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    Tick Bite

    Tick Bite is a topic covered in the 5-Minute Emergency Consult.

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    Basics

    Description

    Even in high endemic areas for tick-borne diseases, the risk of infection with a tick-borne pathogen is very low. After a tick bite, patient concerns include:
    • Tick removal
    • Local effect of the bite
    • Possibility of acquiring a tick-borne illness:
      • Fear of contracting Lyme disease
      • Desire to be tested or treated for Lyme

    Etiology

    • Specific tick-borne infections are discussed in other chapters.
    • Tick bite can be from different species of ticks of 2 major types:
      • Soft ticks (Ornithodoros):
        • Cause tick-borne relapsing fever
        • Only feed for minutes and therefore almost never provoke a visit to the ED
      • Hard ticks—especially Ixodes and Dermacentor:
        • Feed for several days to a week and therefore, more likely to be noticed by patient and lead to an ED visit
    • Lyme disease transmission:
      • Species of tick, stage of development, duration of attachment, and geography may all play a role in the possibility of developing Lyme disease.
      • Most cases of Lyme are associated with bites from nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks.
      • Most cases of Lyme are transmitted only after the tick has been attached for 24–48 hr:
        • Degree of engorgement is a marker for duration of attachment.

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    Citation

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    TY - ELEC T1 - Tick Bite ID - 307048 ED - Barkin,Adam Z, ED - Barkin,Roger M, ED - Hayden,Stephen R, ED - Rosen,Peter, ED - Schaider,Jeffrey J, ED - Shayne,Philip, ED - Wolfe,Richard E, BT - 5-Minute Emergency Consult UR - https://emergency.unboundmedicine.com/emergency/view/5-Minute_Emergency_Consult/307048/all/Tick_Bite PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins ET - 5 DB - Emergency Central DP - Unbound Medicine ER -