Forget the moths, this weekend I went to mountain bike and drink beer in the woods, and found three ticks walking on me, and one sucking my blood the next morning. This is tick season. In grassy montane areas, wearing long pants might not be a bad idea.Everyone knows (and my friends were quick to point out while the bug was still sucking my blood) ticks can spread lyme disease, but there are no documented cases of Lyme Disease from ticks in Colorado. You can get Rocky Mountain Fever from ticks, but it's also quite rare. (It's much more common in the southeast.)
But still, ticks are gross. You don't want them.
If you do get one, here's the best way to remove it: tweezers. Pull slowly and gently.
6 comments:
Dave - where were you?
I've had Lymes disease and all the symptoms of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I picked up Lymes in the Big Sur area of California.
I got the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever symptoms a few days after returning from climbing Dallas Peak near Telluride. I had backpacked in for the climb. A few days later I got really sick.
A few days later I found a tick on my pillow. The ER thought I probably had Colorado tick fever and sent me home once they gave me 3 liters to rehydrate me. The next day when I returned I needed another 3 liters. One of the nurses that had been there the day before was there again and I heard her tell the doctor that I had really gone downhill in the 24 hours since he had seen me last.
They thought I had meningitis but from blood tests the day before they knew my blood counts where so low I wouldn't clot so they couldn't do a spinal tap to test. They tested me for Rocky Mountain Fever but it didn't come back positive. The county health department called 6 months later and retested for a couple tick diseases but they never figured out what it was. Strong IV antibiotics got me feeling better within 24 hours but it was weeks before I had much energy.
Thanks for the informative link about tick removal, Dave.
somewhere along the line I got into the habit of wearing long pants while hiking, and now I actually prefer them to shorts. The tick protection is a bonus I didn't even consider.
As a local Doc, I would like to pass on some very important information - That tick that bit you could definitely have been carring the Borrelia Borgdorfi bacterial - otherwise known as Lyme Disease. Myself and David Martz MD and William Harvey MD at the Rocky Mountain Chronic Disease Center in Colorado Springs have diagnosed over 500 people locally with Lyme. Many have been bitten in our foothills and even had the classic "bullseye rash" - many do not. This is very important info to pass on for hikers and their dogs.
Dr. Donald Gay 719 250-5678
I would be checking for signs and symptoms of lyme and testing ur blood with a reputable company igenex etc... i plan to do what i can afford to which isnt much in the Oz. I have been misdiagnosed for a decade. My site if interested is: www.lymegreenaustralia.blogspot.com
ANY LLMD'S WILLING TO ADVISE AUSSIE DR'S AND HELP ME PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE ON MY SITE
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