A cautionary word... it's that time of year when TICKS are abroad. These little scamps are just waiting for soft-bodies beasties to burrow into and suck their blood. We are soft-bodied beasties, and I know that they are about as I have one stuck in my right foot as I type. Hey ho.
Removal is simple and it is just a matter of pulling gently, but firmly, whilst unscrewing anti-clockwise [no idea why anti works better than clockwise!]. Grip it with tweezers or tick removers and make sure that you grip as close to your skin as possible. Check you have the head removed too,
THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to do is to check the bite site about 10 -14 days after you have removed it. IF you have a bullseye rash [Google it] then pop along to the doctors tout-suite and get a course of antibiotics prescribed. If you don't, you could have real problems.
PLEASE, keep your eyes open and do Google/read-up on ticks and LYMES disease.
Written by
newbie-nick
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This time last year I got a very bad set of red spider mite bites. It required two different antibiotics to clear. I'll spare you the photos I had to take to send to the GP.
oooo, errr. I've never been bothered by those critters, and I'm sorry to hear that you have been, It sounds rather unpleasant. Being rather Chris Packhamish about things, I would love to see what they do, so I shall Google it! You did warn me!!I trust that you are now fully recovered? My tick came out cleanly and I squashed it before rubbing the bite area with rubbing alcohol.
I had Lyme Disease back in 2017. It was difficult to come back from but managed a half marathon not too long after.
So good to hear that you have recovered. It is so easy to pick up a hitch hiker and be bitten, but it is so treatable if you get Lymes from it. Good luck with any more HMs etc.
February in Scotland! Flippin' heck!! Wee hardy beasties indeed. Did my fellow clansmen wear kilts with nothing on beneath? As the very old joke goes, 'what's worn beneath the kilt?', to which the reply comes, 'Nothing, it's all in fine working order', OR, when a lady lifts a kilt for a peek... 'Och, it's gruesome,' to which the reply comes, 'take another peek and you'll see it's grew some more!' Sorry!!!
Thanks for confirming my worst fear!! I bought some calf length running leggings and as the weather has warmed and the grass has grown I’ve been checking the exposed skin after every run for hitchhikers. I’m seriously considering getting full length leggings even if they’re a bit hotter as I DON’T want Lymes disease.
The real risk is quite low, but still there. If you do pick up one, it will be very obvious and will present as a small embedded black pinhead that will gradually grow over several days and weeks. A simple removal is easy [do Google it] and then just keep an eye on the bite site for two weeks. If no bulls-eye rash appears, you are fine. If one does, see the doc and get some antibiotics and you will be as right as ninepence. Most ticks don't seem to carry Lymes, but treatment where necessary is so straightforward.Whatever you do, don't overly worry and just get out and enjoy your running.
When I was a Scout and Cub leader* I was regularly removing ticks and informing parents and careers about what to watch out for.
Not sure what the figures are for Scotland... If you've been bitten in Ireland there is a 6%-15% chance that the tick could carry an infection, Lyme or Co-infection. In 'lyme Connecticut' America it's 70%. (According to Dr. Lambert, Consultant in Infectious Diseases, Dublin.) The Irish figure is low alright, but I would still be getting antibiotics pronto in case I was the unlucky one!
Wearing lighter coloured clothes they are easier to spot too, and you could apply insect repellant with 20%-30% DEET to any exposed skin if you wanted to take extra precautions. I'm going on the ticktalk advice there.
Very sound advice about light coloured clothing, but remember that these rascals can climb rather well - they are a member of the spider family - so watch out for areas above the clothing line. If you are so inclined, tights will stop them attaching too, but you may just get some curious looks if you run in them in public.DEET is a commercial plastic softener, so be careful if you have it on your hands and then use your Garmins etc. You will leave fingerprints that are melted into the case - just as I have done with some of my camera equipment.
My husband got a tick embedded in his leg a couple of years back and even though he removed it right away was very under the weather for weeks until the doctor treated him for Lymes. We were really worried when it happened as tick borne encephalitis is very common in the area we were visiting (Russian Baltic coast). Scary. My old cat was always coming in covered in ticks and I got quite skilled removing them, I just don’t want to do it to myself!
As always prevention is better than cure, but these little rascals are lurking and waiting for a host to be their supper. If longer leg running gear helps, I wouldn't hesitate to wear it. I don't know if it applies to ticks too, but eating lots of garlic and marmite helps deter mosquitos. Worth a try, if you like them.Good luck and happy running.
Hi guys👋 Thanks newbie-nick for highlighting this!
What I can add to Nick's advice is to see your doc and ask for antibiotics even if there is no bullseye rash. The rash occurs in less than 50% of cases.
The personal story-
My friend has been sick for 12+ years after been bitten by a tick carrying Lymes disease, had to go part-time at work, sick leave and finally had to give up her teaching career which she loved. 🙁
Initially she came down with fluey symptoms but no rash, and wasn't treated with antibiotics. For years she went from one misdiagnosis to the next, and getting random illnesses affecting different parts of her body, and trying all kinds of treatments. The blood test in Ireland doesn't pick up on older Lyme infections so it often goes under the radar. The German's test is more accurate and people send bloods privately, but a lot of people don't know about it.
As newbie-nick said, get antibiotics asap or it could lead to a whole lot of problems! I hope even one person reading this will be *saved*!
Thanks for the extra info. I didn't know about Lynmes and no rash; thank you so much for adding it in. The really good news is that it is very treatable if caught early.
Very true, especially if you run across farmland or deer country (my son works in forestry in Scotland and has to be very careful). I bought a little gadget to remove the first one from my dog last week.
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