Ticks carry many diseases (for example, deer ticks may carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease (see Bacterial Infections: Lyme Disease); other types of ticks may carry the bacteria that cause rickettsial or ehrlichial infections (see Rickettsial and Related Infections: Introduction). The bites of pajaroello ticks, which are found in Mexico and the southwestern United States, produce pus-filled blisters that break, leaving open sores that develop scabs.

Deer Tick

Mite infestations are common and are responsible for chiggers (an intensely itchy rash caused by mite larvae under the skin), scabies (see Parasitic Skin Infections: Scabies), and a number of other diseases. The effects on the tissues around the bite vary in severity.

Tick Paralysis In North America, some tick species secrete a toxin that causes tick paralysis. A person with tick paralysis feels restless, weak, and irritable. After a few days, a progressive paralysis develops, moving up from the legs. The muscles that control breathing also may become paralyzed. Tick paralysis is cured rapidly by finding and removing the tick. If breathing is impaired, oxygen therapy or a mechanical ventilator may be needed to assist with breathing.

Treatment

Ticks should be removed as soon as possible. Removal is best accomplished by grasping the tick with curved tweezers as close to the skin as possible and pulling it directly out. The tick's head, which may not come out with the body, should be removed, because it can cause prolonged inflammation. Most of the folk methods of removing a tick, such as applying alcohol, fingernail polish, or a hot match, are ineffective and may cause the tick to expel infected saliva into the bite site.

Mite infestations are treated by applying a cream containing permethrin or a solution of lindane. After treatment with permethrin or lindane, a cream containing a corticosteroid is sometimes used for a few days to reduce the itching until all the mites are gone.

Last full review/revision February 2003