Anyone who lives in the country, or rides horses, or hikes has probably found a tick on themselves at one time or another.
It doesn't help to go to the doctor if you have a tick bite and you are afraid of contracting Lyme Disease. Once the tick has bitten you it's too late. Some tick bites cause red rashes around them, others don't. It doesn't seem to make any difference.
Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks in the northern hemishphere. Some doctors say it is only present in certain states in the U.S., but others seem to disagree. Most ticks do not carry Lyme disease so you are unlikely to contract it most of the time.
The symptoms are varied - but include heart related problems, facial paralysis and other nervous problems, arthritis and other joint problems. It can also stay dormant inside you for several years. Nice.
What this means is - if you get some really weird symptoms that the doctors are unable to diagnose and you have been bitten by a tick - ever - have them test you for Lyme disease.
Antibiotics are used to treat Lyme disease once it has been positively diagnosed.
Sometimes when you pull a tick off you it holds on so tight that its head comes off and stays inside your skin. Eventually it festers and falls out on its own. However, a great tip is to heat up a pair of tweezers. Hold them over a candle flame or similar. Taking care not to burn yourself, when you grip the tick with the tweezers, the heat causes it to let go.
