Tick bites can be hard to spot and many go without detection. Some cause painful, itchy skin, but many don’t. Ticks often remain on the skin, but they can be so small that they aren’t visible until they grow after feeding on blood. Their bites may cause a skin reaction, like a tiny, hard lump or a rash.
Some tick bites can be dangerous because the insects may carry disease. Black-legged ticks, formerly known as deer ticks, may carry Lyme disease, and dog ticks can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Doctors reports up to 30,000 cases of Lyme disease each year in the United States. These infections can lead to various symptoms that show on the skin.
Symptoms of Lyme disease sometimes include a skin rash in the pattern of rings, much like a bull’s-eye on a target, that appears up to a month after the tick bite. Many tickborne diseases also cause fever, fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint aches, chills, and irritation. Later symptoms such as swollen or painful joints, memory loss, or other autoimmune responses that mimic other diseases may present themselves when Lyme disease is in its advanced stages.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever from a tick bite is rare. It causes a fever, a headache, muscle aches, an upset stomach, and a skin rash. The rash of pinpoint red spots begins on the ankles and wrists after two to four days of fever, but later the rash spreads to the rest of the body. However, 1 in 10 people with RMSF never get a rash, and less than half of those with RMSF get a rash in the first three days. Although this infection can be severe — and even fatal — it is preventable and treatable with prompt medical care using an antibiotic medication called doxycycline, according to the CDC.
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