r/CampingandHiking • u/CartoonistNo3755 • 22h ago

Tick on me

Post image

Hello everyone. I found a tick on me I presume it latched onto me over 24 hours ago when I was hiking.

I felt it on my side and yanked it off before knowing what it is and pulled this guy off. It was still alive and moving when I pulled it off.

I don’t have rubbing alcohol and am freaaaaking out because the area he latched onto is a bit swollen. About the size of a small mosquito bite.

Any advice would be appreciated

192 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

140 comments sorted by

View all comments

89

u/Chi_mom 22h ago

You should contact your doctor. That's a lonestar tick and they can carry alpha gal syndrome. Keep the tick in a zip lock bag as others have suggested in case your doctor wants to send it for testing.

62

u/barry_vyolent 21h ago

Should also be noted that alpha gal can be transmitted pretty much immediately, unlike lyme disease which can take 12-36 hours.

I fucking hate ticks 🤮

20

u/CartoonistNo3755 21h ago

That’s what i’m freaking out about is the alpha gal syndrome. And i’m reading that it takes weeks or months to even know if you have it😭

16

u/GeronimoOrNo 21h ago

Where was this?

I live in a rural area - 6 of my neighbors have alpha gal, it's getting more and more common. Some have been able to add some pork in their diets though.

I live in Kentucky, it's a hotbed for alpha gal. I use a lot of spray when I go in the woods (Sawyer is the typical go-to), and constant checks... I like red meat too much. Hate those lonestars.

7

u/Life_Library_9038 21h ago

They are the biggest assholes. We tried Emu and Ostrich and I, surprisingly, liked it better than beef. It’s way too expensive to have on the regular though. :(

3

u/GeronimoOrNo 19h ago

One of the neighbors started raising emu, largely for this reason lol.

3

u/Jake_77 18h ago

OP replied elsewhere that they are in Kentucky too

7

u/barry_vyolent 21h ago

Hopefully you're clean and clear!

Seems like you might be new/newer to hiking. Ticks have really gotten out of hand the past few years (especially here in Ohio where I am) with the added rain and heat into the seasons and most parks no longer putting effort into upkeeping grasses and whatnot... I had my 11th tick of the season yesterday 😭 Thankfully, not on my skin. I had one that made it's way onto my stomach two years ago and started getting under the skin, after about 4-6 hours. I highly suggest layering and giving them no way to make it to skin, as well as wearing lighter colored clothes that make spotting them easier at a glance.

I started wearing a second pair of thin pants under my hiking pants that I can tuck into my long socks and a very thin long sleeve running hoodie either under or over whatever shirt I'm wearing and tucking the under layer into my under layer of pants. The less amount of exposed skin the better. I personally don't think many sprays work that well. I coated all of my layers yesterday with spray and still had one on my pants after I got out of my hammock for about 45 seconds. They're quick, small and easy to miss. I'd also suggest bringing a change of clothes for after you're done and giving your hiking clothes a thorough check inside and out before getting into your car or going into your house. Definitely give your body a full check when you are out of nature.

Also make sure to give any gear that you may set on the ground a good check before moving on. Two of the ticks I found this year were on my backpack after putting it on the ground and could have easily made their way onto my neck or in my shirt.

I've been an avid nature explorer and hiker since I was a young child and have had more tick contact this year alone than I have combined in my other 40+ years outdoors. They are out of control right now, be careful and diligent AF!

1

u/CartoonistNo3755 19h ago

Thank you so much!!!!!

4

u/Life_Library_9038 21h ago

I concur, it looks like a lonestar. Those bastards. It took months and finally a really thorough dermatologist for my partner to get diagnosed with alpha-gal. It makes you develop an allergy to any mammalian meat or by products and future tick bites that expose you to alpha gal can make it even worse. Our household had to pretty much go vegan. We use bug spray with Picaridin religiously and also have our property professionally treated for ticks in the spring and summer.

2

u/CartoonistNo3755 21h ago

This is what i’m terrified of that i’m reading about. Sorry your family went through this. How soon after the bite did you have symptons? Do you still have alpha gal?

3

u/Life_Library_9038 21h ago

We’re not exactly sure when he was exposed because he had multiple tick bites in the proceeding months. But it took over two months after his last bite that caused systemic symptoms to finally get a diagnosis. It’s untreatable. And it’s cumulative so each bite from a tick with alpha gal can make the disease even worse. I’m not an expert or a physician but I would treat it like any other BBP exposure and test now for a baseline and again in 30 days, 3 months, and 6 months. So sorry you have to worry about this!🤞you’ll be in the clear!

2

u/CartoonistNo3755 21h ago

What kind of test did you run for the baseline? I read somewhere an allergy test and asking them to test for AGS works? I’m also reading that its too early to test for the syndrome so not sure if I should wait? Thanks so much

2

u/Life_Library_9038 21h ago

Just the alpha gal IgE test. It looks for antibodies to alpha gal that your immune system produces. I say “baseline” just to determine if/what your current levels are and if negative, you can compare to future tests. It could take weeks for your body to have an immune response if you were exposed. Again, I’m not a doc, this is just what I would want to do as far as testing. Best of luck! Don’t let it keep you from the great outdoors!

1

u/Life_Library_9038 19h ago

Okay, final thought, check out your state’s department of health website. They probably have directions about how to submit ticks for testing/identification and what you should do next. It’s a rapidly developing public health problem and the information and tick you provide could be really helpful.

7

u/Chi_mom 21h ago

That's why docs will want to test it and why you should always keep ticks that have bitten you.