What Does Shingles Feel Like?
What Bit Me? How To Identify And Treat Bug Bites
Several of the most common types of bug bites include the following.
Mosquito BitesMosquito bites cause itchy bumps after the insect pierces your skin. Since female mosquitoes need blood to produce eggs, they are the main perpetrators, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While mosquito bites usually leave a reddish bump, small blister or dark, bruise-like spots may occur as well. They are typically harmless.
When it comes to mosquito bites, many people may worry about contracting germs which cause viruses, such as West Nile virus and Zika virus, which are more likely to occur in people over 50 and pregnant women. Prevention for this type of bug bite includes using insect repellants, covering up, installing screens, and emptying standing water from flower pots, birdbaths and other places regularly.
Flea BitesBoth male and female fleas suck human blood, and in most cases, aim for the legs and ankles. After a bite, small red spots with light-colored centers typically appear in the area where the flea's mouth touched the skin. Although swelling is abnormal, bleeding is a possibility, especially if you scratch, according to data from the University of Missouri's Division of Plant Sciences.
Diseases caused by flea bites can include plague, fleaborne (murine) typhus and cat scratch disease. Symptoms to watch for are fever and chills, body aches and muscle pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. Bites from fleas can be prevented by using insect repellants, covering skin with clothing and wearing gloves when handling sick or dead animals.
Bed Bug BitesBed bug bites are often mistaken for mosquito, flea and spider bites. If you notice a musty odor in the room you sleep in or specks of blood on your mattress, bedding or furniture, you may have bed bugs. Bed bug bites are itchy welts on your skin in a zigzag pattern.
However, common compounds in the skin called triglycerides or lipids, might prevent bed bugs from staying on your skin for too long, suggests research conducted at the University of Kentucky . Fortunately, bed bugs are not known to spread disease.
Tick BitesIn most cases, ticks are tiny and look like freckles or specks of dirt on your skin. They tend to feed in dark, warm and secluded areas of the body like your scalp, underarms, the backs of your knees, belly button and between your fingers and toes. If you find a tick, remove it right away—don't squeeze it, use a hot match or rub petroleum jelly on it. Tick bites can result in diseases like lyme disease, which can lead to neurological symptoms and damage the heart.
Prevention for tick bites includes wearing long-sleeved shirts and light-colored clothing, using insect repellants, showering following outdoor activities and checking pets and children for ticks.
What Is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? CDC Issues New Health Alert
Three people have died after contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
In a health alert posted last week, the agency outlined five cases of the tickborne illness that were reported between July and December of this year.
Four of the five infections were in kids under the age of 18, all of whom had traveled to or had a residence in Tecate, Mexico, in the two weeks before becoming sick.
The CDC warned that RMSF is "a severe, rapidly progressive, and often deadly disease," and is spread by infected ticks. All five of the patients included in the agency's health alert were hospitalized; three later died.
While the U.S. Sees thousands of cases of RMSF each year, the fact that these cases are so concentrated is likely a cause for added concern, Kari Simonsen, MD, MBA, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, told Health.
"I have a feeling that the CDC wanted to make sure people were alerted because there was more of a clustering geographically," she said. "There may be a bit more Rocky Mountain spotted fever being carried by ticks in that area right now."
In addition to warning residents or travelers to Tecate about the risk of RMSF, the CDC's alert is also intended to encourage healthcare providers to be on the lookout for the disease, particularly if they're seeing patients with unexplained severe symptoms, Ann Carpenter, DVM, MPH, an epidemic intelligence service officer in CDC's Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, told Health.
Here's what you need to know about the CDC's warning, how to spot RMSF, and tips for avoiding the disease.
Getty Images / Ladislav Kubeš
Rocky Mountain spotted fever—similar to Lyme disease—is caused by bacteria that are passed from ticks to humans from a bite, Simonset explained. The illness is caused by the bacteria Rickettsia rickettsii, which can infect several different species of tick. In most of the contiguous U.S., RMSF is transmitted by the American dog tick or the wood tick, Carpenter said. Spotted fever rickettsiosis—an umbrella term that includes RMSF and a few other diseases—is most common in Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and surrounding states. "It's sort of the southern Appalachian region, rather than the Rockies. So it feels like a little bit of a misnomer," said Simonsen. "But there are cases reported really from east to west." In the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria are transmitted by the brown dog tick. Simonsen explained that northern Mexico, particularly, has seen more RMSF cases in recent years. "Unlike in most of the United States, northern Mexico has a comparatively high incidence of disease, particularly in urban centers in multiple states where RMSF is transmitted by the brown dog tick," Carpenter told Health. In this case, ticks will move from dogs to humans—the CDC noted that most spotted fever cases "occurred within communities with large numbers of free-roaming dogs." Once a person is bitten by an infected tick, the disease can progress rapidly, with symptoms including: Fever Headache Nausea Abdominal pain Vomiting Joint and muscle aches Rash "Spotted fever, of course, is indicative of the rash," said Simonsen. "It tends to start on the extremities, and really on the ankles and the wrists. And that's not that common for a lot of other types of rashes from an infection." Over time, that rash moves closer to the trunk of the body, she explained. The rash itself—which appears like tiny scabs—also tends to change as the infection intensifies. At first, the lesions are faint and appear to go away when a person applies pressure, Simonsen said. Over time, the color won't change with pressure. Symptoms are often mild for a few days but can progress rapidly around the fifth day of illness. In these advanced stages, the RMSF infection can lead to coma, tissue death, multiorgan system damage, brain swelling, or altered mental status. Children, Simonsen said, are at a higher risk for this rapid RMSF progression. Kids younger than 10 are "five times more likely than adults to die from RMSF," Carpenter added. Because RSMF can be so dangerous, it's important to recognize signs of the illness. The most obvious sign is often the rash, as well as any noticeable tick bites. However, it's not always so simple. Not all people with RMSF develop the classic spotted rash, and many people may not even notice that they've been bitten, Carpenter explained. Additionally, other RMSF symptoms can be "relatively mild and non-specific early during the course of illness," she said. But even if someone is experiencing more mild symptoms, it's important to seek treatment if someone seems wrong, as getting treatment early is critical. "The disease progresses rapidly if left untreated and is frequently deadly unless treated with doxycycline within the first 5 days of illness," said Carpenter. "If RMSF is suspected, health care providers should initiate treatment with doxycycline immediately." This antibiotic treatment is effective, Simonsen added, so "don't wait to go see your doctor and get started on treatment." Of course, the best thing to do is avoid RMSF in general—this means avoiding tick bites. "If you've been outside, hiking around, or even just playing in the yard, look for ticks on yourself, and also on kids when they come in from outside," said Simonsen. Ticks often move to body creases or the hair since there's a smaller chance of them being discovered, she added, so it's worth being thorough. "Also check your pet for ticks, especially after they spend time outdoors," Carpenter recommended. "Run your fingers through your pet's fur with gentle pressure to feel for any small bumps." People should also keep up with tick-prevention medications for their dogs, she said. For humans, using bug spray and wearing protective clothing—such as boots and longer socks if you're hiking—will help avoid any tick bites, Simonsen said.Outdoor Action Guide To Giardia, Lyme Disease And Other 'post Trip' Illnesses
Friday January 19, 2024
by Rick CurtisWe hope that you had an exciting and enjoyable time in the wilderness on your Outdoor Action Trip. After you've gotten a shower and washed your clothes, there are a few important pieces of information you need to be aware of. All outdoor travelers may come in contact with things during the trip that can lead to illnesses later on. Typically, the signs and symptoms of these illnesses don't become apparent until after your trip is over, so it is important that you be able to recognize them. Should you experience some of the symptoms noted below after an Outdoor Action Trip, go to the University Health Center and describe your symptoms to a practitioner or see your own physician. Be sure to inform the health practitioner about your backcountry trip since they may not initially identify the proper cause of the illness without knowing about your wilderness trip. Most of these illnesses can be treated effectively using antibiotics, as long as you go for treatment promptly. For more information on any of these, see the Centers for Disease Control Web site (www.Cdc.Gov).
Water-borne InfectionsGiardia: Giardiasis refers to a syndrome of diarrhea, excess gas, and abdominal cramping. It is caused by Giardia lamblia, a water-borne parasite that is worldwide in distribution. The symptoms usually occur one to two weeks after exposure to the parasite. Symptoms initially include diarrhea, bloating, nausea, abdominal cramping, and malaise. Weight loss is also a frequent finding. Backcountry travelers usually contract giardiasis by drinking water from untreated or improperly treated sources. Chemical treatment of the water and commercial water filtration systems, used properly, eradicate the parasite. The diagnosis of giardiasis can be confirmed by inspecting a stool sample for the presence of the parasite. Because this test may not always identify the organism even if it is present, a physician may elect to treat you empirically for the infection. The use of an appropriate antibiotic for seven days is usually highly effective in relieving symptoms and curing the disease.
Cryptosporidium: Cryptosporidium is a protozoan that causes a diarrheal illness similar to Giardia. Symptoms include watery diarrhea, headache, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and low-grade fever that may appear 2 to 10 days after infection. Some infected people will be asymptomatic. Currently, there is no effective treatment for Cryptosporidium. Symptoms usually last 1 to 2 weeks, at which time the body's immune system is able to stop the infection. People with normal immune systems are generally not at risk and improve without taking antibiotics or antiparasitic medications. For people with compromised immune systems this can be a dangerous disease. Please see your physician.
Cyclospora: Cyclospora is a recently discovered cause of diarrhea. It can cause a prolonged illness (average 6 weeks) with profound fatigue, loss of appetite, and intermittent diarrhea. Cyclospora can be treated with antibiotics. If you develop these symptoms, consult your physician.
Tick-borne DiseasesLyme Disease: Lyme disease is an infection caused by a spiral shaped bacterium called a spirochete. This bacterium is carried in the gut of the deer tick Ixodes dammini. The tick becomes infected after feeding on the blood of an infected animal. Once infected, the tick can transmit the disease to its next host. Deer ticks are extremely small, with tick nymphs being about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. This means that you may have been bitten without realizing it. The tick needs to feed for an extended period of time (8-12 hours) before infection can occur. So just because you have found a tick does not mean that you have been infected. It is also possible that the tick was not carrying the disease.
Detecting Lyme Disease can be difficult to identify in the early stages as the early symptoms—fever, headache, stiffness, lethargy, and a myriad of other mild complaints, are often dismissed as the flu. In some cases (25%), there is a red, ring-like rash that occurs at the site of the bite. The rash is often referred to as a "bull's eye" rash because it has a white center surrounded by a red ring. Most typically, the rash expands and then fades within a few weeks after the bite. There is a blood test for Lyme Disease, but it is not perfect. The test generally produces positive results in the later stages of the disease but often turns up false negative results in the early stages of infection. Therefore, diagnosis in the early phase is frequently based on symptoms and the likelihood of a deer tick bite. Early detection means early treatment when the disease is most effectively controlled with antibiotics. Lyme disease can result in more serious symptoms if left untreated.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: This disease is carried by a bacterium and can be transmitted by the bites of dog or wood ticks. Contrary to what the name of the disease suggests, it can be found throughout the U.S. Watch for mild chills, appetite loss, and a general run-down feeling. These symptoms may worsen to sever chills, fever, headaches, muscle and bone pain, and sensitivity to light. Also, a spotty red rash may appear (hence the name) usually starting at the wrists and ankles and spreading over the rest of the body. Normal onset of these symptoms is anywhere between 3 and 14 days, so anyone bitten by a tick should be aware of the disease, as it may not present itself until the trip is over. Untreated, the mortality rate is 20 to 30%. Anyone who shows these signs should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Ehrlichiosis: Ehrlichiosis is a recently recognized tick-borne disease caused by a bacterium. The disease is similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever and can be life threatening. The most common symptoms are sudden high fever, tiredness, major muscle aches, severe headache, and, in some cases, a rash (similar to the symptoms of Lyme Disease). Symptoms usually appear 3 to 16 days after a tick bite. The same ticks that carry Lyme Disease can also transmit Ehrlichiosis at the same time. Without treatment Ehrlichiosis can be fatal. Ehrlichiosis can be treated with the same antibiotic used to treat Lyme Disease. Anyone who shows these signs should seek medical attention as soon as possible.
Tick Paralysis: A number of species of ticks can transmit tick paralysis. It is not an infection, but a by-product of venom in the tick's saliva that is secreted while the tick is attached. Symptoms are unsteady movement and gait (ataxia) and ascending paralysis starting in the lower extremities and moving up. Paralysis can cause loss of respiratory drive, requiring CPR and immediate evacuation. Once the tick is removed, the source of the venom is gone and the patient generally recovers completely. Children are more likely to be affected than adults. Any patient with an ascending paralysis should be carefully checked for an attached tick.
Tularemia: Tularemia, or rabbit fever, is a bacterial disease of which the most common carriers are rabbits, although it can also be transmitted by ticks. The disease presents with flu-like symptoms and can be treated with antibiotics.
Mosquito-borne DiseasesWest Nile Virus: West Nile virus (WNV) is a potentially serious illness that is transmitted by the bite of some mosquitoes. WNV affects the central nervous system. Symptoms vary.
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