We found a tick along my waistline near my back and successfully removed it. Unless I picked it up in my backyard, I probably got it 5 days ago at a friends home. He lives in a rural area and showed my his grape vines, vegetable garden, etc.

I did a phone call with a Nurse Practitioner and she had me take a single dose of Doxycycline Monohydrate.

Can you identify the type of tick?

That’s Fred.

Looks like a wood tick. They carry diseases, so keep an eye on how you feel for a few weeks.

Hard to tell. But I'd guess just a regular ole Dog Tick. Doesn't quite look like the Deer Ticks we see around here.

But It's kinda hard to tell when they are "fat".

It is a wood tick. Had one in my upper leg a couple years back. I got it out and flushed it. I have a good immune system so was never a issue other than creeped me out.

Yep, Fred, or maybe his sister Fredericka, blood suckers both of them.

In MO it looks?

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/...d%2520tick.%E2%80%9D

^^^ Yes, in MO.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
That’s Fred.

Looks like a wood tick. They carry diseases, so keep an eye on how you feel for a few weeks.

Fred looks a little apprehensive. You might say he’s a nervous one.

Looks like a dog tick.
I have taken a lot of them off my dog.

Yuck. Those nasty things are everywhere this year and it has been a constant fight to keep them off the dog and off of us. Lyme's disease is really prevalent around here, too. I've heard it's really important to minimize the amount of time they are attached to prevent infection, so we've been very intentional about checking for them. Thankfully we've gotten most of them before they dug in.

Contracted RMSF from a tick bite years back. You get a fever, body aches, and a crushing headache hit the ER and tell them about the tick.

Ticks are nasty. Engorged ticks are very very tough to identify. If you have the tick send it off for analysis. A single dose of doxy while it sounds nice really has not proven to do squat. It looks to me like a dog tick, but the classic signs are obliterated by the engorgement.

Be damn careful. One of my frequent passengers when I flew the XL came down with symptoms of a stroke. He lost most of his mobility and was a wreck for 18 months. He now hs limited mobility and will never recover to 100%. His was a deer tick bite.

Watch for classic signs of Lyme’s (bullseye) but understand that doesn’t always manifest. See your doc if you’re concerned at all. One dose of doxy doesn’t seem like enough? I guess I’ve never heard of just giving one dose of an antiobiotic, esp one that typically needs to be taken for weeks, if not months, to be effective in this type of case (one of my dogs is currently being treated for Lyme’s, and was a few years ago as well, so I’ve firsthand knowledge).

I absolutely hate ticks. They carry so many diseases and seem so innocuous. They are just awful and can create so much suffering for animals and people alike.

Play it safe. It could be a deer tick. Keep an eye on it. Here in the NE, doctors almost always give at least one heavy dose of antibiotics for any tick bite, but many will give more than that. If a rash develops then 14+ days of antibiotics.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
Ticks are nasty. Engorged ticks are very very tough to identify. If you have the tick send it off for analysis. A single dose of doxy while it sounds nice really has not proven to do squat. It looks to me like a dog tick, but the classic signs are obliterated by the engorgement.

I have the tick in a zip lock bag. It’s still alive. Where would I send it to?

MN seems to have gone a prophylactic round of antibiotics for ticks. No testing you just get a round of antibiotics.

Wife went through this a couple years ago. Saw the bullseye on her neck. Best we can figure the tick hitched a ride on the dog. Mrs Reflex is not the outdoors type, and was at home that week.

You may consider a treatment of doxycycline. It covers a lot of the potential bugs you can get from ticks. It's also pretty cheap. Also, keep an eye out for the formation of a "bullseye" rash forming around the bite location. That's an indicator of a number of tick borne illnesses.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
If you have the tick send it off for analysis.

LOL. You're from up north aren't ya boy?