If you spend time outdoors or have pets that go outdoors, you need to beware of ticks. Ticks are small bloodsucking parasites. Many species transmit diseases to animals and people. Some of the diseases you can get from a tick bite are Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.

Some ticks are so small that they can be difficult to see. Ticks may get on you if you walk through areas where they live, such as tall grass, leaf litter or shrubs.

Tick-borne diseases occur worldwide, including in your own backyard. To help protect yourself and your family, you should

  • Use a chemical repellent with DEET, permethrin or picaridin
  • Wear light-colored protective clothing
  • Tuck pant legs into socks
  • Avoid tick-infested areas
  • Check yourself, your children and your pets daily for ticks and carefully remove any ticks you find

Symptoms of Tick Bites

The following features are indicative of Tick Bites:
  • rash
  • flu like symptoms
  • fever
  • chills
  • fatigue
  • body ache
  • headache
  • heart problems
  • eye inflammation
  • liver inflammation
  • minor injury
It is possible that Tick Bites shows no physical symptoms and still is present in a patient.

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Common Causes of Tick Bites

The following are the most common causes of Tick Bites:
  • ticks
  • Borrelia mayonii bacteria
  • Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria

Risk Factors for Tick Bites

The following factors may increase the likelihood of Tick Bites:
  • having exposed skin
  • spending time in wooded or grassy areas
  • not removing ticks promptly or properly

Prevention of Tick Bites

Yes, it may be possible to prevent Tick Bites. Prevention may be possible by doing the following:
  • limiting exposure to ticks
  • using insect repellents
  • avoid walking through low bushes and long grass
  • do your best to tick-proof your yard
  • get vaccinated against lyme disease

Occurrence of Tick Bites

Number of Cases

The following are the number of Tick Bites cases seen each year worldwide:
  • Widely occurring between 500K - 1 Million cases

Common Age Group

Tick Bites can occur at any age.

Common Gender

Tick Bites can occur in any gender.

Lab Tests and Procedures for Diagnosis of Tick Bites

The following lab tests and procedures are used to detect Tick Bites:
  • Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test: To diagnose the Lyme disease and detect the antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria
  • Western blot test: To determine the antibodies to several proteins of Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria

Doctor for Diagnosis of Tick Bites

Patients should visit the following specialists if they have symptoms of Tick Bites:
  • General practitioner
  • Rheumatologist

Complications of Tick Bites if untreated

Yes, Tick Bites causes complications if it is not treated. Below is the list of complications and problems that may arise if Tick Bites is left untreated:
  • erythema migrans
  • chronic joint inflammation
  • joint pain
  • neurological problems
  • heart rhythm irregularities
  • cognitive defects

Self-care for Tick Bites

The following self-care actions or lifestyle changes may help in the treatment or management of Tick Bites:
  • Install a tall fence: Prevents deer (a carrier of ticks) out of the yard
  • Cleaning forest borders and trimming lawns: Lowers the number of ticks on a lawn
  • Treating residential property with tick-killing products: Decreases the local tick population
  • Remove the tick promptly and carefully: To take care of a tick bite
  • Wash your hands with soap and water: To take care of a tick bite

Alternative Medicine for Treatment of Tick Bites

The following alternate medicine and therapies are known to help in the treatment or management of Tick Bites:
  • Nutritional and herbal therapy: Helps in treating patients with Lyme disease
  • Oxygen and reactive oxygen therapy: Helps in treating patients with Lyme disease

Patient Support for Treatment of Tick Bites

The following actions may help Tick Bites patients:
  • Communications toolkit: Provides information and helps in preventing lyme disease

Time for Treatment of Tick Bites

While time-period of treatment for each patient may vary, below is the typical time-period for Tick Bites to resolve if treated properly under an expert supervision:
  • In 6 months - 1 year

Last updated date

This page was last updated on 2/04/2019.
This page provides information for Tick Bites.
Insect Bites and Stings
Lyme Disease

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