Got in the shower last night to discover on my chest a tick. Not realizing at first that it was a tick, I tried to knock it off (thinking it was a spider) - yeah, would not come off of me. I really started freaking out. It's about 11pm. My Mom is fast asleep, but in my frantic attempt to figure out what the HELL to do, I jump out of the shower, dry off where I can and run to Mommy.
Did you know that Ticks have a chemical in their saliva that acts as a neurotoxin? Yeah, it actually "doctors" your body so you have no FRICKING idea that it's even biting you!! Not only that, the more you agitate it (like I did trying to get it off) the more saliva it will inject into you body!! The saliva can carry all sorts of diseases, just depends on how many hosts it's already fed on. Oh, and it doesn't end there, the thing actually REGURGITATES whatever the hell it's been feeding of you which in turn is only more reason for you to get a disease that's floating around in it's tiny little body.
So, I can't even look at it. It's making me sick and I can't stop shaking. Finally, Mom calms me down enough to get a good look at it. We get the tweezers out and she is able to pull the fucker out - and what looks to have been perfectly since we couldn't see any remnants of his head or biting pieces. Thank you Mom for saving my life! I don't know that I could ever ever do what she did. If she wasn't already my hero, she sure is now!
The thing is now in a baggie. I have NO idea where this guy came from (yes pretty sure it's a male). And since I cannot sleep after this ordeal (right now it's 3:30am) I've been researching it all over the Internet. I have an idea what breed it is, but I am taking it to the Vet in the morning to see if they know what it is so we know whether to treat the house. I have a feeling it got on me from either my grandma's house or here as I was walking inside. It looks like it just got on me since I know it wasn't there this morning and no much of him had actually gone into me, nor does it look like he got any blood since he's still flat as a board.. I've checked the dogs as much as I could in all their fur, and I don't see any. What I gathered from the internet is the tend to be in area's on the dog that have less fur. Easier to bite them that way. And I also checked the common areas, and found nothing. Yet anyways.
Let me tell you, the image in my head right now is so horribly disgusting, I think I'd rather watch Saw right now. And those of you who know me will know that I will NEVER watch that movie. But if I could pick which image to be in my mind, something from that movie would HAVE to be better than the image from that damn Tick.
Oh, and Brad Paisley? I don't think I'll be able to listen to that song for a LOOOOONG time. I don't want ANY Ticks on me ever again! The day that I do I just very well may keel over. And thanks to Robert for talking to me, or listening to me continue to freak out afterwards. ThanX To Leah Simpson for talking with me to get my mind off of it-amazing what a time difference can do!
Here are two pictures. One's by my cell phone, the black speck is the size of the tick next to a penny. The other is a closer up pic by the Canon SD I have, cropped. Not something I ever wanna have on me again!
