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With Arrival of Spring Weather, Ticks Emerge in the Outdoors

Kalispell doctor urges recreationists to keep an eye out for blood-sucking bugs

By Dillon Tabish
A hiker along the Boundary Trail of Glacier National Park. Beacon File Photo

As an infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Jeff Tjaden has traveled the world helping communities address a wide array of ailments. Trained at Saint Louis University and the Naval Medical Center, the Billings native worked throughout Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, tackling many of the world’s most dangerous viruses, including HIV and Zika.

Tjaden’s work has now brought him back to his home state, where he works at Kalispell Regional Healthcare as one of the region’s preeminent sources of infectious disease treatment.

While Montana tends to avoid the impact of widespread diseases, such as Zika, there are still unique maladies worth watching out for. Working and recreating in Northwest Montana, Tjaden has found that a relatively common problem can arise from small but troublesome ticks. With the arrival of summer comes the heightened chances of encountering ticks in the outdoors, and Tjaden is encouraging people to keep an eye out for the arachnids.

While most tick bites are harmless, several species are capable of transmitting illnesses in this corner of the state, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever and Tularemia. There is also the chance of a tick-borne relapsing fever and temporarily paralysis after being bitten by a tick.

Tjaden says the hospital only sees roughly one to three cases of tick-related issues annually.

Ticks prefer to live in wooded areas, low-growing grasslands, and yards. Tjaden encourages hikers and other recreationists to wear repellants with DEET and long-sleeved shirts and pants.

“That’s a good first line of defense,” he said.

He also recommends to undergo regular tick checks, scanning your body and hairline. The risk of an ailment increases with time, Tjaden said, so the sooner a tick is removed or a bite is addressed, the better.

“The earlier you get a tick off of you, the less likely you’ll get a disease,” he said.

The proper way to remove a tick is to use metal tweezers and pull straight up from the head of the tick. Tjaden said twisting or wiggling the bug while taking it out can increase the chances of it infecting someone. Also, the old lore of using a match to scare out a tick is false and could lead the tick to burrow further into someone’s skin. Anyone who has been bitten by a tick should also keep the arachnid and provide it to a doctor.

Symptoms of a tick bite are similar to the flu.