All About Ticks: Nature's Nasty Little Critters

Ticks are located in most the United States. Ticks live in the woods, to survive they have to suck blood from a host, they are not choosy they will attach themselves to an animal or a human. While most tick bites are not serious, ticks can carry and spread serious diseases.

Two diseases that ticks carry are Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. Both have similar symptoms and are treatable with antibiotics if caught early. Without early detection, and treatment they can lead to life threatening complications.

Lyme disease is actually a bacteria carried by deer ticks on the east coast and black legged ticks on the pacific coast. They are spread to humans through the bite of the ticks.

The symptoms of Lyme disease can start appearing in as early as 3 days or as late as 30 days. There may be a rash that the site of the tick bite, sometimes the rash will burn or itch, or will be painless. There maybe flu-like symptoms, chills, headaches, neck stiffness, fatigue. Lyme disease can be confirmed with a lab test. The problem with the test for Lyme disease is that sometimes there are false results for the tests

If Lyme disease is left untreated complications may appear, such as facial palsy, heart abnormalities, or meningitis. Some of these can be severe enough to be hospitalized. If the Lyme disease continues, it can attack the nervous system, have trouble concentrating, and muscle weakness may appear, with numbness in the legs and arms.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most severe and frequent tick illness that is transmitted by tick bites. This disease is also almost always fatal if not treated.