--- title: "Tick Bite Symptoms" description: "Found a tick embedded in your skin? Here are some symptoms of problematic tick bites you should be on the lookout for." date: "2023-07-12" modified: "2023-07-12" authors: - name: "Katie Hill" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/katie-hill/" url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/survival/tick-bite-symptoms/" categories: - "Survival" - "Survival Skills" - "Wilderness Survival" tags: - "Project Redwood" --- # Tick Bite Symptoms ![tick embedded in skin]() *Ticks take multiple hours, sometimes up to two days, to transmit any diseases to their hosts. shishiga / Adobe Stock* Everything we know about tick bite symptoms seems to have been watered down to a single telltale warning sign: the bullseye rash. If no red rings show up around the site of your tick bite, then you’re fine, right? Not necessarily, according to the experts. There are plenty of tick bite symptoms that warrant a visit to your doctor’s office. While increasingly common (and now of concern year-round in some parts of the country), tick bites are not something to take lightly. The health consequences can range from an irritated bite mark that lasts a few weeks to a serious illness that lands you in the hospital or with chronic complaints. We spoke with public health entomology expert Phurchhoki Sherpa, coordinator for the [Purdue University Public Health Entomology Program](). Medical entomology is a fancy term for the area of medicine concerning insect-borne diseases like Lyme and malaria. Sherpa has spent countless hours in the field collecting ticks for research purposes, and she knows more than her fair share about what can happen when a tick bites you. ![tick bite symptoms bullseye rash]() *A bullseye rash might emerge around a tick bite. It could also show up on other parts of the body where the bite didn't occur. androsov858 / Adobe Stock* ## What to Do When a Tick Bites You If you find a tick latched onto your skin, first you should review [how to remove a tick]() and follow that procedure. (Quick refresher: grab your tweezers or tick removal tool, grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible, and pull until it releases.) The best immediate tick bite treatment options involve cleaning the bite with some sort of disinfectant—hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol are good options—and applying an antibiotic ointment of your choosing. Your tick bite may look and feel like a [chigger bite]() or any other bug bite in the days that follow, or you may find that an angry, itchy bump persists for weeks as it heals. “It can look as benign as a mosquito bite, like a little itchy welt, especially if the tick has fallen off without you realizing you had it,” Sherpa tells *Outdoor Life*. She notes that such circumstances are common with tiny, immature ticks that are hard to see. “It can also look kind of scary, with a scab on the bite mark. It varies.” ![tick embedded in skin]() *A tick bite might start out looking and feeling like any average bug bite. Denys Williams / Wikimedia Commons* ### Common Tick Bite Symptoms Sherpa is referring to the rashes, scabs, and swelling that can accompany a tick bite. Always keep an eye out for a bullseye rash (the traditional symptom that is present in some, though not all, Lyme disease cases). A bullseye rash can appear not just around the bite mark, but anywhere on the body. Small, hard scabs might form around the bite. If they’re dark and crusty, this might be an early sign of a type of tick-borne disease known as spotted fever (more on this in a minute). If the bite mark exhibits other signs of infection, like extreme swelling, pustules, blistering, or anything else abnormal, seek medical treatment immediately. Beyond the early, visible symptoms of a tick bite, be on the lookout for these more systemic symptoms that most or all tick-borne illnesses share. These symptoms might pop up anywhere from a day to a few weeks after the bite: - Fever - Chills - Headache - Muscle ache - Fatigue - Nausea/vomiting - Joint aches/arthritic pain ## Tick-Borne Illnesses You Should Know About Most tick bites will not cause you any further trauma than a mosquito bite would. After all, half or fewer of all ticks are infected with transmissible diseases. If the tick wasn't latched deep into your skin or wasn't engorged with blood yet, it probably didn’t get the chance to transmit anything. For example, it usually takes at least 36 hours for an attached tick to transmit Lyme disease to its human host. But if your tick bite does transform into something of concern, it’s good to know about the various tick-borne illnesses you could develop. The risk of each tick-borne illness changes depending on where in North America you picked up the tick, Sherpa says. This is because different [types of ticks]() carry different diseases. ![tick bite symptoms rocky mountain spotted fever]() *Rocky Mountain spotted fever can cause a dotted, patchy rash once the disease has progressed. The rash is especially common in children. CDC / Encyclopedia Britannica* This is not an [exhaustive list]() of all possible tick-borne illnesses. But here are eight tick-borne diseases that you should absolutely know about. ### [Anaplasmosis]() **Regions:** Most common in East and Upper Midwest, some cases along Pacific Coast and portions of Southwest **Ticks that carry it:** Black-legged ticks, Eastern and Western **Symptoms:** - Chills - Headache/muscle aches - Nausea/vomiting/diarrhea - Respiratory issues - Bleeding issues - Organ failure **Type of disease**: Bacterial **Treatment:** Antibiotics, commonly Doxycycline ### [Babesiosis]() **Regions:** Northeast and Upper Midwest **Ticks that carry it:** Black-legged ticks, especially nymphs (tiny, immature ticks that are hard to see) **Symptoms:** - Fever - Chills/sweats - Headache/body aches - Nausea/loss of appetite - Fatigue **Type of disease:** Parasitic **Treatment:** Unnecessary if asymptomatic. For symptomatic patients, a combination of anti-parasitic/antifungal drugs and antibiotics. ### [Colorado tick fever]() **Regions:** Mountain West, Pacific Northwest, Southwest **Ticks that carry it:** Rocky Mountain wood tick **Symptoms:** - Headache/body aches - Fever (sometimes “biphasic,” or two stages of fever interrupted by short period of relief) - Chills - Fatigue - Occasional nausea/diarrhea/vomiting - Occasional sore throat and rash **Type of disease:** Viral **Treatment:** Fluids, pain meds, severe cases should seek hospitalization for IV fluids and medication ### [Ehrlichiosis]() **Regions:** Southeastern and South-central U.S., from East Coast to West Texas **Ticks that carry it:** Lone Star tick, some Eastern black-legged ticks **Symptoms:** - Fever - Chills - Severe headache/muscle aches - Splotchy or dotted rash (especially in children) - Confusion - Nausea/diarrhea/loss of appetite - Brain swelling and damage to nervous system - Respiratory failure - Uncontrolled bleeding - Organ failure - Death **Type of disease:** Bacterial **Treatment:** Antibiotics, commonly Doxycycline ### [Lyme disease]() **Regions:** Eastern half of U.S., Pacific coast **Ticks that carry it:** Black-legged ticks, Eastern and Western **Symptoms:** - Fever - Chills - Headache - Fatigue - Muscle/joint aches - Swollen lymph nodes, joints - Rash (particularly bullseye) that grows - Facial palsy/drooping **Type of disease:** Bacterial **Treatment:** Oral or IV antibiotics, depending on severity. Severe cases might require [chronic lyme disease treatment](). ### [Powassan virus]() **Regions:** Northeast, Great Lakes region **Ticks that carry it:** Black-legged tick, Groundhog tick, Squirrel tick **Symptoms:** - Often asymptomatic - Fever - Headache - Vomiting - Weakness - Encephalitis (Brain infection) - Meningitis (Swelling of brain and spinal cord) **Type of disease:** Viral **Treatment:** Fluids and pain medication, severe cases should seek hospitalization for IV fluids, meds, and support with any brain/spinal cord swelling or respiratory issues ### [Rocky Mountain spotted fever]() **Regions:** Nationwide, most common in Mid-Atlantic and lower Appalachia **Ticks that carry it:** American dog tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick, Brown dog tick **Symptoms:** - Fever - Headache - Rash (splotchy or dotted) - Nausea/vomiting - Stomach pain - Muscle pain - RMSF develops quickly and can cause moderate to severe damage to tissues and extremities if left untreated. Amputations might be necessary. Hearing loss, paralysis, and loss of mental function are also possible. **Type of disease:** Bacterial **Treatment:** Antibiotics, commonly Doxycycline ## Tick Bite Prevention Fortunately, with proper tick bite prevention, there’s no reason to avoid the outdoors—especially not during the most enjoyable months of the year. ### Dress, Treat, and Check Tick bite prevention goes beyond simply drowning yourself in the [best tick repellent](). It also involves wearing the right clothes, treating your gear with permethrin, and doing multiple tick checks in the field and after the day is over. “I tell \[hikers\] to wear light-colored clothing so they can detect ticks earlier and faster, especially the ones that would go unnoticed if we wore patterns or dark clothing,” Sherpa says. “Tuck your shirt into your pants, tuck your pant legs into your socks, always wear close-toed shoes with long socks when you're outdoors.” Sherpa also acknowledges that hunters have to do things a little differently if they want to avoid tick bites and the scary symptoms that can come with them. We spend more time bushwhacking than we do on trails, we wear dark and patterned clothing (hello camouflage), and we’re outside for a long time. “When you’re hunting, you’re in the field for a while. You’re waiting, walking around. So do a tick check every few hours. The faster you can find the tick and get rid of it, the better,” she says. “When you get home, check yourself and your camo clothing. If you have a dryer, put your clothes in the dryer on high heat for about 20 minutes. The heat will decimate the ticks. And the sooner you can take a shower, the better.” If showers and dryers are unavailable back at camp, or you refuse to put your expensive merino wool or rain gear in a dryer, treating your clothes with permethrin is the best line of defense. Make sure to follow the instructions on the bottle and wear gloves to avoid getting any on your skin. ### Parts of the Body Likely to Get Tick Bites When it comes to tick checks, close attention to detail makes all the difference. Check under your armpits, behind your ears, along your hairline, in your groin area, between your toes, behind your knees, and even in your belly button. Sherpa highlights all these spots as dark, easy-to-overlook hiding holes for ticks of all sizes. If your legs and arms are bare, not only is there a chance they bite your ankles or inside your elbows, but they could also crawl under your shirt or shorts. By wearing long sleeves and pants and tucking in all your layers, you limit a tick’s chances of accessing any skin, let alone skin in a hard-to-reach place. ## Tick Bite FAQs ![hikers in tall grass]() *If your hike or hunt will take you through tall grass, take the necessary preventative measures to avoid tick bites. SteinwallPhotography / Adobe Stock* ## Final Thoughts Tick bite symptoms can range from a small, itchy welt to a series of flu-like ailments that could land you in the hospital if left untreated. That’s why it’s crucial to know what types of ticks live in your area and what diseases they might carry. **Read Next:** [How to Remove a Tick From a Dog]() The good news is that these scary tick-borne diseases with their array of side effects are all avoidable, thanks to the time-tested prevention strategies outdoorswomen and men now swear by. The age-old adage about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure holds true, Sherpa says. “We as humans are lazy. We don’t like dealing with that extra work. But prevention goes a long way when it comes to tick bites and tick-borne diseases. It is really important to take preventative measures when you go out,” Sherpa says. “If people aren’t sure about the worthiness of prevention measures, they should talk to someone who has had a tick-borne disease before.” ## Author Katie Hill is a contributor for *Outdoor Life* where she covers outdoor news, hunting, and conservation in the West. She was born and raised on the East Coast but relocated to Montana in 2019 to earn her master’s degree in environmental journalism. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [Twitter]() [Email]()