Ticks belong to a class of creatures called arachnids, says the Illinois Department of Public Health. In fact, ticks belong to the same family as spiders, mites and scorpions. Sometimes, these ticks can carry certain diseases. They can attach onto people's skin and cause a serious medical ailment. The diseases caused by a tick have specific treatments.
Lyme Disease
The Mayo Clinic says Lyme disease is a disease associated with deer ticks that carry the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Its symptoms include a small red bump that can occur in the groin or back of the knee. This bump can expand and form a bulls-eye rash (erythema migrans). Other Lyme disease symptoms include a fever, chills, a headache, body aches and migratory joint pain. For example, this joint pain can start in one knee and move to the other knee. Other symptoms may include a brain infection (meningitis), an irregular heartbeat and facial paralysis.
Risk factors for contracting Lyme disease include spending time outdoors. Ticks tend to be found in the Northeast and Midwest regions in dense wooded areas. Other risk factors include exposed skin and not removing the tick within two days after it attaches.
Treat Lyme disease by taking such oral (by mouth) antibiotics as amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil. Typically, these antibiotics are taken for 14 to 21 days. These antibiotics can also be taken intravenously (through the vein).
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
The Mayo Clinic says Rocky Mountain spotted fever refers to a potentially life-threatening bacterial infection transmitted through a tick bite. Specifically, it says that the wood tick, American dog tick, the cayenne tick and the American brown tick are to blame.
Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever include stomach pain, a high fever, light sensitivity and chills. Other symptoms of this condition include vomiting, nausea, red spots on the ankles or wrists, restlessness, diarrhea and delirium.
Like Lyme disease, risk factors for Rocky Mountain spotted fever include spending time in grassy or wooded areas and not protecting yourself from tick bites.
Treating Rocky Mountain spotted fever involves removing the tick and taking such antibiotics as doxycycline.
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis is another tick-borne disease caused by the rickettsial bacteria, called Ehrlichia chaffeensis, or rickettsial bacteria, called Anaplasma phagocytophilum.
MedlinePlus says symptoms of ehrlichiosis include fever, chills, a headache, muscle aches, nausea and diarrhea. Other ehrlichiosis symptoms include a red rash, feeling ill and tiny amounts of bleeding in the skin (petechiae).
Risk factors for ehrlichiosis include living near ticks, owning a pet and being around tall grass. Treating ehrlichiosis involves taking such medications as tetracycline or doxycycline.
