We are continuing our series this week on things that make you itch. Last week we discussed the wide variety of triggers for itchy skin with my introductory post, “What Is Causing My Itch?” One possible cause for itchy skin is tick bites.

Spring time, with its warm damp weather, is the perfect breeding season for ticks. When the temperature starts to rise, ticks come out to obtain a blood meal which allows them to mate and reproduce. And guess who is on the menu? That’s right, you! Ticks are prevalent around the world. In fact, there are an estimated 850 species of ticks known worldwide. Yet while some ticks are merely annoying, several species found in the U.S. are carriers of some serious diseases. In this post we will discuss how to identify the more dangerous types of ticks and also how to look for signs of tick transmitted diseases.

What types of ticks are carriers of disease?

There are three types of ticks that you have to especially watch out for and they include:

1. The blacklegged or deer tick: Deer ticks are very small (about one-eighth-inch as adults) and dark brown to bright red with black legs. This is the tick which transmits Lyme Disease. Your risk for contracting Lyme Disease really does depend upon where you live in the United States. The American Lyme Disease Foundation reports that: “…less than 5% of adult ticks south of Maryland are infected with B. burgdorferi, while up to 50% are infected in hyperendemic areas (areas with a high tick infection rate) of the northeast. The tick infection rate in Pacific coastal states is between 2% and 4%.”

Symptoms of Lyme Disease include a skin rash, often resembling a bulls-eye, fever, headache, muscle pain, stiff neck and swelling of knees and other large joints. Here are images of what the bulls eye rash of Lyme Disease can look like courtesy of The Lyme Disease Network.

Here is an image of Western black legged ticks on a finger from the California Department of Health Services. You can see how tiny these ticks are. Some people may not realize they have been bitten because they are so small. Here is another image of the male and female deer tick.

For more information about Lyme Disease you can visit Health Central’s information page on Lyme Disease as well as The American Lyme Disease Foundation.

2. Lone Star Ticks: Lone Star ticks can be found throughout the southeastern and south-central states and are named for the prominent white dot on the back of the female. Lone Star ticks are known to be aggressive biters and, if you get bitten by one of these ticks, you will probably know it because the bite can cause pain and itching for several days.

Lone Star ticks are not known to carry Lyme Disease but do transmit something called southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). The STARI rash may look similar to the rash of Lyme Disease and may be accompanied by fatigue, fever, headache, muscle and joint pains. This rash is not associated with any neurological symptoms. STARI is usually treated with oral antibiotics.