It wasn't a deer tick but was very small. I saved it in a baggie and it was crawling around several hours after I put it in there. Later I discovered a red bump on the same arm.
My question is...if it bit me but I unknowingly rubbed it off would it be able to still walk around for hours if its head was stuck in me?
Posted by t9im (Member # 25489) on :
Yes the mouth parts are a false head. the head is part of the body.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Gross!! Sounds like he got you.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- If ANY Tick part is embedded, it needs to be cut out with a surgical knife, and a bit of the surrounding tissue. This can be done in a doctor's office under magnification and with a surgical blade.
This is very, very important.
And never mind that it is not a deer tick, all ticks can carry lyme and other infections.
I hope you have a LLMD you can talk to and get in immediate anti-infective and anti-cystic form treatment ASAP, just in case. -
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- When I was a child, my mother told me that when we pulled ticks off of ourselves (a frequent matter every summer) that we should burn the head with a match but then also crush the tick as they could grow back a head.
I never verified this, and doubt that tale. Yet, as to if a tick can walk around without its head, that might be something worth exploring - some other day. It could be a reaction much like what happens with chicken, the nerves all go haywire.
But the real matter at hand now is figuring out if you got bitten and if that head in embedded in your arm. If so, it cannot be allowed to stay there. No matter what kind of tick this is.
Don't let any doctor tell you only certain kinds of ticks carry lyme. That is false. -