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Home :: Family Health :: Tick Paralysis Tick Paralysis - Tick Paralysis symptom, treatment, causes
Paralysis resulting from a nerve toxin secreted in the saliva of certain bush ticks found in Australia. A tick must bite and feed for several days before sufficienttox in is absorbed to cause problems. Small children (and pets) are most vulnerable, especially if a tickis hidden in scalp hair. Symptoms begin with restlessness and irritability. Over the next 24 hours muscle weakness develops and may progress to paralysis, starting in the feet and extending upwards. There is no loss of sensation.
Tick paralysis is the only tick-borne disease that is not caused by an infectious organism. The paralysis affects the myoneural junctions, particularly the conduction rate of slower conducting terminal fibers of small diameter. The paralysis acts on motor nerves by diminishing the liberation of acetylcholine and by causing damage to receptor sites. Although detected worldwide, there are notable variations in the paralytic responses. Paralysis, of Landry's type, usually begins in the legs and spreads upward to involve the arms and other parts of the body. Evidence suggests that paralysis is due to a neurotoxin formed by the feeding ticks rather than the result of infection with microorganisms. The disease has been reported in North America , Australia, South Africa, and occasionally in some European countries and is caused by appropriate species of indigenous ticks. In Australia, Ixodes holocyclus causes frequent cases in dogs, and occasional cases in humans, and paralysis has been known to progress even after removal of ticks. Ixodes cubicundus is associated with the disease in South Africa .
Symptoms of Tick Paralysis
Some common Symptoms of Tick Paralysis :
- Breathing difficulties.
- Unsteady jerky body movements and gait (ataxia).
- Muscle weakness beginning in the lower extremities and progressing upwards.
- Irritability.
- Loss of appetite.
- Restlessness.
- History of exposure to ticks such as camping, a tick-infested area, dogs or other animals.
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