Tick treatment

[davidmorr]

The Australian Association of Bush Regenerators has a comprehensive review of ticks, including possible consequences and treatment methods.

http://www.aabr.org.au/site/wp-content/ ... rself1.pdf

The recommended methods of removing the ticks include:

Freeze sprays like Aerostart, Wart-Off Freeze, sprays for sports injuries

Aerosol insecticides containing permethrin or tubes of cream with permethrin (Lyclear)

Devices to remove ticks or electrocute them, eg, Tick Twister, Zapa Tick, Tick Key.

For larvae and nymphs (often called grass ticks), it recommends chemical methods. (This is what I usually end up with.)

It seems to me that the most flexible solution to carry with you would be a tube of Lyclear, which is effective for both larvae and adult ticks.

Wondering about people's experience with these various methods?

[Gadgetgeek]

For me its prevention, insect shield and nosilife, or Debugger on other clothes. I've found another permethrin source that might be same but cheaper, I'll be getting some hopefully soon and I'll report back.

Used tweezers to pull a tick off a co-worker not long ago, it really held on, so I'm thinking a tick-key might be better. I was able to pull a 10mm "tent" of skin up before it let go.

Good info in that PDF, I like properly sourced materials, unlike a lot of the internet. I'm thinking I might be able to get some folks at work interested in collecting ticks. every bit helps.

[McGinnis]

I've had reasonable luck with tick twisters and lyclear. I prefer lyclear as the tick twisters are pretty fiddly, especially when the tick isn't easily accessible...

When working in Garigal NP, I'd often come home with dozens of ticks and the only way to get them off would be a bath with a liberal dose of dettol thrown in. Not the best way to go, I imagine, but it worked for me (and this was a long time ago).

[davidmorr]

What prompted this was an incident recently where I ended up with six grass ticks (nymphs or larvae I guess) on different parts of my body. These are tiny little things smaller than the head of a pin, maybe 0.5mm across. It is hard enough to get tweezers on the body, but trying to get the head without squeezing the body is impossible. Especially when one is on your back….

How do Tick Twisters or Tick Keys work for these tiny ticks?

[jakeyarwood]

Thanks for the link. So thorough and informative.

Lyclear sounds like a good option, especially for hard to reach areas. Wasn't familiar with it till now! However I'd be concerned as to whether or not this irritates the tick and thus may increase chances of it spewing it's bacteria into you? Maybe the document addresses this, haven't read it entirely yet.

I've used the O'Tom tick twisters (the package ships with 2 different sized tick twisters) with great success. I have encountered some pretty tiny ones and removed them with no worries, but the ones you speak of are probably a bit smaller than those I've dealt with.

[Gadgetgeek]

the lyclear should paralyze the tick before it gets to do much else. Should...

[jakeyarwood]

the lyclear should paralyze the tick before it gets to do much else. Should...

Ah I see, that's good to know.

[Kingsleythelost]

Ive had a stack of ticks attack my neck chest and arms.... They are very easy to remove but you have to make them want to let go.

The best way is put a layer of KY,lip balm, paw paw or what ever you have that will suffocate them. Put this over the top of the tick and it will quickly un-borrow its way out for air. Most likely dying on the way out and then its a simple tweaser pull with a half twist gone...

Ive performed it many times no problems on kids dog and myself....

[GPSGuided]

Thanks for the PDF, very useful.

The cheapest and readily available solution seemed to be bicarb. Anyone tried it? It'd be easy to have in the first aid kit. Thoughts on just dusting it on?

The only tick I've had was one that bit through my shirt. It was an odd discovery in the bathroom when I found I could not take my shirt off from the front chest at that one single point, being tightly attached to the skin. Removed it mechanically without problem. The extra thickness of the clothing probably limited the depth of the bite.

[photohiker]

Just be careful if you are dealing with ticks in Lymes disease areas.

Grabbing a tick dead or alive with tweezers will push the tick's stomach contents into the wound. That's not good and its especially not good in Lymes areas.

Tick twisters are light, small and cheap. Just put a set into your first aid kit.

[Suz]

just a note for cat owners - don't apply permethrin to anything at home that your cat may come into contact with. e.g. i mean if you're going to spray a hiking shirt or whatever with it - lock the cat out the room while spraying and try not to get it on any surfaces other than the shirt and then put the shirt away.

[GPSGuided]

We don't have 'Lyme disease area', right? I assume you were talking about North America, right?

Ummm... Maybe a tick tweezers is worthwhile.

[photohiker]

Go ahead, squeeze the contents of the tick into your bloodstream. What could possibly go wrong?

There are foci of Lyme borreliosis in forested areas of Asia, north-western, central and eastern Europe, and the USA.

http://www.who.int/ith/diseases/lyme/en/

[GPSGuided]

Not saying one would squeeze the body but the risk profile would change significantly if we have Lyme disease in our backyard.

[Gadgetgeek]

There is another spiroctaete bacteria that has shown up here, and there have been more and more cases of atypical presentation of lyme in the US (no bullseye) so the protocols will be changing pretty quick (this decade rather than next). The problem is that bug borne illness fall under tropical medicine, and to be honest the average doc doesn't know much, or have the time to learn much about it. They figure, if its bad, someone will let them know. Add to that most people don't know how to push docs, or work with them. Its not easy.

Add to the fact that for some stupid reason lyme has become both political and covered in psudo-science. west-nile and ross river don't have that problem, but for some reason, lyme does. I don't want anything a tick has.

[GPSGuided]

Sad isn't it, to see the political spin on Lyme disease here in Australia? On scientific issues, one really needs the experts to sort it out. Having emotionally charged lay people in the mix just clouds the water with no benefits.

[Gadgetgeek]

In some places it makes some sense. There are natural resource departments in small counties in the states that would be wiped out by the testing they would need to do if they admitted it was there, since they wouldn't get additional funding. Its not right, but when poachers know by the fuel price how much patrolling the rangers can do, who's going to pay for bug collecting? hopefully with more info out there, and more people doing collecting, we can get better information. Its worth while to send ticks in for testing. I like to believe that the science will win out.

[GPSGuided]

Are you serious that our health department is interested in tick samples?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Gadgetgeek]

There are addresses at the back of the PDF for the researchers who are looking for samples. perhaps the programs are ended, but I shouldn't think so, those sorts of things run for years. And its not health dept, its universities.

[davidmorr]

We don't have 'Lyme disease area', right? I assume you were talking about North America, right?

Th document I posted goes into this in some detail. Apparently Lyme is defined as infection by a particular species of organism from a specific species of tick. If both are not true, then you do not have Lyme.

However, in Australia, there is a related species of tick which carries a related organism which gives symptoms similar to Lyme. What is happening now is that they are referring to "Lyme-like disease". It is still not officially recognised here, but at least the possibility is being considered in the language.

[BigBenny]

Sorry to necropost, but I found here whilst researching tick prevention and Permethrin. The PDF linked above, http://www.aabr.org.au/site/wp-content/ ... rself1.pdf, is very informative.

Regarding this comment: -

The best way is put a layer of KY,lip balm, paw paw or what ever you have that will suffocate them. Put this over the top of the tick and it will quickly un-borrow its way out for air. Most likely dying on the way out and then its a simple tweaser pull with a half twist gone...

IIUC this contradicts information in the PDF: -

Are essential oils OK to kill ticks?
No they are not! According to Dr McManus2
, essential oils
are irritants. Any substance that has a diff erent pH to that
of the tick, as well as blocking the ticks ability to breathe
or feed (oils are thick and the hypostome (mouth) can’t
work), would irritate the tick.

I also found this: -

Do Not Apply Substances To A Tick.
Applying any substances, such as petroleum jelly, fingernail polish remover, repellents, or a lighted match that upset or harm the tick almost always cause the tick to vomit the contents of its stomach back into the host. No matter how badly a tick may want to remove itself, it is not capable of doing so quickly.

Ticks can live without air for long periods; attempts to smother it can allow disease transmission for hours.

from http://www.sarcoidosisaustralia.com/com ... --tick-key.

Sounds like KY, lip balm, paw paw are natural/essential oils that would irritate the tick, which they are warning against. The PDF lists other ways to kill/treat them. I would go with the instant kill methods and/or the specialised tools to remove them to reduce the risks.

[davidmorr]

Sounds like KY, lip balm, paw paw are natural/essential oils that would irritate the tick, which they are warning against. The PDF lists other ways to kill/treat them.

There is unfortunately a lot of out-of-date advice around on ticks as there is for snake bites. The AABR report is the most current thinking.

[BigBenny]

Thanks David, good to know I'm on the right track. I wanted to make the post for other people searching that might read this post and skip or skim the good but long/dense PDF.

[BigBenny]

The PDF says

Tick twister®
Many bush regenerators fi nd the “Tick Twister®” easy to use
(despite the name, it doesn’t actually twist the tick).

.

But it does twist the tick. The Tick Twister sites says:

The tick is rotated instead of pulled.
When ticks bite, they insert their long, central mouth-part (called the hypostome) into the skin. The hypostome is covered with sharp, backward-facing barbs (similar to a harpoon) which help keep the tick firmly attached while feeding. The twisting motion of the Tick Twister O'TOM® removes the tick while keeping the tick's mouth-parts intact. Pulling on a tick with ordinary tweezers can leave the mouth-parts embedded in the skin.

http://www.ticktwister.com/info.html

[slparker]

So, in summary.

1. Permethrin treated clothes looks to be the best preventative in tick infested areas.

2. For killing an embedded tick, lyclear looks to be the best balance of portability and effectiveness.

3. For removal without killing, a pair of tweezers or fancy tick removal device.

[Tortoise]

So, in summary.

1. Permethrin treated clothes looks to be the best preventative in tick infested areas.

2. For killing an embedded tick, lyclear looks to be the best balance of portability and effectiveness.

3. For removal without killing, a pair of tweezers or fancy tick removal device.

After I needed a punch biopsy to remove a deeply embedded tick, I went out and bought the fancy tick removal device. Pack of 2, one small, one larger, from the vet. Together they weigh 2 g on my scales, so I decided it was worth putting them both in my first aid kit.

[davidmorr]

SBS had a program on tick diseases a few weeks ago, including MMA and Lyme. You can watch it on SBS On Demand here:

https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/7 ... -tick-sick (Edit: Sorry, had abbreviated URL earlier)

One of the guests was the immunologist who discovered Mammalian Meat Allergy (MMA). She gave a most comprehensive description of what to do if bitten by a tick. This is pretty much what AABR recommends, but with refinements.

• For all ticks, it is very important not to disturb the tick at all. No rubbing or scratching or attempting to get them out. This will cause the tick to inject the allergen that causes MMA, or other toxins. If it is under your clothes, try putting a band-aid loosely over it.

• For "grass ticks" (really, baby ticks or nymphs), use a cream called Lyclear. Place a drop on the tick without touching it, and leave it there for 1-3 hours until the tick is dead - do not spread it as that may irritate the tick. Then shave or scrape it off. The cream is better for these ticks as it is very difficult to freeze them because of their small size. Lyclear can be obtained at a chemist for about $15.

• For adult ticks, use a freezing spray from about 1cm away. This freezes the tick and kills it immediately. It can then be removed with tweezers. Wart-off Freeze or Medi Freeze Skin Tag Remover can be obtained for about $25. Lyclear can also be used on adult ticks.

• If you do not have either product, go immediately to a hospital to have the tick removed.

[matagi]

And if you want to know what the pathology lab sees under the microscope - this was removed by the GP as a "lump", neither the doc nor the patient suspected a tick.
Tick on the left, skin surface on the right (it separated during processing).

[peregrinator]

I have found a 2017 systematic report, not previously mentioned here: http://www.lymedisease.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Coleman-2804-14523-1-PB.pdf

The research reveals that more research is required.

Until further scientific research is conducted, it is recommended that authorities continue to endorse the currently internationally accepted medical practice of mechanical removal of ticks as soon as possible, for people without diagnosed anaphylactic allergies to tick bites.

An important variable though is whether the mechanical removal is made by somone removing their own tick or by another person, who may have better knowledge of the correct method of tick removal, and/or may have a better sighting of the tick depending on where it's located on the body.

[ofuros]

Caught this on a Catalyst repeat last week...Tick allergies, quite interesting.
...& remember, freeze'm don't squeeze'm.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4177191.htm