tick paralysis

Tick paralysis is an unusual but spectacular disease from a medical standpoint. The typical scenario is that a young child (usually a girl, with long hair) begins to suffer strange neurologic symptoms of

paralysis that moves from the fingers and toes toward the center of the body (ascending paralysis)
ataxia (loss of balance)
diminished reflexes
and even hypoventilation (breathing difficulty from diaphragm paralysis

The disease mimics the Guilllain-Barré syndrome of ascending paralysis. The mystery is solved when someone - usually the neurologist - makes a careful search of the scalp and removes an engorged tick. Whereupon the child makes a miraculous and complete recovery overnight!

This condition arises when the engorged tick secretes a potent neurotoxin into the child's bloodstream. Remove the tick, the toxin and the paralysis disappear.

There is a summary table of other tick-borne diseases in the United States on another page; see also the general discussion of ticks.

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