My poor mom. Again, she is sick. But this time…it’s from a tick bite! With the end of the summer approaching and fall coming our way, I think it’s a good time to go over what ticks can do to us and what we can do to protect ourselves.
She got bit about three weeks ago now. Luckily they got it out however our primary care physician drew blood to check for Lymes. We just got her results back and I helped explain the situation with her.
Reminder: I am not a doctor or licensed physician. I just care about my mom and make sure she understands what is happening in her body.
First off, she tested negative for Lymes. So she for sure does not have Lymes, which is great news of course. She also tested negative for Ehrlichia Chaffeensis which again is awesome news. However…she was out of range for Babesia Microti. Right away, that scared both of us. So we had to break it down to get a better idea of what was going on.
Babesia are malaria-like protozoans that parasitize and reproduce with mammalian red blood cells. You can acquire babesiosis (the disease from these protozoans) through blood transfusions and from mother to baby. When you contract babesiosis, it can present in a wide range of forms. In most cases it presents like a virus would.
Her levels were right at the reference range. This indicates that there either was an infection in her blood or currently is. She is going for further testing with an infectious disease doctor to see if she currently has the infection.
Obviously we are both nervous but hoping for the best.
The symptoms of babesiosis consist of fevers, fatigue, headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, reduced appetite and others. The disease can last from a few weeks to several months with proper medication. It is most dangerous to elderly, the very young, and immuno-compromised individuals.
Diagnosing babesiosis is quite difficult especially in the beginning when the symptoms are so vague and can coincide with so many other diseases. The protozoans themselves break the red blood cells spilling their contents into the surrounding fluid that can lead to anemia. Most of the testing done is either through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) or IFA (immunofluorescence) of the antibodies. IFA is not as reliable because it can test for the organism months to years after infection, meaning it may not be the best at diagnosing a current infection.
Now let’s talk about prevention.
Most important is removing the tick in a calm and efficient manner. The safest way is to use forceps or tweezers to remove it entirely. It can take up to 36 hours for the infection to come from the tick into our bloodstream.
Using DEET, permethrin, or picaridin can help to prevent ticks from attacking us.
Wearing light colored clothing and tucking pants into long socks is also very important.
Tick season continues until late October-early November so it is dire to pay attention to your surroundings. Long grass is always a sign to stay away from that area.
Just be mindful, that’s all.
Hope this can help someone!
Z
