I went to the Appalachian mountains. I left 2 days ago. Just now, I found a tic in a crevice of my ear. It was alive, but wasn’t full of blood. It was still thin. I also don’t feel any bite marks.
I don’t know much about tics or Lyme’s disease. Is there anything I should do or watch out for?
- Search for more ticks. Places like behind the knees, bellybutton, armpits, and groin are favorite tick spots. Check everywhere on your body, including your scalp. Have someone check hard to see places for you, like your back.
- Make sure that the head of the tick is not still embedded in your ear. Have someone check for you.
- Try to identify the type of tick. Different ticks carry different diseases so knowing the type of tick can help you keep watch for symptoms and/or inform doctors if symptoms do develop. Lyme disease is the big one transmitted via ticks but it is not the only one.
- The fact that it wasn’t full of blood is a good sign. Breathe. You are going to be just fine. Know what symptoms to look for and try to not worry yourself.
@BackOnMyBS in Rhode Island we can call our Primary Care Physician and tell them we got bitten by a tick if it is within 72 hours. They will prescribe a dose of antibiotics over the phone. Then again we live in a Lyme disease hotspot, so your mileage may very.
Your local health department can probably test the tick for disease if you still have it. (At least mine does in my state). If not, there is pretty good success with early treatment: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/pdfs/FS_TickBite.pdf
Everyone’s talking about Lyme disease, but I got Alpha-Gal allergy from a lone star tick. I got sick AF for a long time before an allergist finally thought to test me. I never had a tick that I let swell up with blood. A mere bite can get you.
That’s fascinating. Can you eat red meat now? I read that some people can go back to eating whatever after a couple years
If I were you I’d see a doctor. Assuming you picked it up two days ago, that is sufficient time for it to settle and bite. The fact that it was not engorged is not assurance that you weren’t bitten. Some people catch lyme and never show a rash, although that is uncommon.
Your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic as a preventative measure.
If you feel the need to see a doctor, by all means do so. As someone who has spent several decades camping and have been bitten by multiple ticks in my lifetime, I would not worry to much about it unless you start to notice the symptoms of Lyme disease. The CDC recommends seeing a doctor if you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of a tick bite. Source: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/index.html
While it sounds like you’ve been pretty lucky, keep in mind that the prevalence of Lyme disease has grown significantly over the past few decades
