Well...That Ticks Me Off!

Ticks...literally. They're everywhere! The dogs have gotten a few just from the yard. I guess with the weather staying so warm for so long, the little blood suckers are going crazy. If they would just mind their own business, I wouldn't have a problem with them. Now I've got a problem. Last week, a tick invaded my personal space.

Liz and I have gotten into geocaching. (More on that in a future post). After we got home, I was sitting in front of the TV when a tick crawled across my hand. I grabbed it and took it to the bathroom to flush it to it's watery grave. I figured since I was right in front of a mirror, I'd give myself a quick glance to check for any others. None. No problem...yet.

I woke up the next morning, rolled onto my side, and my hip hurt. Kinda like a bruise, as if someone punched me. I touched it and noticed a "growth" that wasn't normal. I almost immediately knew what it was. I jump up out of bed, grab a kleenex, and pulled the little sucker off. Damn!!! That frickin hurt!

Now mind you, it's 6:30 in the morning and I'm barely awake at this point. Upon inspection, in my haze, I didn't get the whole thing. And on top of it, a little red ring was noticable. Great. To the doctor's we go.

Well, it wasn't as bad as my paranoid mind made it out to be. The doctor told me that a tick needs to be attached for about 24 hours to transmit Lyme Disease. Since it had been no more than 12 hours, I didn't have to worry. Aside from the fact that I still had a tick leg in me, I was fine.

Stupid nature.