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Ticks 101: Our last bulletin was on sun exposure, a blessing and a curse that we confront almost daily here in Colorado. Exposure to this next topic, ticks and the diseases they carry, is less frequent. Ticks can carry many diseases, but the most frequent in Colorado are Colorado tick fever and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Ticks in Colorado can also carry tularemia and relapsing fever. There have been no reported cases of ticks in Colorado causing lyme disease.
If you get bitten by a tick, don’t panic. Most ticks do not carry diseases and many bites do not transmit infections. It can take several hours up to days for an attached tick to transfer infection. The first thing you should do is remove the tick properly by gently grabbing the tick near the head with blunt tweezers and pulling it out with even pressure. Save the tick because it could be analyzed for tick-borne pathogens. You do not need to visit your doctor unless you develop any flu-like symptoms in the 4 weeks following the bite.
Colorado tick fever is a viral illness and is associated with fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, headache, and a rash of purple or red spots. The symptoms usually occur 4-5 days after exposure, last for 4-5 days, remit, then often recur for 2-3 days. The best treatment is similar to many viral infections: adequate rest with proper hydration and nutrition. Rocky Mountain spotted fever symptoms start about 3-14 days after a bite from an infected tick. It is caused by bacteria, but has many of the same symptoms as Colorado tick fever. Treatment with an antibiotic soon after diagnosis is important. Death is rare with either illness.
Tick bites occur most often in the spring and summer so pay special attention to protection during these seasons. The best protection from insect bites and stings is to wear pants and long sleeved shirts, use insect repellents in areas where exposure is high, and check yourself and pets for ticks after being outside. Contrary to common fear, DEET 30% is a safe and effective insect repellent for those 2 months of age and older. Picaridin 20% can repel mosquitoes and ticks for up to 8 hours; lemon eucalyptus oil up to 6 hours; soybean oil (such as BiteBlocker) up to 2 hours for ticks. And, going back to our last update, while we recommend sunscreen any time you have prolonged sun exposure, combination sunscreen/repellents should not be used (repellents need to be applied less often than sunscreen).
Prescriber’s Letter July, 2010. 17:7 pp 41.
Centers for Disease Control: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/
Colorado State University: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05593.html
National Institutes of Health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tickbites.html
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