Remember to check for ticks after an outing

[troutbug]

http://www.wltribune.com/news/258322...ml?mobile=true

Just a reminder to always remember to check for ticks

[walking buffalo]

Tick Check!


http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...ght=tick+check

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Ranks right up there with West Nile Virus as things I don't worry about.

ARG

[calgarychef]

I'd worry about it. I got " tick fever" in Africa and it's not pleasant and neither are the medications to save your life. Not something to be blasé about.

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by calgarychef

I'd worry about it. I got " tick fever" in Africa and it's not pleasant and neither are the medications to save your life. Not something to be blasé about.

I'd worry about it... My nephew has Lyme Disease because of a tick bite here in Alberta. Worst part is, the lack of knowledge (or belief), that it exists here. They went to the doctor after they discovered the target style rash, only to be told it was nothing & sent home. Well the "flu-like" symtoms started, and they went back, Sent home Again. Finally went to a person that specializes in Lyme disease, and it was confirmed, yes he has Lyme disease. Started treatment, everything seems to be under control, although months passed between the time of the bite, and when the antibiotics started. Hopefully no harm done.

And that is not the only case, I know of three other people that were misdiagnosed, some have been told they had MS, yet years later they find out it was Lyme disease.

IT is NOT something to brush off.. Check your kids/spouses regularily.
You never know.

[braggadoe]

a very real issue. a local rancher around here contracted lyme's disease. miss diagnosed by the doctors. finally figured it out, but he's had to sell his spread because of it.

[mulie4x4]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

I'd worry about it... My nephew has Lyme Disease because of a tick bite here in Alberta. Worst part is, the lack of knowledge (or belief), that it exists here. They went to the doctor after they discovered the target style rash, only to be told it was nothing & sent home. Well the "flu-like" symtoms started, and they went back, Sent home Again. Finally went to a person that specializes in Lyme disease, and it was confirmed, yes he has Lyme disease. Started treatment, everything seems to be under control, although months passed between the time of the bite, and when the antibiotics started. Hopefully no harm done.

And that is not the only case, I know of three other people that were misdiagnosed, some have been told they had MS, yet years later they find out it was Lyme disease.

IT is NOT something to brush off.. Check your kids/spouses regularily.
You never know.

Where in Alberta did your nephew get bit? I work with people who do tick research and are doing field sweeps now and collecting ticks. They maybe interested in going to that area.

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

I'd worry about it... My nephew has Lyme Disease because of a tick bite here in Alberta. Worst part is, the lack of knowledge (or belief), that it exists here. They went to the doctor after they discovered the target style rash, only to be told it was nothing & sent home. Well the "flu-like" symptoms started, and they went back, Sent home Again. Finally went to a person that specializes in Lyme disease, and it was confirmed, yes he has Lyme disease. Started treatment, everything seems to be under control, although months passed between the time of the bite, and when the antibiotics started. Hopefully no harm done.

And that is not the only case, I know of three other people that were misdiagnosed, some have been told they had MS, yet years later they find out it was Lyme disease.

IT is NOT something to brush off.. Check your kids/spouses regularly.
You never know.

I was lucky to have the target like rash that confirmed the bite. However that target like rash only occurs 25% of the time. Don't simply rely on seeing it.......

[Peter Abelard]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

And that is not the only case, I know of three other people that were misdiagnosed, some have been told they had MS, yet years later they find out it was Lyme disease.

IT is NOT something to brush off.. Check your kids/spouses regularily.
You never know.

Question: Would you be willing to make a finger to the wind guestimate of the chances of a given tick bite resulting in Lyme? 1/10? 1/100000?

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by Au revoir, Gopher

Ranks right up there with West Nile Virus as things I don't worry about.

ARG

I would and I will worry about it FOREVER.....

I was bit and contracted Lymes disease and I am here to tell you it is HORRIBLE. The tick had to be surgically removed.

Similar to you, I never gave the tick much thought yet I was aware of them.

Not a day goes by when I am not reminded why I should have inspected myself or taken more precaution while I was outdoors.

Rather than sit back, research the topic of Lymes Disease and then tell me "I don't worry about it". If you don't care then think about your kids and pets.

It is serious and painful.......IMHO...

[nenaj]

My family travelled to Saskatoon from Edmonton this past weekend. Over the course of the weekend with a few short hikes in the river valleys we found 4 ticks on us. The last one we found was latched on the back of my 3 year old daughters neck. They are here and it seems like there are a lot of them in Saskatchewan this year.

[CLB]

We have a lot of ticks here in Saskatchewan. This time of year we find a lot of them on us. The vast majority of ticks that we have are the American dog tick (wood tick). These do not carry lyme disease. I think a common tick in Alberta is the rocky mountain wood tick which is not know for carrying lyme disease either. Lyme disease will be carried by the black legged tick ( deer tick). I think I have read less than one percent of the ticks here are deer ticks. The American dog tick and rocky mountain wood tick will carry rocky mountain spotted fever and a few other diseases although rare.

[Ticdoc]

CLB and Walking Buffalo make some good points.
The species of tick that transmits Lyme Disease is likely a recent arrival to Alberta (likely carried here by migrating birds) and its distribution is spotty. But it is likely well established so Alberta will likely see more human cases of Lyme Disease in the future. And this disease can be serious.
Here, some information that I have lifted from a book I wrote about winter ticks on moose.
"Ticks are common parasites of mammals, including humans. Some species are also found on birds and reptiles. There are over 800 species of ticks worldwide, but only about 35 species occur on hosts in Canada. Of that number only 10 or so occur in Alberta and of those few, only two [now three counting the tick that spreads Lyme Disease]get much attention.
"The Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni, occurs on large mammals such as deer, elk, cattle and humans from south central British Columbia, southern and western Alberta, and east to southwestern Saskatchewan. This tick deserves the attention it gets because hikers and dogs, walking game trails, commonly become infested in spring and early summer and disease can result.
"Wood ticks ascend grasses and shrubs along game trails and ambush large mammals including man. They occur in Alberta’s foothills and mountains from Jasper to the Montana border. Basically, where elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep are found, so too are wood ticks. Moving east, wood ticks occur south of a west-east line running through Lake Louise and Hanna.
"Wood ticks vector the human disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which, in spite of its name, is not very common in Alberta, but rather reaches near epidemic proportions in dogs of the southeastern Atlantic states. The disease, which first produces a mild-to-nasty skin rash often accompanied by headache, fever, general soreness, then more severe signs later such as agitation and insomnia, is readily treated with antibiotics.
A second ailment is tick paralysis, which occurs rarely in humans or other animals in Alberta, but is more common in cattle of British Columbia. Ticks produce a neurological toxin that is passed to hosts, such as cattle and man, during tick bite. Infection results in a gradually spreading loss of feeling from the extremities to the body core.
"In summary, getting ambushed by wood ticks is part of hiking in southern and western Alberta in spring, but infection with Spotted Fever or Tick Paralysis is rare. Nonetheless, these diseases can be serious, which merits taking precautions to reduce chances of tick attack:
▪ avoid resting (that is, sitting or lying down) along game trails or mountain meadows obviously frequented by deer, elk or bighorn sheep;
▪ use repellents containing DEET on clothing below the waist; that is, those areas that might come into contact with low-lying tick-infested vegetation;
▪ tuck pants into the socks, and
▪ do a body search for ticks of everyone in the hiking party during and at the end of the day. Search everyone for ticks, especially young children. It takes several to many hours for disease transmission to occur, so these searches are worthwhile. Wood ticks tend to attach around the ears and back of the neck, often just under the hairline. Check the dog.
If an attached tick is found, use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and gently pull so as to remove both tick and its mouthparts. By the way, those home-spun remedies such as using nail polish, end of lit cigarette or hot match, petroleum jelly, lighter fluid, do not work when trying to remove a tick embedded in skin. Treat the site with antiseptic. See a physician if you are not certain that the mouthparts have been removed (and one sign that they have not been removed is inflammation at the site of the attached tick), or if you do not feel well following the hike.

"The second attention-getting species of tick in Alberta is called the moose-, elk- or winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus. The common names refer to the hosts on which the tick is noticed most often and the season in which these ticks are observed most often. Humans are seldom, if ever, infested with winter ticks; this tick is not considered a pest of man.

That's my tictoc.

ticdoc

[greylynx]

Thank you Tic Doc.

Glad to see you are still in the neighborhood.

Fellow AO members. Tic Doc is a real cool dude when it comes to ticks and parasites.

Thanks again.

[Ticdoc]

Originally Posted by greylynx

Thank you Tic Doc.

Glad to see you are still in the neighborhood.

Fellow AO members. Tic Doc is a real cool dude when it comes to ticks and parasites.

Thanks again.

Appreciate kind words.

ticdoc

[drhu22]

edit

[Lornce]

I might have missed it but has anyone mentioned tick removal devices. I carry one my fishing vest so it's handy. The one I have is called a Tickey but there are other good ones.

[graybeard]

Bump

[graybeard]

Bump

[hunterfisher]

Had ticks in my Mule deer yesterday. Through him in the truck and got home. Hung him outside and skinned him pretty quick. I noticed most of them around the anus and I was just grossed out. I think most went deeper into the hide as I was skinning and then I chucked it in a grab age bag. I was constantly checking my stuff but never found one. After all was done I changed my clothes and went inside. Had my wife check me and seems ok so hopefully no bites or anything like that. It's been over 24 hrs so hopefully all is good. Don't know if there's any in the grass where I skinned him. How long would they last I wonder. Anyways it still got me grossed out as I have a dog and continuously checking him and the kids. Yuck.

[graybeard]

Tick time....be careful and always inspect yourself and your pets....

VERY SERIOUS

[graybeard]

Bump

[benamen]

I went for a round out at our 3D range a week ago. Came back and had a bath. Surprise!!!!! Found a tick on my leg but had not attached itself yet.

[russ]

Just went through this thread and noticed there isn't a link to this site

http://canlyme.com/

[CBR]

Great thread. Doing a lot of geological fieldwork in BC in my early 20's I've seen my fair share of ticks. I remember one spot in particular - early June and we were working at the base of a cliff on one section of outcrop. Myself and my field assistant were literally getting covered in ticks almost immediately. We couldn't figure out where they were coming from until we realized they were jumping onto us from above. Needless to say we got out of there in a hurry. I've never experienced anything like that before or since. It was disgusting lol!

One method we found that worked like a charm for getting them off once they have attached themselves (not sure if this works once they are really embedded as we always checked ourselves every night and so found them relatively early) was heating a small needle with a lighter and lifting up the back end of the tick slightly and poking their bellies with the hot needle. Every time we barely had to touch them and they backed out immediately. This ensures that no part of their head/mouth is left behind as can happen if you pull them with tweezers. Just make sure you don't poke yourself!!!

[saskpikeman]

Take this seriously. Lyme disease is no joke. Misdiagnosed it can be a lifelong battle!!!

[graybeard]

Looking like a tick bumper crop this year.....2016....be careful.

[graybeard]

Bump

[fordtruckin]

Dang it! after reading this whole thread I feel like I got something crawling all over me. I freaking despise ticks, always have ever since a kid in Canora, Saskatchewan. Definitely a good thread as I knew about Lyme's disease and RMSF, I did not however know how prevalent it is. I've known 2 people with Lyme's and its not pretty...

[graybeard]

Bump