My first tick!!!!

[Snadger]

You lot are making me itch!

[JanieB]

Never had any in me or my family, taken plenty out of dogs, hot end of match and a pair of tweezers. They are eeeeeugh!!!!

[rustylady]

Oh lord I feel ill. I spent some time in East Africa and if we got ticks we used to smother them in Vaseline. As said earlier they suffocate and fall off or loosen their grip so you can scrape them off. Always used antiseptic on the site, but I never knew they could regurgitate horrible stuff into you. We were always told never to pull them off as you can leave bits in your skin.

[Nicos]

You lot are making me itch!

Poor you!!!!!

[Headfry]

Goodness.......yuck.....OMG.....we need a yuck rating on our posts!
this would be a 8+
so should read
'First tick' (8+)

lol

ps..... they say it's a really bad year for ticks!

[Mikey]

I think i'm with piskie on this one, poor enough alcohol into your system so it falls off drunk., bleugh, note to self stop scratching.

[SlugLobber]

Found another of the little sh*ts in the other armpit of the pony last night. It was too small to get off, so I'll have to have another go, later!

[Nicos]

Update.....Well I decided to wait till I got home before deciding to make a Dr's appointment as my French neighbours just shrugged their shoulders ( I took this to mean that we weren't in a high risk area as most French peeps are experts on medication and ailments!!)
By then the angry red circle hadn't become much larger and had, in fact, started to turn into a bruise rather than the 'bullseye' of Lyme's disease.

Phew eh?????

[rainbowbrite]

i reckon you still need to get it checked out, when i lived in germany when i was a kid my baby brother got bitten and the doctors were terrified he would go blind, i'm not sure if that is even an actual symptom but get it checked anyways. and let us no how you are! i'm gunna be itching all night now

[Tracey]

Our cats get Tick quite often. I use Crochet O'TOM, O'TOM hook, Tick-Twister, Gancho O'TOM, Tire-Tic to remove them, which I got from the vets.

[bluemoon]

Oh Nooooo! Ticks are one of my phobias. I obsessively put Frontline on our dogs because the thought of having to deal with one is just so gross. I've even been known to book our holiday, timed so that the dogs will have just had a new Frontline application (we usually go camping on a farm that has sheep, so this isn't quite as hysterical as it sounds). Anyway, until they make Frontline for humans I'd always be very careful with a tick bite, Nicos and I'd see your G.P. even if all seems well. Though I'm pleased to hear that things seem to be OK

[Nicos]

I think you are right- I'm going to nip in Monday or Tuesday to see the nurse.
The bruising is fading but the centre is very tender and raised to the touch- bit like a splinter feeling...maybe I left the mouth pieces in????
Strange though...never seen one on my horse but one of our old cats used to get them on her face and the vet used to use chloroform to get them to drop off ( used to relax the cat a bit too!!!!)
I'll get hold of one of those crochet hook thingies- they look pretty good.
I used tweezers and I've since found out that the tick can regurgitate into your skin as you squeeze hold of their heads....( bit more cringing in seat whilst typing!!)

Oh the joys of nature eh????

[SlugLobber]

Oh Nooooo! Ticks are one of my phobias. I obsessively put Frontline on our dogs because the thought of having to deal with one is just so gross. I've even been known to book our holiday, timed so that the dogs will have just had a new Frontline application (we usually go camping on a farm that has sheep, so this isn't quite as hysterical as it sounds). Anyway, until they make Frontline for humans I'd always be very careful with a tick bite, Nicos and I'd see your G.P. even if all seems well. Though I'm pleased to hear that things seem to be OK

Don't mean to worry you, Bluemoon, but you shouldn't rely on frontline to prevent ticks. I still find the occasional one on my cat and my friend has the same trouble with her dogs - all are frontlined throughout the summer, so you'd be wise to still check. Just don't look at the beggars if you're squeamish!

[Birdie Wife]

Unfortunately I do have quite a lot of experience of ticks, big 'uns, little 'uns and even seed ticks - the ones that are so small they look just like a tiny seed. We also have Lymes disease up here and I have second-hand experience of it. So this is something I have researched in some detail - Starchild is quite right with the advice given. Tick tweezers ( the hooky shaped ones) are very effective but if you are using other tweezers you are supposed to try and grab the mouthparts, not the head, and pull straight out without twisting.
Incidentally, the 'diagnostic' bulls-eye rash that comes with Lymes Disease is not a fool-proof indicator as it only appers in approximately 50 - 60% of cases. So if you get a tick but no bulls-eye rash, it doesn't mean you haven't got the disease, so get it checked out! The other problem is that doctors also don't know enough about it, even up here. It can be a very debilitating disease if not treated in time, even fatal in some cases

[Nicos]

Been...... got antibiotics....and now can't have alcohol

Thanks for your support folks!!

Now then....next time......