Tick and Mite Bites
Ticks carry many diseases (for example, deer ticks may carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease (see Section 17, Chapter 190); other types of ticks may carry the bacteria that cause rickettsial or ehrlichial infections (see Section 17, Chapter 195). 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.
Mite infestations are common and are responsible for chiggers (an intensely itchy rash caused by mite larvae under the skin), scabies (see Section 18, Chapter 210), and a number of other diseases. The effects on the tissues around the bite vary in severity.
 See the sidebar Tick Paralysis.
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.
|
