and the yard; difficult to control. For what its worth they die when placed in distilled vinegar as I keep a plastic cup next to me when pulling them off the mutt. Since it may be hard to see a red mark on her head I would take her to see a doc for piece of mind.

Mark

 

[The_Codfather]

thanks....we're watching the "spot". My wife is upset with herself as she washed my daughters hair every day for the past 3 days and she only noticed it today. The daughter now claims it felt "itchy" since before friday. Hard to say if that was just normal dandruff talking or something biting her. But it was a big guy - not small like a period. I mean I could pinch it with my fingers and the freakin legs you could feel it rapidly trying to get away. It reminded me of a big fat flattened amphipod. Anyways - that was the only time I touched it (purell after that) and then we used tweezers to grab it off.

Nasty.

Hey Phil sorry to hear this.. this kinda hits home for me.. but if i was you start her on antibiotics right now to be on the safe side and if you mean you are watching the spot for the bulls eye rash that's only a 50/50 thing.. I had lymes for over a year stage 2 and was on doxycycline for a year

 

[reefsandrotts]

You have that backwards....
Deer = small
http://www.tickpicture.com/pictures/deer-tick.html

Dog = BIG
http://www.tickpicture.com/pictures/american-dog-tick.html

Alot of info. on them here:
http://www.tickpicture.com/tick-species/hard-tick.html

 

[curt]

First I would get it ID'ed to see if it is a Lyme carrying tick.Not all ticks carry Lyme's.If it was big it either draw blood or its probable not a Lyme's carrying tick.I've taken them to the Month County health dept in Freehold.They can tell if it is a Lyme carrying tick and also if it draw blood.I'm sure there is some were you can take it up there.And Lyme's disease is something I would worry about.If treated early there shouldn't be a probable.My father,brother and myself had it.Not fun at at.You should be able to ID it yourself.Look online.Lots of stuff out there.

 

[The_Codfather]

You have that backwards....
Deer = small
http://www.tickpicture.com/pictures/deer-tick.html

Dog = BIG
http://www.tickpicture.com/pictures/american-dog-tick.html

Alot of info. on them here:
http://www.tickpicture.com/tick-species/hard-tick.html

True if not engorged but a engorged deer tick can get pretty big

One engorged deer tick

 

[Hawkeye]

We asked the doctor if theyw anted to see the tick - but they declined. So I already crushed the little nasty.

it looked very much like the juvi pic here:

The body was hard - like a amphipod exoskeleton and did not feel "squishy" or full of any liquids.

Anyways - I will bring her to the doc tomorrow to get the antibiotics.

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

Oh Hawk, you beat me to it, I was going to tell you that most if not all doc's will tell you don't bother, I don't want to see it. The school nurse here in my town pulls them off of kids, tapes them to index cards, writes location of body, time pulled, and whatever else she feels like to send home to the parents. I've heard you should keep every tick in tape for future testing should you need it, but that's insane. I've been around ticks my whole life, in fact I pulled over 100 ticks off of my family when I moved here 2 ye arts ago (Not an exaggeration). Since that time, I keep the lawn Cut and remove as much brush as possible and bought some guinea hens(they eat ticks) and I treat the lawn with that ORTHO product that kills bugs(sold at home depot and Lowe's). I still pull 1 or 2 every couple of weeks off of somebody, but we live in the woods and I refuse to live in a bubble all I can do is hope nobody gets it!

Anyway, good luck, but don't be so nervous. I know full fledged Lyme's disease sucks, but I do believe people over react way too much.


PS: By the way, I had a bull's eye when I was about 15, but I was never diagnosed with it.....Also keep in mind, I know you want to be preventative, but what do you think is going to happen to somebody who goes to get the antibiotic everytime they are bitten by a tick. I had a guy on one of my jobs who does that and I tried to explain to him that eventually that antibiotic will do nothing.

 

[chuck116]

I agree they are very bad this year , VERY common in these parts. You can get them just walking in your yard dog, cats or not . I hope she is ok Im sure she will be , my son gets them a few a year by just playing street hockey and such in the neighborhood, we dont really have woods to speak of in our neighborhood.
I know its hard to deal with and I hope she never gets another one but you really cant prevent it.

Chuck & Anna Maria

 

[Lanie]

I pull them off my dogs about every two weeks. I have dabbed the area with alcohol or vaseline (clogs up their breathing) and pulled them out... they are gross, I usually just flush them. My father did get lymes had a huge bullseye on shoulder. Is ok now.

Best of luck, but if you were around roaches, shoot, I'd take a tick anytime.

 

[Nickjr000]

I have dabbed the area with alcohol or vaseline (clogs up their breathing)

I remember the vaseline thing from when i was little. They say not to do it anymore, sometimes they will just keep burrowing deeper to try to get air. Not sure about the alcohol- Just a heads up

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

Anyways - I will bring her to the doc tomorrow to get the antibiotics.

How did you make out today Phil? Feeling any better?!

 

[Hawkeye]

Had the school nurse and doctor (separately) check out my daughter and she is a-ok. We have to still monitor but there are no "other" friends on her.