New Invasive Species of Tick concentrated in NJ

My toddler daughter had a tick inside her ear a couple days ago! it was sizeable and freaked my wife out (I wasn't home yet). We are keeping a close eye on her.
 
dog has had about a dozen ticks on him, all separate times and all deer ticks thus far. but keeping any eye out for the spyder looking ones mentioned. non found of me yet.
 
jdog said:
My advise is to look for a lyme specialist now. your pcp likely is under-informed about it.
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I recently heard that getting tested too soon after the bite can give a false-negative result as it takes the immune system some time to generate the anti-bodies in the blood the test is looking for.

Additional research required.
 
Ian F said:
I recently heard that getting tested too soon after the bite can give a false-negative result as it takes the immune system some time to generate the anti-bodies in the blood the test is looking for.

Additional research required.
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It takes about 2 weeks for an adaptive immune response to produce antibodies. Culture and PCR are options, but both are very difficult to perform, unreliable, and its unlikely that they'll order that for presumptive Lyme unless extenuating circumstances. Better bet is to immediately send the tick out for testing, preferably while its alive. Borrelia is fragile outside of its hosts, and doesn't last too long.
 
Photo of tick
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When I was bitten by a tick a few years back my PCP immediately prescribed the antibiotic treatment as a preventative treatment just in case. He stated that by the time they could do the blood test it would most likely be too late.
 
True love is having to pull a tick from your son’s nut sack on his 9th birthday. Awkward moment to say the least, especially with my wife and younger son both jockeying to get a closer look. Happened yesterday.

I had a terrible case of Lyme and I still deal with occasionally effects from it. Can’t worry too much about these things. Ticks have been biting humans for centuries. All you need to do is keep an eye on the bite site and look out for sudden fevers. Otherwise, keep living your life and enjoying the outdoors.

Oh, and Permethrin treat all your sneakers. That’s we’re those little f$&%#ers like to hitch a ride.
 
I spray the Permethrin on my shoes before/after every ride and on all my riding shorts after every wash pre -ride . and I also use skin so soft bath oil before every ride
 
kidzach said:
I spray the Permethrin on my shoes before/after every ride and on all my riding shorts after every wash pre -ride . and I also use skin so soft bath oil before every ride
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Any issues with that stuff damaging the shoe?
 
Ian F said:
As unpopular as it is among mtn bikers, I saw a noticeable drop in ticks on me when I started shaving my legs.
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I kinda considered some hair an advantage as I can often feel the tick trying to negotiate its way to my skin. Never thought it'd give them something to grab. "Honey! Where do we keep the Nair?"
 
extremedave said:
I kinda considered some hair an advantage as I can often feel the tick trying to negotiate its way to my skin. Never thought it'd give them something to grab. "Honey! Where do we keep the Nair?"
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Pretty much. My father's second wife did her Masters thesis on ticks. They essentially hang out on the ends of grass blades and whatnot with legs out waiting for something to grab onto as it passes. Smooth legs aren't as easy to get a grip on. Plus, if one does get on your legs, it's easier to brush it off.

But I've been shaving my legs for more than half my life at this point. It's just part of the morning routine now and I can't stand it when the hair starts growing back.
 
It’s funny, I keep seeing commercials for bug guys that specialize in tick prevention, and the other day a guy was going door to door in the neighborhood. The first thing out of his mouth was all about ticks.

Talk about feeding off of people’s fears...
 
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