Next door just knocked...

[CatKisser]

Asking if I had a tick remover. I had a spare some and expressed sympathy as my cat has had loads so far this summer.
Oh no - not for his cat - for his OWN leg!! He's got two ticks in his leg! Both areas looked really red and inflamed. I made a perhaps inappropriate joke about hoping he doesn't get Lymes disease...but in hindsight, I wish I'd told him to get it checked out. Does this occur often in humans? It's the red ring you have to look out for, isn't it?

[Barbie1]

Yes it can be bad for human, he should put the ticks into a container and label it with today's date and where he picked them up from.

Here is S Korea they have had so many people die from tic bites that if you get bitten you have to go to the hospital right away, they will also send of the tic for sampling!

[Barbie1]

Sorry, soothing a baby and predictive text has made my last message littered with bad grammar.

Symptoms in humans can take up to a few weeks to present themselves...

[CatKisser]

Really? Is that the same for ticks in the UK do you think? I might pop over there and suggest that, if so.

[cozietoesie]

Strewth, CatKisser - that's a bit above our pay grades but \link{http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx\here's} some guidance. Sounds like a GP trip if you/he live in an affected area.

[CatKisser]

Oh dear.
Yes we are extremely rural and surrounded by fields of sheep and cattle, next to a woodland full of deer, etc.

[cozietoesie]

Prin out the page on the link then and pop it next door?

[CatKisser]

No printer, annoyingly. I'm going to sit outside with a diet coke though - he usually wanders down the track to take his toddler to see the horses so if I see him I might mention.

[cozietoesie]

Then get his email and send him the link ? That's better, really, because there are internal links on that page which he might want to see into.

[cozietoesie]

PS - It's something Iwould do particularly in light of him taking his toddler up to an area with - I guess - long grass and deer. He'll be wanting to take preventative measures as suggested when they go up there.

[CatKisser]

Right, he's interrupted my MNing returned the tick twister, so I've mentioned he should research the NHS guidance on ticks, especially as it's a bad year for them and we're in a high risk area. He definitely seemed to take this on board as he doesn't think he got the head out of one of the puncture sites (vom.)

I hope he gets it sorted, that's my utter nightmare!!!

[hmc]

No it's really not like S Korea here!

I've had ticks, my children have had ticks - everyone I know has had ticks ( we are in the New Forest).....my friend did get Lymes disease, she was chronically tired and headachey and unwell for 4 months but made a full recovery. Her GP has said that at least a third of us in this area have latent lymes but it may never rear up and bite us ( or it could lay dormant for a decade or more)

If you remove a tick within 48 hours the risk iuch reduced.

I haven't had a tick for ages because I now wear trousers to walk the dogs - even in the recent sweltering temperatures.

[MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday]

I've had ticks.. came in on Morph and obviously were still on his outer coat and decided I was an easier meal! Woke up with one on my stomach one day..grim.

Mine pulled out entirely (we live rurally so I'm pretty good at it) but the sites were sore and inflamed for quite a while even though the ticks had been there less than 24 hours. But I do think it's best to get them checked out if they look remotely sore.

I HATE ticks!

[sashh]

Nothing to add but an anecdote.

Friends of my parents lived in South Carolina for a while, one of their children got a tick and it had to be removed at the hospital, then a couple of days later he got another, a neighbour called her mother who I have heard described as 'true hillbilly' who lit a cigarette and touched it to the tick, the tick then removed it's head from the site and dropped off.

I'm not sure if it is a recommended way to remove them, or even if the ticks are the same but might be worth knowing of you are in need of removal and don't have the tools.

[CatKisser]

medusa I don't know how you stayed calm while removing one from yourself! I'd have DIED!
sassh my grandma always told me to remove ticks with lighted match - I don't think I dare though, plus Scabbers wouldn't let me that close with anything lit, I'm certain! My five quid set of tick twisters was a good investment!