Dailymail.Com Health Reporter Luke Andrews
Updated 21 August 2023 19:19, 21 August 2023 19:56
A man in Ohio was bitten by a tick during a summer fishing trip and had to have five toes amputated.
Toledo resident Tim Rosebrook said the bite left him with an infection that stopped bleeding in his toe and left a stump on his right foot.
Rosebrook thought nothing of it when she noticed a tick on the third toe of her right foot after a trip last July.
He got rid of the parasite and lived a normal life, but after three weeks his toes turned black and by the time he saw a doctor, amputation was the only option.
Doctors say the bite causes infections, damages blood vessels, Severe limb ischemia, or restricted blood flow to a limb such as a toe.
This can lead to a lack of oxygen and nutrients in these areas, risking cell death and problems repairing wounds, such as those from tick bites.
Doctors warned that the condition often requires amputation of the leg below the knee.
But they did, thanks to Mr. Rosebrook. Avoid amputation after surgery to reconstruct part of a vein and restore blood flow to most affected areas.
Rosebrook said of losing the third toe on his right foot. 13ABC: “They sent me to Flower” [hospital]checked me there, and the next time I knew, they took off the third finger.
When he returned in November with another sick toe, he said, “That toe they just scraped in my room had such a bad infection!”
“During that week, we worked on removing one toe, then working on a vein in the right leg, and the next day they removed all of their toes.”
When stung, ticks bury their heads under the skin before injecting paralyzing saliva so that the host is unaware of the pain. Then it starts sucking blood.
But right now, there is also the risk that ticks can transmit dangerous bacteria to their hosts, causing infections.
Dr. Ahmad Younes, a cardiologist at Promedica, Ohio, who treated Rosebrook, said the hospital had “declared war” against the infection to save patients.
“We know that patients with severe limb ischemia (as he was) are at high risk of amputation,” he said.
“This is an advanced form of peripheral arterial disease, in which cholesterol plaques are present in the arteries that supply the legs, and without proper blood flow, wound healing is impeded.”
He added, “I think the word we use is going to war to keep this leg.”
In a warning to others, he said, “Not all tick bites cause patients to lose their legs, but we pay more attention to patients with risk factors.”
“If they have diabetes, have high cholesterol, are smokers, or have heart disease, these patients are at increased risk for peripheral artery disease. We take any injuries they have seriously.”
An estimated 50,000 Americans are bitten by ticks each year, but amputations are rare.
However, as warmer temperatures have extended tick activity and spread further north, tick bites are becoming more common.
Doctors recommend seeking treatment for bites if anyone is concerned, especially if red, bull-eye-like shapes appear around them, a sign of Lyme disease.