Freaking out here. Tick bite? Photo attached

[Realitea]

Fell asleep in the garden hammock today for an hour so this must be where I got it. Despite wearing a jumper and trousers, I noticed this thing attached to my chest just now. I got it off in a panic, then realised it must be a tick and I should have used tweezers
I’ve now got a pink bump. What do I need to do now? Can they cause an allergic reaction? Do I need antibiotics?

If the head is still attached to its body, you'll be fine.

Looks like a tick yes.
As long as you got the head out too there's usually nothing to worry about. Small risk of Lyme's disease with ticks but it's not common.

Risk of infection if you pulled it out and the head came off and stayed inside. Other than that.. you'll be fine.

@Realitea I believe you’ve to watch out for future feeling unwell- see attached from NHS

Oh this is horrible ☹️ At least the head is attached I suppose 🤢

Risk of Lymes Disease varies depending on where you are. A few years ago, DD1 and I found ourselves with several ticks each during a festival in the SW. Festival medic helped me get one off from an awkward spot on DD, and said we should request antibiotics as a matter of course from GP on our return home, as the area is rife with Lymes. Sure enough, rang surgery to verify, and we're prescribed straight away once they'd checked the location on a Lymes map . At home, we get them all the time and never think twice about it, just remove and dispose.

I’m in the SW. Thank you for letting me know. I’ve recently moved here to a rural spot and next to woodland so there must be a lot of ticks around here. I’ll call the GP in the morning.

I’m quite concerned I’ve developed a hot red rash on both wrists now and they look swollen. I’ve had an antihistamine. It could just be that I got sunburn on top of already quite sore skin though form all the handwashing. Hard to tell. I don’t think I’ll sleep much tonight for worrying!

For future reference, since this likely won't be the last time if you are in an area prone to ticks, before you pull with tweezers, douse the area really well with perfume or aftershave and leave for a minute or two. It makes the tick loosen its grip and you can pull it out much more easily. Then wash with rubbing alcohol or antiseptic wipes. I personally finish with tea tree oil too. just a drop. It stings a little, but it's the best there is to clean out the wound area.

If you were bitten on the chest it's not likely that the only symptom would be on your wrists - normally any infection starts in the area of the bite.

If you still have the tick - probably not now, but if so - seal it in a container (empty jar or similar) and put it in the freezer. That way, in the unlikely event that there are any symptoms or complications your doctor can order tests on it.

I have put it in a container and put in the freezer now. Thanks for the advice and I agree with the wrist rash, I think it’s a coincidence as they were quite sore from so much handwashing anyway. I’ll keep an eye on the bite area. I don’t have any running alcohol or wipes but I do have my hand gel. I might give it a going over just to be sure.

Make sure you keep the grass short as they climb up plants and sit there with their legs out waiting for someone e to brush past it.....

😮 I didn’t know that. It’s quite difficult with our mad garden but I’ll maybe keep the hammock in a better spot. I’m quite put off going in it now.

I’m now really confused how it got to my chest - I was wearing a jumper and trousers. So weird

In most cases, the tick must be attached for over 24 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted. So no need to worry.

Thanks. Hopefully it hasn’t been!

phone the gp in the morning who will check it out for you. We have sheep in an area where there is a playground, quite a few people were ill last summer before they realised where they were picking up the ticks. The sheep were wandering in at night.

You can send the tick off to be analysed for species (won’t tell you if it was carrying Lymes though). Info somewhere on gov.com. Our gp is not concerned unless you have symptoms but some areas are high risk and give out Antibiotics as a precaution.

keep any eye out for any bullseye red mark around a bite.

My son had a bite last year and it looked like ring worm, so watch out for that. The pharmacist caught it.

They can crawl around for hours before attaching - my dog gets them all the time, and I often find them still crawling unattached in the evening after a daytime walk. I assume they just crawl about looking for a suitable place to attach. So that will be how it got on your chest, it will have crawled there after brushing against your clothing somehow.

I've been suffering with Lyme disease for the past 4 years. Trust me, it's not something you want to risk contracting. It can become very difficult to treat the longer it's left, so please call your GP tomorrow.

The leading Lyme disease charity in the UK has produced a full guide to tick bites and acute Lyme disease, so please refer to this as some of the posters above have quoted information which is not correct (it's not true that they need to be attached for a certain amount of time to transmit and you shouldn't douse it in perfume, etc).

lymediseaseuk.com/tick-bites-and-acute-lyme-disease-guide/

The charity also has an online community page on Facebook if you have further questions.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Fantastic- thank you for that. I will make sure to call the GP in the morning and will have a look at the link now. I’ve calmed down a bit now as I think if I were to have had an allergic reaction I would have had one by now so the next thing is the doctor tomorrow!

Not everyone gets a rash and it can take months to appear. It's all in the link above anyway. Glad you're feeling calmer now :-)

Thank you 😊

It's important to know about Lyme disease and watch out for the bullseye rash and flu-like symptoms, but I don't think a GP is needed unless you get some other symptoms down the line, or you're still worried about an allergic reaction tomorrow.

We live in a tick-infested area and inevitably I take a few a year off us, the kids or the cat. Get yourself an o'tom tick twister for next time. I find the smaller one works best.

I will get one today online. I feel ok today, there’s a pink bump but no bulls eye rash yet or any other symptoms so I’ll keep an eye on it for now

Just an update, I spoke to my GP this morning and he prescribed three weeks of doxycycline. He thought it would be a good precaution.

So now I’m wondering whether this will ruin my immune system as I’m still very worried about catching coronavirus aswell!