In the Race
Now, here, you see, it takes all the blogging I can do to keep in the same place.
If I want to get somewhere else, I must blog twice as fast as that!
You see, I'm in
the Red Queen's Race...
What's Up With the Ticks?
By Janet Evans
Thursday, Jul 31 2008, 06:19 PM
Seriously, I’m wondering what’s up with the reports of ticks. Now there are two. One on an airplane in the U.S. and one on a ferry in Italy. I find it strange. I also find it strange to hear operators of airlines or other forms of travel say they check for these types of things. That's ridiculous and I don’t buy it.
Flight from Denver Delayed By Ticks
Italian Ferry Cabin Infested With Ticks
Ticks are very small and if you have ever seen the time they take between flights to clean a plane (if you want to even call that cleaning) there is no way they are checking a plane for insects. Maybe they do that at some other time. But if someone or someone’s carry on luggage or belongings has an infestation, checking a plane at some other time isn’t going to do any good.
I’m just wondering why there are more ticks this year in the first place. I don’t believe either story has reported whether the ticks were wood ticks or deer ticks. Deer ticks are the ones that carry Lyme disease. If you are going hiking, check yourself for ticks.
And here is how to safely remove a tick…as recommended by a nurse:
Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and let it stay on the repulsive insect for a few seconds (15-20), after which the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. “This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"
Deer Tick
