Diseases Caused by Deer Tick Bites
Having Lyme disease is no picnic. Suffering from fever, rash, and fatigue all at the same time is extremely uncomfortable, inconvenient, and costly. So if you do not want to get sick, make sure you are safe from the deer tick bite.
The deer tick or blacklegged tick, known scientifically as Ixodes scapularis is a hard-bodied tick commonly found in the eastern and northern parts of the Midwestern United States. It is a parasite and serves as a host of numerous diseases.
Deer tick bites can cause anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Lyme disease. This tick has a 2-year life cycle and it goes through 3 stages: larva, nymph and adult, and in order to pass each stage, they must drink the blood of animals. Female ticks are able to drink the blood of its host for five days. If deer ticks have not taken their meal of animal blood, these vampire-like insects are black in color; if they have inflicted their tick bite on their hapless victim, its color will change to light gray-blue.
The Centers for Disease Control did a study that told them that 55% of the ticks in New Jersey carried a pathogen that is particularly harmful to humans and animals. A deer tick bite can be the cause of several diseases.
- Lyme disease – this infectious disease is caused by a deer tick bite and can affect multiple body systems. Its symptoms include a circular and expanding rash, presence of a purplish lumps on the ear lobes, nipples or scrotum, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, facial palsy and cognitive problems. It is treated with antibiotics, but if the disease progresses to the brain, it can be more difficult to treat. In some cases, Lyme disease can cause death.
- Anaplasmosis – another infectious disease caused by a deer tick bite, which infects the white blood cells. Symptoms of this disease caused by a deer tick bite include severe headache, muscle pains, fever, and chills. It is treated with doxycycline. This deer tick bite disease is particularly dangerous to pregnant women and the elderly.
- Babesiosis – this is a diseases caused by a deer tick bite and is similar to malaria. It can also infect mammals. Symptoms of this deer tick bite disease are high fever, diarrhea, severe anemia, and chills. The disease can sometimes go away on its own; others require to be treated with quinine and clindamycin. However, in severe cases, a person might need to undergo blood transfusion.
If you receive a deer tick bite, you should be careful when removing the tick. You should remove the parts of the mouth and head of the tick with the use of a pair of tweezers. Wash the deer tick bite site thoroughly with water and soap. When it is dry, put topical antibiotic cream on the deer tick bite and observe the deer tick bite for several days. If the rash from the deer tick bite gets worse and you begin to experience other symptoms, consult your physician immediately.