About 8 weeks ago after sleeping in a swag under a Mulga tree out west near Adavale I ended up with 6 scrub ticks on various parts of my body, and as luck would have it, one on my butt. We scraped them off with a knife but of course they leave bits behind which itch and leave a welt. After the 8 weeks I still have lumps where the ticks were - I'm guessing it was nothing the tick injected but simply bits of their legs/claws and maybe a bit of whatever they stick in to suck with.
My question is just how long can these lumps last?....they are not red or infected but just like small pea under the skin. My son was with me and got them as well. It's no big deal I guess as I figure eventually they will go, but I was just wonder about other travellers experience with these scrub ticks.
Good Luck.
jules47 said
07:54 PM Nov 1, 2015
Denis - you probably didn't get the heads out by scraping with a knife. You need a good pair of tweezers (you can get tic ones), or as Billeeeeeee does - nip around the skin with a pair of nail clippers - apparently the tics burrow in with their heads, and if you just take what you can see, the heads stay there and, yes, they itch. We were told to smother them with hand cream or Vaseline, they suffocate, and are easier to get out.
Over here in WA they have the "tic season", when the weather is starting to warm up, they have a couple of different types where we were, red kangaroo tics, or tiny little black ones, they seem to like sand.
Brenda and Alan said
10:00 PM Nov 1, 2015
We tried conditioner which killed the tick same as it does for nits, but couldn't get a good grip on it. Kero did the trick also and we were able to get a good grip on it. A doctor told us to twist as you pull and it comes out easier. Brenda.
Baz421 said
10:09 PM Nov 1, 2015
Brenda and Alan wrote:
We tried conditioner which killed the tick same as it does for nits, but couldn't get a good grip on it. Kero did the trick also and we were able to get a good grip on it. A doctor told us to twist as you pull and it comes out easier. Brenda.
Kero has 1001 uses eh.
8 weeks is long time to heal up mate. Others with more knowledge than me may have suggestions.
I know from 25 years in the NT that bites etc that don't clear up reasonably quickly should be checked.
Cruising Cruze said
10:22 PM Nov 1, 2015
Hi Dennis
Go and see a doctor mate
you can get sick of them
don't wait to long
Cheers John
Young Simmo said
01:03 AM Nov 2, 2015
I posted on this site a few weeks ago. When you get a tick on you, the best bet is to make it crawl back out. HOW I hear you ask? Well back in the 1940s, my Father use to sit out on the back step about once a week up in Wyndham WA, pull his trouser legs up and go to work. He used to strike a match and make a hand sewing needle red hot, then put it on the tail of the tick. The tick would back out, easy really.
Simmo
Desert Dweller said
05:00 AM Nov 2, 2015
You have to get those tick heads out. I had a tick burrow into my chest at the Bunya Mountains QLD. We thought that we'd got all of it out but hadn't. My chest swelled up, was itchy & red in a circular area as big as a dinner plate. Gradually over time the area got smaller until after over 6 months later it was the size of a boil. It came to a pussy head & we squeezed it. Out popped the ticks head. I felt not all that well for a long time after the initial incident. They are reputed to cause Lyme's disease.
sandsmere said
05:33 AM Nov 2, 2015
I've had dozens of the little buggars over the years. Sometimes they take a few weeks to completely heal, but 8 weeks
is stretching it a bit.
If you pull them out there is usually a bit left in your skin. I use a tiny bit of petrol, kero, metho or teatree oil if possible.
That moves them.
hako said
09:33 AM Nov 2, 2015
Thanks for all the replies - the ticks were not on us long enough to start feeding or swell up so in theory nothing was injected. I'm 100% healthy and just a few days ago donated my blood at the Red Cross where they thoroughly check you out. I asked a retd doctor friend of ours last night and he says it's the same as sandfly or mosquito bites - as long as you visit them with your finger or whatever and irritate them you are simply preventing the body dealing with the irritation. So he reckons just leave them alone and they will disappear with the usual proviso if they get worse then that's the time to seek help.
I must admit that some have virtually disappeared and the ones that I can still feel are the ones that are 'convenient' to scratch/touch, so I'll just let it ride for the moment - I figure if I visited a doctor he'll want blood tests etc etc and like the last time try to make me take blood pressure pills to reduce my blood pressure (140/70 at rest - he has a chart from a drug company that promotes the use of their product).....so I'll follow my retd friends advice and leave them alone.
Thanks again for all the replies and tips.
Regards
Denis
madaboutled said
09:34 AM Nov 2, 2015
Dish Washing Liquid
Ticks breathe through their bum, so if you spear a little dish washing liquid on them it blocks their airway and they simply back out real quick!.
-- Edited by madaboutled on Monday 2nd of November 2015 09:34:46 AM
Happywanderer said
10:14 AM Nov 2, 2015
Clear nail polish painted over the tick will bring them out quickly. As someone else said they breath through their bum, they will back out very quickly.
I don't like the sound of leaving bits in there, nasty. I would be digging it all out with a needle whether it looks infected or not.
A friend of mine in Sapphire got one on her neck, thought she got it all out. The area swelled up and became infected, until they managed to dig the rest out.
Olley46 said
10:40 AM Nov 2, 2015
If you don't get them out you could turn into a (clock)
Lance C
Casualkev said
11:16 AM Nov 2, 2015
Denis get some tea tree oil ( 100% pure) and dab on twice a day until healed, your probably like me a bit allergic to the little blighters!
A few years ago I had one in my back, husband pulled it out and left the head, so Dr. had to cut a little to get the little blighter. No stitches but annoying.
The other point is a friend got a bite in the shoulder from a tick while in Queensland and didn't do anything about it for a while and after coming home finished up in a specialist rooms because he was in so much pain, couldn't even get out of bed. They finished up treating him for Lyma's desease which took over 2 years. He is much better now but still not 100%.
Don't mean to give you a scare, but something to think about
Chicken
Young Simmo said
02:41 PM Nov 2, 2015
Izabarack, I can say for sure that the method I quoted above, worked 100% for many, many years and was cheap and always available, FOOLPROOF really. You say, "Nearly all of the advice given above is not helpful", I can only assume you are an expert.
Simmo.
03_Troopy said
06:21 PM Nov 2, 2015
That sounds pretty logical Iza, Although not so easy if you don't have the freezy stuff handy. Might be a good idea to keep some in the travelling gear
03_Troopy said
06:24 PM Nov 2, 2015
Actually that reminds me about my old granddad trying to remove a couple of ticks off the chest of his old dog Annie when I was about 15.. The dog kept squealing every time he grabbed hold of one with a pair of tweezers. He couldn't remove the tick so asked me to have a go. That's not a tick granddad, that's a tit... poor old Annie.
Izabarack said
07:49 PM Nov 2, 2015
Young Simmo wrote:
, I can only assume you are an expert.
Simmo.
Never an expert, Simmo. However the real experts tell us that the methods suggested above are all likely to result in complications. I prefer the science every time, rather than some old wives tale. Too many tales of "never had a problem until it all blew up in my face".
Iza
Izabarack said
07:55 PM Nov 2, 2015
03_Troopy wrote:
Might be a good idea to keep some in the travelling gear
Wart stuff is available off the shelf in Woolies. Last bushwalking trip, ticks were squeezing through the tent zips. One of the group had 20 ticks on him. Have seen too many quite sick people after using the incorrect method to deal with ticks.
Iza
Nomes said
11:00 AM Nov 5, 2015
I had an 18 month argument with my GP about a lump on the back of my ear.
I told him I thought it was a tick he said, no it was cyst, I had to trust him because I could not see it.
It got bigger and bigger, finally after 5 visits he was going to refer me to a surgeon when I showed him the red line running down my neck and I became very tired but first he wanted to put me on antibiotics to bring down the swelling.
I took matters into my own hands, put some drawing ointment on, bandaged my ear and held it on with an elastic band. In the middle of the night I heard a massive POP. After an hour of gunk draining out, I gave it one last squeeze and what did I find? A massive tick.
Mossies never come near me but I have always been a tick magnet, I now spray peppermint oil in a little water all over me and have not had a tick since.
I have never been back to that GP.
dorian said
09:56 AM Nov 6, 2015
Izabarack wrote:
Young Simmo wrote:
, I can only assume you are an expert.
Simmo.
Never an expert, Simmo. However the real experts tell us that the methods suggested above are all likely to result in complications. I prefer the science every time, rather than some old wives tale. Too many tales of "never had a problem until it all blew up in my face".
I couldn't agree more.
Others favour leaving the tick in place and using certain chemicals, including aerosol freezing sprays or ether-containing sprays that instantly kill the tick. This approach is recommended by Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) for those with a known tick allergy.
[Dr Cameron] Webb [who is a medical entomologist at Westmead Hospital and clinical lecturer at the University of Sydney] thinks we should all following the advice of ASCIA, which recommends killing the tick in place by using ether-containing aerosol sprays that instantly freeze it (although some of these are not registered for use in humans). He suggests some over-the-counter products for freezing off warts may work.
Severe allergic reactions tend to occur when the tick is disturbed, as this may cause the tick to inject more of its allergen-containing saliva. You're most likely to disturb a tick if you accidentally scratch or when trying to remove it -- either by force or by using chemicals such as methylated spirits or kerosene.
"In the past there's been a whole range of 'urban myths' -- substances you need to put on ticks to remove them, everything from a lighted match to kerosene to nail polish remover," Webb says.
"The problem is that will just make the tick agitated, and the more agitated it is, the more likely it is to inject saliva and toxin into the bite site.
Young Simmo said
12:36 PM Nov 6, 2015
Well all I can say is, what I described above in Comment 6, worked for many years with 100% success.
sandsmere said
06:32 AM Nov 7, 2015
Young Simmo wrote:
Well all I can say is, what I described above in Comment 6, worked for many years with 100% success.
Same for me in comment 8 Simmo. It's worked for me for over 50 years.
Sometimes 3 or 4 of them a week when I was cutting timber.
dorian said
10:45 AM Nov 8, 2015
ISTM that today's ticks might be more harmful than those of yesteryear. For example, did we have Lyme disease 50 years ago? I never heard of paralysis ticks when I was at school, but perhaps that just reflects a change in community awareness. However, I do know of the dangers of ticks in Europe -- a cousin came down with meningitis after a tick bite.
As for tried and tested remedies, how many people would still apply a tourniquet to a snake bite, as we were taught to do in school? No doubt there are those for whom this procedure worked in the past.
ISTM that dietary advice and medical advice are always changing. Can we really be confident that we are following best practice? Maybe today's wisdom will be tomorrow's folly. These days I just eat what I like, but in moderation.
jules47 said
10:30 PM Nov 14, 2015
You're right Dorian - medical advice etc., is changing all the time. For instance, if you have someone with suspected concussion, and are not near medical help , the latest thing is to let the patient sleep - we heal while we sleep, they say.
hako said
12:06 AM Dec 22, 2015
Update - it's now 16 weeks since the tick bites and most have disappeared. Surprisingly none got infected, 2 developed a dry 'head' which I scraped off after which the swelling on those subsided, only one still is present almost unchanged in my armpit (where it gets plenty of movement).
Next time it happens (and it will), I'll try the hot needle/fencing wire trick. An old ****y neighbour told me to apply a poultice of wet mud from the creek over the tick and leave there for a few hours - reckons cattle and pigs roll in the mud to get rid of the ticks.....will try that as well. Not sure what emus do as ones we've shot were covered in them.
Anyway, bottom line is that I think I was lucky and my body simply rejected whatever the tick left behind. Might have been different if they had not been discovered till later when they became engorged with my blood.
Thanks again for comments.
Young Simmo said
12:25 AM Dec 22, 2015
Yes hako, the tick thing is very interesting and there are a million solutions to tick problems. Years ago back in 1975/76 when we were managing a Motel up in Carnarvon WA, our Collie dog went down hill very slowly and we new he wasn't well but didn't have a clue why. One night while watching TV and sitting on the floor of our unit he laid down beside me, and I started rubbing his belly. All of a sudden I realised there were dozens of lumps on his belly, and after having a look I realised he had dozens and dozens of ticks attached to him. Not being very familiar with the problem I started and continued to pull them off. From memory there must have been something like 20 or 30 ticks. I just pulled them off and must have left most of the heads on him. Anyway he fully recovered and got back to normal fairly quick. They were the big green / brown Kangaroo tick, about 8mm or 3/8ths of an inch long. Anyway the end of the story is, he went on to live until about 1986 when nature did it's job.
About 8 weeks ago after sleeping in a swag under a Mulga tree out west near Adavale I ended up with 6 scrub ticks on various parts of my body, and as luck would have it, one on my butt. We scraped them off with a knife but of course they leave bits behind which itch and leave a welt. After the 8 weeks I still have lumps where the ticks were - I'm guessing it was nothing the tick injected but simply bits of their legs/claws and maybe a bit of whatever they stick in to suck with.
My question is just how long can these lumps last?....they are not red or infected but just like small pea under the skin. My son was with me and got them as well. It's no big deal I guess as I figure eventually they will go, but I was just wonder about other travellers experience with these scrub ticks.
Good Luck.
Over here in WA they have the "tic season", when the weather is starting to warm up, they have a couple of different types where we were, red kangaroo tics, or tiny little black ones, they seem to like sand.
Kero has 1001 uses eh.
8 weeks is long time to heal up mate. Others with more knowledge than me may have suggestions.
I know from 25 years in the NT that bites etc that don't clear up reasonably quickly should be checked.
Go and see a doctor mate
you can get sick of them
don't wait to long
Cheers John
I posted on this site a few weeks ago. When you get a tick on you, the best bet is to make it crawl back out. HOW I hear you ask?
Well back in the 1940s, my Father use to sit out on the back step about once a week up in Wyndham WA, pull his trouser legs up and go to work. He used to strike a match and make a hand sewing needle red hot, then put it on the tail of the tick. The tick would back out, easy really.
Simmo
I've had dozens of the little buggars over the years. Sometimes they take a few weeks to completely heal, but 8 weeks
is stretching it a bit.
If you pull them out there is usually a bit left in your skin. I use a tiny bit of petrol, kero, metho or teatree oil if possible.
That moves them.
I must admit that some have virtually disappeared and the ones that I can still feel are the ones that are 'convenient' to scratch/touch, so I'll just let it ride for the moment - I figure if I visited a doctor he'll want blood tests etc etc and like the last time try to make me take blood pressure pills to reduce my blood pressure (140/70 at rest - he has a chart from a drug company that promotes the use of their product).....so I'll follow my retd friends advice and leave them alone.
Thanks again for all the replies and tips.
Regards
Denis
Dish Washing Liquid
Ticks breathe through their bum, so if you spear a little dish washing liquid on them it blocks their airway and they simply back out real quick!.
-- Edited by madaboutled on Monday 2nd of November 2015 09:34:46 AM
I don't like the sound of leaving bits in there, nasty. I would be digging it all out with a needle whether it looks infected or not.
A friend of mine in Sapphire got one on her neck, thought she got it all out. The area swelled up and became infected, until they managed to dig the rest out.
If you don't get them out you could turn into a (clock)
Lance C
Kev
Iza
A few years ago I had one in my back, husband pulled it out and left the head, so Dr. had to cut a little to get the little blighter. No stitches but annoying.
The other point is a friend got a bite in the shoulder from a tick while in Queensland and didn't do anything about it for a while and after coming home finished up in a specialist rooms because he was in so much pain, couldn't even get out of bed. They finished up treating him for Lyma's desease which took over 2 years. He is much better now but still not 100%.
Don't mean to give you a scare, but something to think about
Chicken
Izabarack, I can say for sure that the method I quoted above, worked 100% for many, many years and was cheap and always available, FOOLPROOF really.
You say, "Nearly all of the advice given above is not helpful", I can only assume you are an expert.
Simmo.
That sounds pretty logical Iza, Although not so easy if you don't have the freezy stuff handy. Might be a good idea to keep some in the travelling gear
Never an expert, Simmo. However the real experts tell us that the methods suggested above are all likely to result in complications. I prefer the science every time, rather than some old wives tale. Too many tales of "never had a problem until it all blew up in my face".
Iza
Wart stuff is available off the shelf in Woolies. Last bushwalking trip, ticks were squeezing through the tent zips. One of the group had 20 ticks on him. Have seen too many quite sick people after using the incorrect method to deal with ticks.
Iza
I told him I thought it was a tick he said, no it was cyst, I had to trust him because I could not see it.
It got bigger and bigger, finally after 5 visits he was going to refer me to a surgeon when I showed him the red line running down my neck and I became very tired but first he wanted to put me on antibiotics to bring down the swelling.
I took matters into my own hands, put some drawing ointment on, bandaged my ear and held it on with an elastic band. In the middle of the night I heard a massive POP. After an hour of gunk draining out, I gave it one last squeeze and what did I find? A massive tick.
Mossies never come near me but I have always been a tick magnet, I now spray peppermint oil in a little water all over me and have not had a tick since.
I have never been back to that GP.
I couldn't agree more.
Well all I can say is, what I described above
in Comment 6, worked for many years with 100% success.
Same for me in comment 8 Simmo. It's worked for me for over 50 years.
Sometimes 3 or 4 of them a week when I was cutting timber.
As for tried and tested remedies, how many people would still apply a tourniquet to a snake bite, as we were taught to do in school? No doubt there are those for whom this procedure worked in the past.
ISTM that dietary advice and medical advice are always changing. Can we really be confident that we are following best practice? Maybe today's wisdom will be tomorrow's folly. These days I just eat what I like, but in moderation.
Next time it happens (and it will), I'll try the hot needle/fencing wire trick. An old ****y neighbour told me to apply a poultice of wet mud from the creek over the tick and leave there for a few hours - reckons cattle and pigs roll in the mud to get rid of the ticks.....will try that as well. Not sure what emus do as ones we've shot were covered in them.
Anyway, bottom line is that I think I was lucky and my body simply rejected whatever the tick left behind. Might have been different if they had not been discovered till later when they became engorged with my blood.
Thanks again for comments.
Yes hako, the tick thing is very interesting and there are a million solutions to tick problems. Years ago back in 1975/76 when we were managing a Motel up in Carnarvon WA, our Collie dog went down hill very slowly and we new he wasn't well but didn't have a clue why. One night while watching TV and sitting on the floor of our unit he laid down beside me, and I started rubbing his belly. All of a sudden I realised there were dozens of lumps on his belly, and after having a look I realised he had dozens and dozens of ticks attached to him. Not being very familiar with the problem I started and continued to pull them off. From memory there must have been something like 20 or 30 ticks. I just pulled them off and must have left most of the heads on him. Anyway he fully recovered and got back to normal fairly quick. They were the big green / brown Kangaroo tick, about 8mm or 3/8ths of an inch long. Anyway the end of the story is, he went on to live until about 1986 when nature did it's job.
Simmo.