TICK LIST
How to treat tick bites, what do they look like, how can you get rid of them and which ticks carry Lyme disease?
A bite from one of these critters can ruin your life so stay on the ball
WALKERS are being urged to cover up to avoid tick bites following an increase in Lyme disease being diagnosed.
There are expected to be about 4,000 new cases of the disease in the UK this year — most of which will remain undiagnosed.
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How to treat tick bites?
Wash the area of the tick bite with a lot of warm, clean water.
Then apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, lightly to the wound.
This will keep the bite from sticking to the bandage.
After removing the tick, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
How can you remove ticks if still in the skin?
If you find a tick, remove it as soon as you can.
There are special tick cards but tweezers work as well as if you take care to grip the head as well as the body.
But don't panic most bites are nothing to worry about.
Infected ticks are thought to have to latch on for at least 24 hours to pass on the infection, and even after this length of time transmission rates remain low.
What do ticks bites look like?
: "The rash is often described as looking like a bull's-eye on a dartboard".
The skin will be red and the edges slightly raised.
But not everyone develops a rash.
Instead they may develop headaches, dizziness, muscle and joint pain, loss of energy or a high temperature.
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Which ticks carry Lyme disease?
All species of tick carry the disease.
But the sheep tick are known to be the biggest carrier and they are all over the British countryside or green areas within urban areas.
They go through three stages of life: larva, nymph and adult.
The nymphs are often no larger than the head of a pin.
These ticks recognise its host by vibrations and temperature.
But they don’t have teeth, instead attaching themselves to humans by embedding their mouth into the skin.
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What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transferred to humans via tick bites.
Symptoms develop after an incubation period varying from three to 30 days and the first sign is typically a bull's-eye rash.
This is an expanding ring of redness around the tick bite site that may spread out to a foot or more in diameter and last up to a month.
Often this is accompanied by a vague flu-like illness with aches and pains in the muscles and joints, fatigue and headache.
More worrying are the longer-term complications if the diagnosis is missed.
These can include inflammation of the heart, nerve damage arthritis typically affecting the knees.
And even if the infection is spotted and treated promptly with the right antibiotics it is not unusual for people to still be troubled by fatigue and aches and pains for up to six months
afterwards, with some being affected for much longer.
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