A Colorado mother is sharing her daughter’s health scare in
hopes of helping other parents stay vigilant about tick-related illnesses.
Heidi Ganahl, a mother of four and founder of SheFactor, said she had noticed a
few ticks hidden in her 7-year-old’s hair after she returned from an overnight
camp. Ganahl said she removed the ticks from Jenna’s hair and called the doctor, but 10 days later her daughter’s foot and shin “went to ‘sleep’ and was still that way Saturday am.” Ganahl said she called the doctor again and was told to bring her daughter to Children’s Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
camp. Ganahl said she removed the ticks from Jenna’s hair and called the doctor, but 10 days later her daughter’s foot and shin “went to ‘sleep’ and was still that way Saturday am.” Ganahl said she called the doctor again and was told to bring her daughter to Children’s Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
“She had tick paralysis — it was only caught because of the
great docs (most CU School of Medicine) that recognized the similarities to two
other cases in recent weeks there (it’s extremely rare so it was very abnormal
to see 3 cases in 3 weeks.),” Ganahl posted, in part, on Facebook. “It was a
terrifying 12 hours as we waited to see if they were able to remove the tiny
bit of tick left in her producing the toxin had been cleaned out of the wound
(they didn’t see it). The only fix is to get it out or things get very bad. She
is ok! Other then never wanting to go into the woods again.”
Tick paralysis is a rare disease thought to be caused by a
toxin in tick saliva, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). The symptoms can include acute, ascending, flaccid paralysis
that is often confused with other neurologic disorders or diseases such as
Guillain-Barre or botulism. Symptoms typically resolve within 24 hours of
removing the tick.
Simon LV, McKinney WP. Tick Paralysis. 2019 Mar 3.
StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-.
Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470478/
Excerpt
Tick paralysis is an
uncommon, noninfectious, neurologic syndrome characterized by acute ataxia
progressing to ascending paralysis. It is caused by the salivary neurotoxin of
several species of tick. Clinical findings are similar to and often confused
with Guillain-Barre syndrome. Most human cases of tick paralysis occur in North
America and Australia. If recognized early and treated promptly, complete
recovery is expected with tick removal and supportive care alone. Untreated, it
can advance to respiratory failure and death. It is important for healthcare
workers to be familiar with this relatively rare but readily treatable cause of
acute motor weakness and to maintain a high index of suspicion to avoid delays
in diagnosis and treatment. Tick paralysis should be considered in all cases of
acute ataxia, especially in children.
Borawski K, Pancewicz S, Czupryna P, Zajkowska J,
Moniuszko-Malinowska A. Tick paralysis. Przegl Epidemiol. 2018;72(1):17-24.
Abstract
Tick paralysis is caused by neurotoxins secreted by adult
female ticks, primarily in North America and on the east coast of Australia.
Sporadic illness is also recorded in Europe and Africa. In the European
countries, including Poland, there are 6 species of ticks capable of causing
tick paralysis. The disease occurs in people of all ages, but is most commonly
diagnosed in children under 8 years of age. Paralysis can take different forms
- from rare isolated cranial nerve infections to quadriplegia and respiratory
muscles paralysis. After the tick remove, the symptoms resolve spontaneously.
In severe cases with paralysis of respiratory muscles, when there is no
possibility of mechanical ventilation, the disease may lead to death.
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