There's something on my back, and I'm out of town alone. Best option?
May 4, 2022 8:21 PM Subscribe
I'm kind of in the middle of nowhere till Friday, and there's something just out of reach on my back that's been a little itchy. I'm concerned that it might be a tick, but it also might not be. It's late and I'm tired and getting a little overwhelmed trying to figure out what to do, so I thought I'd ask here.
I'm out in the country at an art workshop where I know the instructors and one other student, but not necessarily well enough to pull up my shirt and ask them to look at my back, and then either pull out a tick or tell me it's a skin tag or some other gross thing they'll imagine every time they talk to me. I guess I could ask somebody on the staff at the place we're staying? Or, there's an urgent care in a town a few miles away, but it seems like not a great use of medical resources. Or can I just wait till I'm home Friday night and just have my husband deal with it? If it's a tick, will that extra time be extra harmful to my health?
I can't reach the spot with fingers or tweezers myself. After doing ridiculous gymnastics in a tiny bathroom I managed to get a picture that included the area, which I will absolutely not share here. I can't see any tick legs but it's definitely something raised off the skin.
WWYD in this situation? Thanks!
I'm out in the country at an art workshop where I know the instructors and one other student, but not necessarily well enough to pull up my shirt and ask them to look at my back, and then either pull out a tick or tell me it's a skin tag or some other gross thing they'll imagine every time they talk to me. I guess I could ask somebody on the staff at the place we're staying? Or, there's an urgent care in a town a few miles away, but it seems like not a great use of medical resources. Or can I just wait till I'm home Friday night and just have my husband deal with it? If it's a tick, will that extra time be extra harmful to my health?
I can't reach the spot with fingers or tweezers myself. After doing ridiculous gymnastics in a tiny bathroom I managed to get a picture that included the area, which I will absolutely not share here. I can't see any tick legs but it's definitely something raised off the skin.
WWYD in this situation? Thanks!
I would absolutely a) ask the staff and if they can't or won't do it, b) go to the urgent care in the nearby town - assuming you are awake/alert enough to drive safely. Is it going to kill you? Unlikely. Could it affect your quality of life in a major way if it's a tick and you get Lyme? Yes indeed.
Go, feel a bit silly when it turns out to be a skin tag or whatever, but be aware this is exactly the kind of thing an Urgent Care clinic exists for - that window between "can't wait till Monday" but "probably not dying" is their bread and butter.
posted by invincible summer at 8:29 PM on May 4, 2022 [8 favorites]
Go, feel a bit silly when it turns out to be a skin tag or whatever, but be aware this is exactly the kind of thing an Urgent Care clinic exists for - that window between "can't wait till Monday" but "probably not dying" is their bread and butter.
posted by invincible summer at 8:29 PM on May 4, 2022 [8 favorites]
It's not ER-worthy, but I also wouldn't wait any longer than absolutely necessary. It's important that ticks are removed both promptly AND properly. There are multiple potential risks, from Lyme disease to other infections.
Is it a clear enough picture that you can send it to someone you trust to share it with? Or perhaps prop your phone up somewhere with good lighting that you'd be able to back up to it?
If all else fails, ask someone - anyone - there, if they feel comfortable taking a peek. If not, ask who might be. This would be a relatively normal thing in the more-rural areas I've lived in, so long as it's not actually an intimate area. That might get awkward. Just wear a loose enough shirt that the back can be lifted up. You can even start the request by "This is embarassing, but..."
posted by stormyteal at 8:30 PM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
Is it a clear enough picture that you can send it to someone you trust to share it with? Or perhaps prop your phone up somewhere with good lighting that you'd be able to back up to it?
If all else fails, ask someone - anyone - there, if they feel comfortable taking a peek. If not, ask who might be. This would be a relatively normal thing in the more-rural areas I've lived in, so long as it's not actually an intimate area. That might get awkward. Just wear a loose enough shirt that the back can be lifted up. You can even start the request by "This is embarassing, but..."
posted by stormyteal at 8:30 PM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
"Or, there's an urgent care in a town a few miles away, but it seems like not a great use of medical resources. "
Nonsense. That's what they're there for. It's certainly a better use of medical resources than years of treating a preventable case of Lyme disease.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:37 PM on May 4, 2022 [38 favorites]
Nonsense. That's what they're there for. It's certainly a better use of medical resources than years of treating a preventable case of Lyme disease.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:37 PM on May 4, 2022 [38 favorites]
You could ask around for a hand mirror, then use it to confirm/falsify the tick using a bathroom mirror. But that ask is almost as awkward as asking for a quick tick check on the back imo, ymmv.
Ticks are potentially serious, most people know that and won't judge you for asking even if it turns out to be a funny scab or whatever. My hunch is it's not though. Sorry to report that the tick I had on my back felt surprisingly like part of me and not a bug stuck in me, at first.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:38 PM on May 4, 2022
Ticks are potentially serious, most people know that and won't judge you for asking even if it turns out to be a funny scab or whatever. My hunch is it's not though. Sorry to report that the tick I had on my back felt surprisingly like part of me and not a bug stuck in me, at first.
posted by SaltySalticid at 8:38 PM on May 4, 2022
Oh hi! Once when I was traveling I had to pull down my pants and get a stranger to look at a weird thing that'd attached itself to the top rear of my thigh, basically my underbutt area. I was so embarrassed...but I did it anyway, and you should too. Ask whoever seems the most amiable, but do it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:41 PM on May 4, 2022 [14 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:41 PM on May 4, 2022 [14 favorites]
All you need to do right now is confirm if it's a tick or not - anything else can wait until you get home. Agreed to ask someone who seems amiable, but I'd recommend someone who lives out in the country and is more used to tick checks and removal. If it's anything like where we live saying "hey can you check if this is a tick on my back" will be a totally understandable request.
posted by true at 8:45 PM on May 4, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by true at 8:45 PM on May 4, 2022 [8 favorites]
Definitely ask a local to check for you. They will be aware enough of the risk to not think anything of helping you out in this way.
That said, social anxiety, I get it. One thing you could try is propping up your phone in a room with good lighting, and set it to record. Set a chair (or something you can easily reposition) where the camera is focusing. Then, move the chair and stand in that spot yourself, trying to get video of the spot. Move slowly to give autofocus a chance. You might be more successful if you can prop a lamp behind the phone to light your back. Anyway, you might be able to get some video that’s more in focus and you can go frame by frame and see if you can get a better look at the thing.
Even if it’s not a tick, though, and just some kind of critter bite, I’d still recommend asking someone used to the area to take a look for you.
posted by Mizu at 9:05 PM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
That said, social anxiety, I get it. One thing you could try is propping up your phone in a room with good lighting, and set it to record. Set a chair (or something you can easily reposition) where the camera is focusing. Then, move the chair and stand in that spot yourself, trying to get video of the spot. Move slowly to give autofocus a chance. You might be more successful if you can prop a lamp behind the phone to light your back. Anyway, you might be able to get some video that’s more in focus and you can go frame by frame and see if you can get a better look at the thing.
Even if it’s not a tick, though, and just some kind of critter bite, I’d still recommend asking someone used to the area to take a look for you.
posted by Mizu at 9:05 PM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
ask a sympathetic looking person. give them your phone and ask them to take a photo of whatever it is, dont ask them to diagnose it. hopefully it will put your mind at ease, but if it could be a tick then you go to the urgent care.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:30 PM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:30 PM on May 4, 2022 [4 favorites]
I would not feel bad about asking someone at the front desk to take a picture of my back for this purpose if the person seemed like they were the right gender that I'd feel comfortable asking. If not then I'd do urgent care first thing the next day.
posted by bleep at 9:56 PM on May 4, 2022
posted by bleep at 9:56 PM on May 4, 2022
If you have a phone with a camera I’d set it up against something and record a video; get yr back in front of it and slowly move around to make sure you get a good shot of it. I’ve done this for similar things and it works well enough as a first look that may be able to rule out ticks.
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:16 PM on May 4, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by wemayfreeze at 10:16 PM on May 4, 2022 [7 favorites]
A coworker of mine FaceTimed with her husband to do tick checks, if that’s an option she said it was effective.
posted by lepus at 10:47 PM on May 4, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by lepus at 10:47 PM on May 4, 2022 [11 favorites]
Anywhere you can have picked up a tick is used enough to ticks that they won't blink. I have picked a tick from between a strangers love handles on their back and had a coworker take my own first one off the back of my knee while i panicked.
posted by Iteki at 10:54 PM on May 4, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by Iteki at 10:54 PM on May 4, 2022 [9 favorites]
Or, there's an urgent care in a town a few miles away, but it seems like not a great use of medical resources.
I'm not sure what that even means. Someone might die in the ER in the 30 seconds a nurse spends looking at your back?
The staff will understand the wisdom of having this sort of thing checked. Just pop over and put your mind to rest.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:58 PM on May 4, 2022 [11 favorites]
I'm not sure what that even means. Someone might die in the ER in the 30 seconds a nurse spends looking at your back?
The staff will understand the wisdom of having this sort of thing checked. Just pop over and put your mind to rest.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 10:58 PM on May 4, 2022 [11 favorites]
Or, there's an urgent care in a town a few miles away, but it seems like not a great use of medical resources.
Dude, I once went to my doctor's walk-in clinic once because of bad stomach cramps that turned out to be nothing but a massive case of gas that just hadn't passed yet. At no time did anyone tell me that I'd wasted their time - in fact, it was the opposite, they were reassuring me that "listen, we'd much rather this than if it hadn't been just a big fart and you stayed home and then your appendix burst or something."
Go to the urgent care if it's open and you don't feel comfortable asking the staff where you are.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:41 AM on May 5, 2022 [9 favorites]
Dude, I once went to my doctor's walk-in clinic once because of bad stomach cramps that turned out to be nothing but a massive case of gas that just hadn't passed yet. At no time did anyone tell me that I'd wasted their time - in fact, it was the opposite, they were reassuring me that "listen, we'd much rather this than if it hadn't been just a big fart and you stayed home and then your appendix burst or something."
Go to the urgent care if it's open and you don't feel comfortable asking the staff where you are.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:41 AM on May 5, 2022 [9 favorites]
I once had a complete absolute stranger ask me to do a tick check for her, also on her back. Looked like a mosquito bite, but no tick or Lyme signs. I've thought of her a few times over the years, but not in the way you fear. I remember that interaction and feel good that I project an aura of "I am a safe person" and get to feel good that I'm a helper.
posted by phunniemee at 4:31 AM on May 5, 2022 [23 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 4:31 AM on May 5, 2022 [23 favorites]
Ask a staff member, and tip them with a thank you note when you leave.
posted by theora55 at 5:25 AM on May 5, 2022
posted by theora55 at 5:25 AM on May 5, 2022
Yesterday I asked a complete stranger in a bookstore to check me for possible scrapes/bruises when a book fell on me. She seemed fine with it.
Of course, she missed the scrape on my face because I wear an N95 mask, but at least I wasn't obviously bleeding.
posted by Peach at 6:07 AM on May 5, 2022
Of course, she missed the scrape on my face because I wear an N95 mask, but at least I wasn't obviously bleeding.
posted by Peach at 6:07 AM on May 5, 2022
Cell phone video? [Edit: the video rather than photo means you can move around and get different angles on it.]
posted by eotvos at 6:32 AM on May 5, 2022
posted by eotvos at 6:32 AM on May 5, 2022
It is 100% not the job of hospitality staff to check people for ticks. (Imagine that you’re a young person trying to keep a low-paying job and a stranger asks you to do something like this that you’re not comfortable with…what do you say?) Just go to the urgent care and get a professional whose job it is to look at strangers’ bodies all day to look at yours. It’s a perfect use of medical resources.
posted by corey flood at 6:44 AM on May 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by corey flood at 6:44 AM on May 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
'Would anyone here be comfortable checking my back for a potential tick? No problem if not, I'll go to the urgent care.'
Best to ask where you are first. It could equally be empowering (and normal?) for a young person (or any person) in the country to check a stranger's back for a potential tick.
posted by einekleine at 9:25 AM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best to ask where you are first. It could equally be empowering (and normal?) for a young person (or any person) in the country to check a stranger's back for a potential tick.
posted by einekleine at 9:25 AM on May 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: I ended up asking both my instructor and the student I’ve met before to check, and they’re both confident it’s not a tick. (They are both outdoorsy types so I trust their judgment.) I’ll deal with whatever else it could be once I get home tomorrow. Thank you all for the lneeded reassurance that it wouldn’t be weird to ask someone!
posted by Sweetie Darling at 10:01 AM on May 5, 2022 [16 favorites]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 10:01 AM on May 5, 2022 [16 favorites]
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Ask someone at the place you’re staying. It might feel a bit embarrassing but they will understand and won’t think badly of you.
posted by mekily at 8:25 PM on May 4, 2022 [12 favorites]