Tick Bites

Many things can affect how your body responds to a symptom and what kind of care you may need. These include:

• Your age. Babies and older adults tend to get sicker quicker.
• Your overall health. If you have a condition such as diabetes, HIV, cancer, or heart disease, you may need to pay closer attention to certain symptoms and seek care sooner.
• Medicines you take. Certain medicines, herbal remedies, and supplements can cause symptoms or make them worse.
• Recent health events, such as surgery or injury. These kinds of events can cause symptoms afterwards or make them more serious.
• Your health habits and lifestyle, such as eating and exercise habits, smoking, alcohol or drug use, sexual history, and travel.

To remove a tick:

• Use fine-tipped tweezers. If you don't have tweezers, put on gloves or cover your hands with tissue paper, and then use your fingers. Do not handle the tick with bare hands.
  • Grab the tick as close to its mouth (the part that is stuck in your skin) as you can. The body of the tick will be above your skin.
  • Do not grab the tick around its swollen belly. You might push infected fluid from the tick into your body if you squeeze it.
  • Pull the tick straight out until its mouth lets go of your skin. Do not twist the tick. This may break off the tick's body and leave the head in your skin.
• Wash the bite area with soap and water. Then wash your hands.

Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) may include:

• The sudden appearance of raised, red areas (hives) all over the body.
• Rapid swelling of the throat, mouth, or tongue.
• Trouble breathing.
• Passing out (losing consciousness). Or you may feel very lightheaded or suddenly feel weak, confused, or restless.

A severe reaction can be life-threatening. If you have had a bad allergic reaction to a substance before and are exposed to it again, treat any symptoms as an emergency. Even if the symptoms are mild at first, they may quickly become very severe.

Symptoms of infection may include:

• Increased pain, swelling, warmth, or redness in or around the area.
• Red streaks leading from the area.
• Pus draining from the area.
• A fever.

You may need a tetanus shot depending on how dirty the wound is and how long it has been since your last shot.

• For a dirty wound that has things like dirt, saliva, or feces in it, you may need a shot if:
  • You haven't had a tetanus shot in the past 5 years.
  • You don't know when your last shot was.
• For a clean wound, you may need a shot if:
  • You have not had a tetanus shot in the past 10 years.
  • You don't know when your last shot was.

Certain health conditions and medicines weaken the immune system's ability to fight off infection and illness. Some examples in adults are:

• Diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS.
• Long-term alcohol and drug problems.
• Steroid medicines, which may be used to treat a variety of conditions.
• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer.
• Other medicines used to treat autoimmune disease.
• Medicines taken after organ transplant.
• Not having a spleen.

Tick paralysis is a rare reaction to the venom that some ticks release when they bite. Symptoms usually start 4 to 7 days after a tick attaches to your body and may include:

• Tingling, numbness, or loss of feeling or movement that starts in your hands or feet.
• Trouble swallowing or talking.
• Double vision.
• Loss of movement in your face.

Removing the tick stops the release of the venom and reverses the problem.