eHow launches Android app: Get the best of eHow on the go.
In order to prevent infection or transmission of Lyme disease, use gloves and slowly remove the tick with tweezers, making sure to remove all parts. Complete the treatment by disinfecting and keeping the area protected from bacteria. If all parts are not removed, or it becomes infected, seek medical treatment to prevent serious... more »
Lyme disease is an illness transmitted through bites from deer ticks. The tick feeds on a human's blood, and, while feeding, it may infect the human with a bacterium that eventually causes a range of serious symptoms, such as a skin rash, flu-like symptoms, joint pain and neurological problems. Tick bites can be prevented, and Lyme... more »
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a serious, tick-borne disease. Often, people think the name means that this bacterial infection (Rickettsia rickettsii) is confined to Colorado. Surprisingly, although Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was first identified in the Rocky Mountains, the highest number of cases are reported each year in... more »
Tick bites don't hurt...and that's the problem. Sometimes you don't know the buggers are there until you discover them hours after that long hike in the woods or quiet picnic in the meadow. By that time they have dug themselves into your skin too deeply to just brush them off. There are plenty of rumored "remedies" for tick removal:... more »
Lyme disease is a complicated illness with both acute and chronic forms that may manifest in different ways. The disease is nicknamed The Great Imitator by some, and for good reason. Misdiagnoses is more common in areas where Lyme disease is less prevalent, but may occur for other reasons unique to the individual. It is not that you... more »
Ticks feed on the blood of both both people and animals. Because they can transmit serious diseases, it is important to take precautions to... more »
Borreliosis (more commonly called Lyme disease) is a disease that's caused by the bite of a tick. Deer ticks carry the disease and are often found... more »
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a severe, bacterial illness that results from a tick bite. Ticks are carriers of the disease agent, a rickettsia... more »
Almost everyone looks to the outdoors for action and adventure. Rarely do they think of infectious diseases coming from very tiny insects that is... more »
Lyme disease is a tick-borne infectious disease that results in an inflammatory disorder in humans. First identified in 1975, Lyme disease has... more »
Tick is the common name for the small arachnids in superfamily Ixodoidea that, along with other mites, constitute the Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites (external parasites), living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Ticks are vectors of a number of diseases, including Lyme disease, Q fever, Colorado tick fever, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and Tick-borne meningoencephalitis, as well as anaplasmosis in cattle and canine jaundice.
Young ticks have six legs, and mature ticks have eight legs. They vary in size and appearance depending on the species.
Habitats and behaviors
Ticks are blood-feeding parasites that are often found in tall grass and shrubs where they will wait to attach to a passing host. A tick will attach itself to its host by inserting its chelicerae (cutting mandibles) and hypostome (feeding tube) into the skin. The hypostome is covered with recurved teeth and serves as an anchor.Matthews, Bernard E. 1998. An introduction to parasitology. Cambridge University Press.
Physical contact is the only method of transportation for ticks. Ticks do not jump or fly, although they may drop from their perch and fall onto a host. Some species stalk the host from ground level, emerging from cracks or crevices located in the woods or even inside a home or kennel, where infestations of "seed ticks" (the six-legged stage of newborn ticks) can attack in numbers up to 3,000 at a time. Weak or elderly dogs and puppies are particularly endangered and can die from anemia from a sudden influx of seed ticks. Seed ticks also attack horses, cattle, moose, lions and other mammals, causing anemia, various diseases, paralysis and even death. Such infestations can be difficult to detect until thousands have attached themselves to an animal and eradication can be difficult.Transcript, Dr. Bill Samuel, Author and Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Science, Univer read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tick
Connect with people who share your interest by joining one of our Groups:
How to Get Fired Gracefully
How to Stop a Shopaholic
How to Drive Defensively During the Holidays
Wonders of the World
Copyright © 1999-2009 eHow, Inc. Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the eHow Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. en-US Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.
