OMG! Scary! I hope the tick tests negative for disease.

Based on my symptoms last night, I'm sure it would test positive. But the vector control people don't test for that. Instead, they assess certain parts of the tick and the degree of engorgement, and give their recommendation as to whether antibiotics should be started or not. I've been though this enough times to know I should start the Doxy immediately.

You might say in this case testing is unnecessary. But I always find it interesting, and it costs only $2. :-)

Wow! I learn such interesting things on this forum. I'm pretty hardy, but I admit that I would be scared to death if I found a tick on myself.

yuck. I've never seen a tick. Lyme disease is a scary thing! start that medication!

Back in the early 60's when I was in Jr.High school I joined the 4H club and I selected "Entimology" as one of my projects. To complete the project I had to make an insect collection. For the entire summer I wondered near & far, day & night setting insect traps and running through the fields swishing my trusty butterfly net, and I managed to make a fairly nice collection of insects with over 200 different specimens, all properly labelled and such but to my chagrin, there were two insects that I really wanted to include in my collection, and for the life of me, I could not locate either one even though I diligently searched for over a year.

Believe it or not, the two insects that I could not find were the American Cockroach & a Tick, any tick, a wood tick, a deer tick, hell I couldn't even catch a tick of the clock.. Imagine that, you can't get rid of them today.

That is really scary! Living in the woods, we have had to deal with our share of ticks, but always found them before they could cause problems. My grandson almost died of Lyme Disease when he was 10 years old, so I know how serious it is.

Saying a prayer that you have no problems. Hugs!

Ugh - I hate ticks. We mostly have the dog ticks here - man - I do hate them though. We have lots of timber that we have to be out in.

Hope everything turns out ok.

Lazypup, had you found a tick you might have had trouble killing it (although you probably would have used alcohol, and that would have done the job). Ticks are notoriously hard to kill, and my experience today proves it. This tick survived Sally Hershberger's Style Primer, Sebastian Shaper Hairspray, and numerous shampoos.

Everyone is loving this weather but me. It's almost 80 now and for the foreseeable future. I cannot imagine how bad the tick and flea season will be. Mosquitoes were all over the place today and these ramped up temps are bringing them way sooner. This is June weather in early March. Crazy!

I would have had no problem killing it. Although it has been totally outlawed today, in those days I could go to any pharmacy and get an ounce of Carbon-tetra-Chloride. for a dime.

Take an old mayonaise jar and put about a 1/2" layer of cotton in the bottom, and make a thin cardboard cover to fit over the cotton. Put about 6 to 10 drops of the carbon tet in the jar, then fit the cardboard cover and close the jar up tight. When you caught a bug you dropped it in the jar and it would asphixiate in under 20 seconds from the carbon tet fumes. (Carbon tet used to be used as a spot cleaner but its outlawed today because repeated exposure to the fumes can cause irreversible liver damage.)

When I retired I thought I might want to start another insect collection, but I could not find anything readily available to make the killing jar so I tabled that idea, then I decided to seriously get into photography again, which I did, so I have now combined both interests and I catch bugs with the camera...,,,besides, when I catch butterflies, bugs, birds or animals with the camera I do them no harm so someone else can enjoy seeing them as well. Of course some ppl think I have gone round the bend when they see me walking up and down the rows of someones garden, stooping over and examining the plants for bugs with my camera at the ready.. LOL

it's bad enough we have poison ivy in the vacant lot next door and i rarely work in the yard at all...know it was a "lost year" or so for my cousin's dw..it took forever for her to be able to paint again...(she's a an artist)

take care!

Alisande -
Were you out gardening or hiking or do you a pet that is indoor/outdoor? Did you bring wood in?
A little sulphur sprinkled on your ankles can stop them from climbing up your leg if you are hiking, but it sounds like this one may have come from above.
I had Lyme's many years ago and luckily caught it pretty early - once the bullseye showed up, I put it together with the other symptoms and got to the doctor.
I tell you, it is enough to make you want to take up daily scuba -and drown those suckers!
Sorry you got bit.

I move a lot of firewood around all winter, and carried a great deal of it this past week. Other than that, the only thing I did in or near the garden was to pull up some of last year's zinnias.

I don't know how long ticks can stay on us (this one looks like he took up permanent residence), but I wonder if I could have picked it up when I fell in the garden a few weeks ago. Seems like rather a long time.

I have tick repellent that is sprayed on clothing. It's good stuff--lasts for six washings--but I didn't think to start using it quite this soon. I'm still wearing foot warmers!

I put my frontline on the dogs on Monday, just because of the all the warm weather. I haven't seen a tick here, but I haven't looked. I'm sure the little buggers are out there waiting for us. It's easy to spot them on the white dog, but the little black guy is tough.

Lyme's and other tick born illnesses are so prevalent around here our docs don't even wait for the results of the test to start people on doxy. And sometimes the test results are false. We've seen too many bad things happen to people who have had long term lyme's without knowing it. Hope you feel better soon.

Again??? Oh, poor you! How did you manage to find it since it was on the back of your head? I'm so sorry you have to go through this again, Susan.

Finding them is almost always accidental. These things hide! I didn't feel it when I washed my hair this morning in the shower, but a little later I realized my hair had probably air-dried more than I wanted to. I ran my fingers through it to see if it was still damp enough to blow-dry, and that's when I felt the tick. It was unmistakable, since it was so engorged. :-(

Right now I have a pain from my neck up to that spot. It's probably psychosomatic.

It's funny....ever since my several experiences with ticks, I've felt the occasional creepy-crawly feeling on the back of my neck. I've learned to ignore it--which is probably how this one managed to arrive at his destination.

Susan, during tick season, just shampoo and wash your body with DEET. :-)

I just can't imagine living in an area that is so prolific with ticks. I found a tick buried in the back of my head on the drive home from a hike I took a couple years ago. I've avoided that trail ever since. Fortunately we don't have a big tick problem here and even though I live near a lake, in 32 years have probably only seen a half a dozen mosquitoes.

On the other had, you probably don't live in fear of "the big one" ... earthquake, that is. LOL

Jodi-

On the other had, you probably don't live in fear of "the big one" ... earthquake, that is. LOL

No, and as I said to a friend in Wisconsin today, we don't have tornadoes either. At least not so far......

Hope all is ok when the test come back
I hate ticks, we have lots of them. I always find mine in the middle of the night when DH has to be waken so he can take it off. Ours are so little they look like a freckle

When my DD was a little girl,i was combing her hair for school one morning,and the comb hit something in the back of her head.When i looked to see what it was,i wasn't really sure,so i called her older brothers into see it,they said it was a tick,and my oldest son got it out.Think it must have been a dog tick as we don't have deer around here.

My older sister back in NY state has lymes disease and has had it for a several years now.Hers flares up now and then,but she just plunges ahead with life.She is under a dr's care.They do have deer there or as she calls them,those Damn Deer.They come right up on her porch and eat her plants.Drives her crazy!!
kathi

Ok. That does it. We are going to have to start putting Frontline on you, Susan!!!

Just kidding but it's too bad there isn't something like that for human. I'm so sorry you are dealing with this again.