Ticks are parasitic arachnids that are active year-round in warmer climates, or during the summer, from April through September, in cooler climates. Only three to five millimeters long, these minuscule bloodsuckers are found on animals or in grassy, tangled, or wooded areas. There is a risk of contracting a tick-borne illness when a tick latches onto you or your pet. This illness can result in fevers, paralysis, or, in severe cases, death. .
Collin, 6, temporarily lost his motor skills as a result of the tick that had chosen him as its host, and he was on the verge of death. Stephanie noticed something was wrong with her normally active son Collin one morning when he wasn’t moving as he usually would.
His parents took him to emergency because they initially believed the brief paralysis was brought on by hitting his head at his brother’s baseball game and they didn’t want to take any chances with their child. Being unable to eat or drink without help, Collin could only breathe as his suspicious condition rapidly deteriorated. Collin’s oxygen levels began to decline at the hospital as doctors worked to identify the cause of his paralysis; as a result, the boy had to be transferred to a different facility that was better equipped to handle his steadily deteriorating health.
Doctors discovered a tick clutching its legs into the skin behind his ear as the cause at that point. The young boy would have experienced cardiac arrest if it had taken just another 30 minutes.
Collin quickly returned to his playful, vivacious self after the parasite was removed. The annoying parasites are welcoming a new supply of blood from people and animals as the summer season begins in many states and across Canada. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that over a 13-year period, from 2004 to 2016, cases of diseases like Zika, West Nile, and Lyme disease that are transmitted by tick, mosquito, and flea bites tripled. Additionally, according to the CDC’s 2018 study, nine new pathogens have been found or introduced in the United States and are transmitted by ticks and mosquitoes.
According to the study, there is a “steady increase and spread of tick-borne diseases, as well as an accelerating trend of mosquito-borne diseases imported from other parts of the world. ” .
Despite the fact that tick bites are fairly common, developing paralysis like Collin did is extremely rare, according to research.
Even so, it is best to practice prevention and be aware of any potential health risks associated with parasite bites from ticks or mosquitoes. People who contract the mosquito-borne Zika virus experience symptoms like fever, rashes, headaches, joint pain, conjunctivitis, and muscle pain. There is a chance that a woman with Zika will become pregnant and give birth to a child who has a birth defect. Zika can also be sexually transmitted. West Nile symptoms, which are only felt by 20% of those infected, can include headaches, body aches, joint pain, rashes, vomiting, or diarrhea. West Nile symptoms are also transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito.
Everyone has the potential to contract the disease, but those with immune system disorders are more vulnerable.
Through the bite of an infected tick, Lyme disease, which has received a lot of attention in recent years, is contracted.
About 476,000 Americans are diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year, according to the CDC, and the rash may also be accompanied by flu-like symptoms such as chills, fever, body aches, and fatigue. A rash that has a bulls-eye pattern and occasionally spreads beyond the site of the initial bite is one of the symptoms of Lyme disease, according to Dr. Travis Stork, the host of the former TV program The Doctors. He exhorted those experiencing symptoms to seek medical attention right away because “they can talk to you about your symptoms and order additional testing to ensure you are properly diagnosed.”. ”.
Infections can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system if left untreated, according to the CDC. Actor Alec Baldwin, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease more than 20 years ago, said, “I got the classic Lyme disease (symptoms) for each successive summer, for five years, every August, like this black lung, flu-like symptoms, sweating to death in my bed.”. And I genuinely believed that this was it; I wouldn’t survive. ”.
Despite the skepticism some people have expressed toward a disease transmitted by ticks, Lyme disease can be dangerous. For those trying to minimize the severity of Lyme disease, please do your research and listen to the stories of people who have suffered with it for years, Hailey Bieber, the daughter of Stephen Baldwin and Alec Baldwin’s brother, defended her husband Justin Bieber in 2020 after he revealed on Instagram that he has the disease. “Education is all that is required; there is no justification for making fun of or demeaning a disease you don’t understand. ”.
Shania Canadian country music star Twain describes her life with Lyme disease, which she’s had since 2003, in her Netflix documentary Not Just a Girl, saying, “I was on stage very dizzy, I was losing my balance, I was afraid I was going to fall off the stage…I was having these very, very millisecond blackouts, but regularly-every minute or every 30 seconds.
The best way to prevent a bite is to take preventative measures, according to Dr. Stork.
In an interview with People, Dr. Stork stated that avoiding areas where these diseases are prevalent is the best way to protect yourself from them. “Lyme disease-carrying ticks are most common in the wooded areas, tall grass, and lawns and gardens that we frequently play, hike, and unwind in during the summer, so people really need to be proactive in protecting themselves. When you bring your pets inside, make sure to thoroughly check them for clinging ticks. Dogs may also develop the lameness and stiffness associated with Lyme disease.
These illustrations, beginning with young Collin, ought to serve as a reminder of how crucial it is to lower your risk of contracting diseases carried by ticks or mosquitoes.
Always check yourself and your pets for ticks after being outside and stay away from tall grass when you can. Mosquitoes are primarily found in areas with standing water, and their activity peaks at dusk. If you’re outdoors in the evening, wear long sleeves and pants and use insect repellent with DEET. THEN READ.
