RMSF is treated with doxycycline, a common antibiotic. Rash is present in 90% of cases but may vary in time of onset, appearance, and location. Symptoms begin 2-14 days after a tick bite and include fever, rash, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle pain and conjunctivitis ("pink-eye"). Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF)Though we see an occasional case of RMSF in the northeast, the majority of cases occur in five states (North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri). Additionally, many varieties of ticks (including dog ticks and Lone Star ticks) can cause tick paralysis. The dog tick can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) the deer tick is associated with babesiosis, anaplasmosis and Lyme disease and the Lone Star tick with human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). The ticks in our "neck of the woods" that cause human sickness are the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the black-legged deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), and the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum). If signs of skin infection develop (redness, warmth, pain, etc.), call your healthcare provider. Redness at the site should resolve in a few days. Simply grasp the tick with tweezers as close to the skin as possible pull gently and steadily until the tick comes out. To this end do NOT use alcohol, Vaseline, gasoline, nail polish, nail polish remover or above all, a match. It is important to avoid "upsetting" the tick as well as the human to which it is attached. Tick removal is simple and straightforward. More annoying than finding a tick crawling up your pant leg is finding one firmly embedded in your skin. In the warm weather ticks and humans are apt to bump into each other on a path or lawn. Many species of ticks live and flourish in the woods and fields of upstate New York.
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