What is Rocky Mountain spotted fever?
Rocky Mountain spotted fever is a disease that you can get
from a tick bite. Sometimes it causes a very severe
illness.
How does it occur?
This infection is caused by a type of bacteria called
Rickettsia rickettsii. It is spread from the bite of an
infected tick. It can also be spread by contact with a
crushed tick or tick feces. The infection usually does not
spread from a tick to you until after the tick has been
attached and feeding on your blood for several hours.
Most ticks are not infected with the bacteria. Even in
areas where there are a lot of infected ticks usually only 1
to 3% of the ticks are infected. This disease occurs
throughout the United States during the months of April
through September. You can also get the disease in southern
Canada, Central America, Mexico, and parts of South
America. Although this disease was reported most often in
the Rocky Mountain area early after its discovery,
relatively few cases are reported from that area today.
What are the symptoms?
The first symptoms may include:
- fever
- nausea and vomiting
- severe headache
- muscle pain
- lack of appetite.
A few days later you may start having a rash on your wrists,
forearms, and ankles that is pink or red and spotted. You
may also have:
- abdominal pain
- joint pain
- diarrhea.
The rash may spread to the palms of the hands, soles of the
feet, and the trunk and abdomen. Although the rash is
common, in 10 to 15% of cases there is no rash.
How is it diagnosed?
Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be hard to diagnose in its
early stages. Your healthcare provider will ask about your
symptoms and medical history, including recent exposure to
ticks. He or she will examine you. You will have blood
tests. There are specific tests to confirm the diagnosis but
they take several days to complete. Treatment should not be
delayed while your provider waits for results from these lab
tests.
You may have a skin biopsy. Your healthcare provider will
give you a shot of numbing medicine in an area where you
have the rash. When the skin is numb, a small piece of skin
with rash will be removed and sent to the lab. It may take
several days to get the results of the skin biopsy, so
treatment must be started before you get the results.
How is it treated?
You will probably stay at a hospital for treatment. You
will receive antibiotics and treatment of your symptoms,
which may include intravenous (IV) fluids and pain
medicines. This disease is not spread from person to
person, so your family and friends do not need to be
treated.
How long will the effects last?
If you are treated with appropriate antibiotics within the
first 4 or 5 days of the infection, the fever and other
symptoms usually begin to clear after 2 or 3 days of
treatment. If you are more severely ill or you were sick
for a longer time before you got treatment, it may take
longer to recover. Without prompt treatment the disease can
be fatal.
How can I take care of myself?
Follow your healthcare provider's advice and take your
medicine as prescribed.
How can I help prevent Rocky Mountain spotted fever?
To avoid getting Rocky Mountain spotted fever, follow these
measures:
- Be aware of the areas where ticks live. Do not walk,
camp, or hunt in the woods of tick-infested areas without
precautions.
- In areas of thick underbrush, try to stay near the center
of trails.
- When you are outdoors, wear long-sleeved shirts tucked
into your pants. Wear your pants tucked into your socks
or boot tops if possible. A hat may help, too. Wearing
light-colored clothing may make it easier to spot the
small tick before it reaches your skin and bites.
- Use approved tick repellents on exposed skin and
clothing. Don't use more than recommended in the
repellent directions. Don't put repellent on open wounds
or rashes. Wash the spray off your hands. Be careful
with children because the repellents can make them ill.
DEET is a very effective repellent, but adults should use
preparations with no more than 35% DEET, and children
should use repellents with no more than 10% DEET. DEET
should be washed off your body when you go back indoors.
Picaridin is another repellent recently made available
in the US. It can be less irritating to the skin than
DEET.
Some products containing permethrin are recommended
for use on clothing, shoes, bed nets, and camping
gear. Do not put permethrin on your skin.
- Treat household pets for ticks and fleas. Check pets
after they've been outdoors.
- Brush off clothing and pets before entering the house.
- After you have been outdoors, undress and check your body
for ticks. They usually crawl around for several hours
before biting. Check your clothes, too. Wash them
immediately to remove any ticks.
- Shower and shampoo after your outing.
- Inspect any gear you were carrying.
- Remove an attached tick with tweezers by gripping the
tick as close to your skin as possible and gently pulling
it straight away from you until it releases its hold.
Don't twist the tick as you pull, and don't squeeze its
body. Thoroughly wash your hands and the bite area and
apply an antiseptic such as rubbing alcohol.
- If you spend much time hiking, you may want to include a
pair of tick tweezers in your first-aid kit. The
tweezers are available at many sporting goods stores.
For more information visit the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) Web site: http://www.cdc.gov.
This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to
change as new health information becomes available. The
information is intended to inform and educate and is not a
replacement for medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or
treatment by a healthcare professional.
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