Summer Safety: Tips for Ticks

Jul 08, 2023

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Submitted by Melanie Burnett, MSN, RN, William Newton Hospital Clinical Education/Professional Development

Warm weather = enjoying the outside fun! But don’t forget to take time to be careful of the outside dangers.

Ticks are hungry little creatures. They might seem easy to avoid, but they can detect heat, breath, and other signals from warm-blooded creatures such as humans. They need blood to develop and produce eggs. Ticks hang on to blades of grass or a tree branch with their hind legs and use their front legs to wave around to sense you or another unwitting victim to hitch a ride on and get their next meal.

Once the tick ‘sinks its teeth’ into the skin, any bacteria they are carrying can be passed. You can greatly reduce the risk of a tick-borne illness by removing ticks before they have the opportunity to attach. However, if you do find one attached, remove it carefully and pay close attention to the skin and symptoms you could experience after a tick bite.

All tick-borne illnesses can cause a fever. Other symptoms that may be experienced are headache, fatigue, achy muscles, and rashes. If Lyme disease is the culprit, you may experience an expanding rash that looks like a bull’s eye. The other tick-borne illnesses that will have an obvious rash include ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and rocky mountain spotted fever.

Rashes and temperatures are not the only signs of a tick-borne illness. There is another odd but more severe sign; an allergy to red meat. This is called alpha gal syndrome or AGS. It is an allergy to a molecule in red meat, it will cause anaphylaxis if the person eats any red meat including beef, pork, venison, rabbit, or any products from those animals (i.e. milk and dairy). This allergy usually comes from the bite of a lone star tick. AGS can cause hives, itching, swelling, shortness of air, or gastric distress after eating red meat. The severe symptoms will usually appear four to six hours after eating red meat. On a good note, the allergy tends to go away in most people.

The National Institute of Medicine is working on several different methods of blocking tick-borne illnesses. In one, scientists are focusing on mice and limiting their ability to pass on infections to ticks who in turn pass infection on to humans. In another, they are working on a vaccine to prevent ticks from attaching to the skin long enough to transmit disease-causing germs.

In the meantime, be sure to use the bug spray that is appropriate for your age and the area you are going to be out in. After spending the day outside, do a once or twice-over body check, and be sure to also check your children and animals. Remember, carefully remove any ticks you may find and monitor for symptoms. Early treatment is key to all tick-borne illnesses.

Have a great summer and be safe out there!

Editorial Notes: This article was submitted for the "Weekend Check-Up," a regular health column in the Cowley CourierTraveler penned by employees and friends of William Newton Hospital, and is part one of the Weekend Check-Up Summer Safety Series. Contributor Melanie Burnett, MSN, RN, has held many roles at William Newton Hospital including emergency department manager, infection control, and house supervisor. She currently oversees the clinical education provided by the hospital to its staff and the community and works with colleges and local schools to foster careers in healthcare.