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Canadian pilgrims will know all about the dangers of tick bites
Thanks @SEBHere is the packet and contents of the tick remover available from UK vets. It is manufactured in France and the instructions come in several languages so assume it is widely available outside UK>View attachment 26241
I never saw any and never heard anyone mentioning them on the CF.Interesting and good information.
However....I do not recall anyone posting that there is a tick issue in Spain.
We have posts about almost everything, (good and bad) that happens along the way.
Bedbugs, flies, mosquitos, gnats, ants....but I don't remember ticks.
Maybe I have just missed it. Is it a problem? Are there reports of ticks?
You Aussies are tough. What does that Aerostart do to your body? I remember that getting sprayed with Agent Orange which wasn't a good a idea. Good luck with that extermination project. We have plenty of ticks and deer here in MD.I don't know if our Sydney variety of ticks is similar to the ones in Spain, but they are very common where I live. We have found the easiest method of removing them is to spray with Aerostart (used to get motors started) as it instantly kills and freezes them and they fall out. Lyclear, which is a cream used to treat scabbies, is also useful for tiny ticks. As a preventive in the bush we use Deet.
If you catch them quickly enough, they are unlikely to infect you, but the NHS helpline advised me to take an antihistemine just in case
That NHS advice doesn't make any sense at all! An antihistamine is a medicament to alleviate allergies, it is not a prevention against an infection with Lyme or similar. Buen Camino, SY
Maybe you could use a selfie stick to take photos for examination!who will inspect your private parts
And for those of us pilgrims walking outside of Spain in Austria, Germany and places further east one should be inoculated against Tick Bourne Encephalitis TBE before walking. As TBC serum is a slightly unusual request in Ireland (or the UK?) it may take a few days for the pharmacist to get it in and you need a couple of shots not just one so give yourself time.
Maybe you could use a selfie stick to take photos for examination!
@C clearly:Maybe you could use a selfie stick to take photos for examination!
Completely off topic, but I have to say/ask:
Excellent photo! What camera/lens did you use?
Buen Camino without ticks, SY
I never saw any and never heard anyone mentioning them on the CF.
I say it is not an issue to be concerned about for the average walker of the CF, but like anything else on this forum it's a topic that's bound to be inflated needlessly.
Prospective walkers of the Camino Frances reading this....don't worry about ticks.
The tried and tested way that I know is to put a blob of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) on the blighter. It denies it oxygen
It will let go without a mark after a few hours
Never brush them off you may leave the "mouth parts" in your skin - pretty strong likelihood of secondary infection
@Felice, you read comments from 2016 but not the ones from 2018. See just one example below (even if you don't speak Spanish I'm sure you can make out the words salud (health), garrapatas (ticks), Castilla y Leon and los peregrinos del Camino de Santiago en particular). Or read the report of the poster immediately before your own comment! Ok about not to worry but they are there this summer.
Salamanca 24h | 21/07/2018 - 12:00h.
Agustín Álvarez, el director general de Salud Pública de la Junta de Castilla y León ha reconocido que esta temporada hay muchas garrapatas debido a las lluvias de los últimos meses y los bruscos cambios de temperatura.
De esta manera, ha señalado ciertas medidas de precaución de cara a andar por el campo y ha mencionado a los peregrinos del Camino de Santiago, en particular. Principalmente, recomienda usar calcetines blancos y altos, y manga larga en camisetas. Además, revisar el cuerpo al finalizar de la jornada. Aparte de eso, es necesario el cuidado en mascotas a través de repelentes y antiparasitarios.
Has anyone used one of these? http://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/lifesystems-tick-card-e2722059
I bought one, but I'm wondering if it's a 'gimmick' product. The remover that @SEB describes seems cleverer.
This is an old thread, but with a very timely warning. I had many ticks on my first Olvidado in 2014, but have luckily escaped since then. Someone on this forum, sorry I can’t remember who, recommended the “tick key.” I have used it several times on the camino with pilgrims who had ticks, and it works beautifully.
When I looked it up on Amazon, I saw that it is now priced at $7.35 for one tick key. There was a link to my earlier order on the site, so I clicked out of curiosity and saw that two years ago I had ordered a set of three for the same price. I should have bought a batch, since I have given one away and lost one!
in 2019 I got the same 3-pack of tick keys from REI, for a very reasonable price (I can't remember exactly but it was less than 10$). They've discontinued them but sell them something similar for $6.50.two years ago I had ordered a set of three for the same price.
More than likely you need to spray your entire body. In the summer here before mowing my husband sprays me head to toe. I tuck my pantlegs inside soccer "futbol" socks and I will still find them, especially around the waistband of my pants. I can't figure how they get there but they do. Even if we are just walking outside in the garden we do "tick checks" when we come in the house for the evening. So far this year we are not seeing many, but that is probably because this is the coldest/wettest April and May that we have had in years. We are now awaiting another batch of 17 year cicadas to emerge, and hopefully they will take care of the ticks!After reading this thread, I think I shall spray the bottoms of my pantlegs when I am spraying my backpack and sleeping bag. Hopefully, ticks will not like permethrin.
I have had several ticks on caminos, and had a hard time getting one out of my back on the Olvidado in Cistierna. The receptionist in the Hotel Moderno said she did it frequently, and after she pulled it out, she said I should see a doctor just for a check. A few days later when I was in La Robla, I went to the local clinic. The doctor examined me and said it looked like the whole tick had been removed. She told me that Lyme’s disease is not very widespread in Spain but it does exist. She gave me a prescription and told me to walk with an antibiotic and take it at the first sign of fever. I never got the fever but was very much reassured to have the antibiotic in my pack.When she returned, she told me that it was a "dog tick" and that a small percentage of them carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. If I got a fever I should return to get a prescription for an antibiotic. I am not familiar with the types of ticks which might be picked up by walkers in Spain or what diseases they might carry. I think that I would visit a clinic to find this out if I picked up any while on pilgrimage, preferably with the tick safely carried in a small container.
Deer ticks=Lyme Disease. Dog ticks= Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Despite the name it does not occur only in the the Rocky Mountains. A friend of ours here in WV almost died from RMSF, only here now because his doctor recognized the symptoms. You can never be too careful with tick checks every day. Even if you are not outside a lot in a particular day, always check.Upon combing out my braided hair after a mountain hike in the Rockies several years ago, I discovered a bloated brown tick, which fell off my skull somewhere above the hairline at the back of my neck. I immediately went to an all-night clinic, carrying the still-squirming body of the tick in a medicine container. I was aware that, in Alberta, "dog ticks" may carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, while "black-legged ticks" may carry Lyme disease. But I was not familiar with either species, not was the doctor at the clinic. She carried the tick, in its container, away to do research. When she returned, she told me that it was a "dog tick" and that a small percentage of them carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. If I got a fever I should return to get a prescription for an antibiotic. I am not familiar with the types of ticks which might be picked up by walkers in Spain or what diseases they might carry. I think that I would visit a clinic to find this out if I picked up any while on pilgrimage, preferably with the tick safely carried in a small container.
Unfortunately a fever can occur up to 30 days after the tick bite, many people do not have any symptoms, and many physicians miss the diagnosis. I worked in an infectious disease research laboratory for years growing the causal spirochete in 5L flasks. Shortly after we moved to WV my husband woke up one morning with "sausage" fingers. (A common but overlooked symptom.) I told him he had Lyme Disease, but since I was not the physician (he knew better) there must have been another reason. I just arranged with my former boss to have have him and my two stepsons tested as they had been spending a lot of time in the woods. Turned out they had the first two recorded cases in our state. They were on antibiotics for weeks. Pay attention to any tick attachment on your skin. Lyme Disease for the most part can be managed/cured even if caught later, but as Albertagirl said there is always the possibility of RMSP and that is most dangerous.I have had several ticks on caminos, and had a hard time getting one out of my back on the Olvidado in Cistierna. The receptionist in the Hotel Moderno said she did it frequently, and after she pulled it out, she said I should see a doctor just for a check. A few days later when I was in La Robla, I went to the local clinic. The doctor examined me and said it looked like the whole tick had been removed. She told me that Lyme’s disease is not very widespread in Spain but it does exist. She gave me a prescription and told me to walk with an antibiotic and take it at the first sign of fever. I never got the fever but was very much reassured to have the antibiotic in my pack.
Maybe you could use a selfie stick to take photos for examination!
Howdy... On a bus tearing back to Oveido, as must have got bitten waking up in monastery Albergue on primitivo...Day 1 out. Day 2 developed flu like symptoms and arm and underarm gone super stiff. Was in Tineo.This is an old thread, but with a very timely warning. I had many ticks on my first Olvidado in 2014, but have luckily escaped since then. Someone on this forum, sorry I can’t remember who, recommended the “tick key.” I have used it several times on the camino with pilgrims who had ticks, and it works beautifully.
When I looked it up on Amazon, I saw that it is now priced at $7.35 for one tick key. There was a link to my earlier order on the site, so I clicked out of curiosity and saw that two years ago I had ordered a set of three for the same price. I should have bought a batch, since I have given one away and lost one!
Any updates, @AshIreGal? Hoping you are doing well.Howdy... On a bus tearing back to Oveido, as must have got bitten waking up in monastery Albergue on primitivo...Day 1 out. Day 2 developed flu like symptoms and arm and underarm gone super stiff. Was in Tineo.
Any one know what to do exactly in Oveido? (I went to pharmacy in Tineo and they recommended going back to Oveido in case they do blood test). Have travel insurance and VHI health insurance and EHIC, but trying to read the thread fast and figure out what to ask for or where to go.
That was a panic message. I asked a person who looked in the know when I left the station and they pointed me to the nearest health centre. Empty. My wonderful Spanish meant trying to explain I was Irish, led to me getting shown the door and directed to private clinic as either Icelandic or English.Any updates, @AshIreGal? Hoping you are doing well.
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