Ticks are terrifying. They can come from anywhere and wind up anywhere on our bodies.
To make matters worse, we can be the host of a tick for some time without even spotting its presence — even if it’s literally right on our eyeballs, apparently!
That’s exactly what happened to electric worker Chris Prater (above), who wound up with a tiny tick lodged inside his eye after a recent job outside.
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According to WYMT, the Kentucky man noticed an “irritation” in his eye after leaving a gig in which he cut a tree from some power lines. Seeing as he typically sprays himself to prevent tick bites, Prater initially thought the irritation was due to some sawdust.
He told the local news outlet:
“The thing of it is, I really didn’t want to go to the doctor. I figured if it was something, it would come out on its own.”
But it didn’t…
When Prater finally paid a visit to an optometrist, he found out that what he thought was rogue sawdust was actually a small tick — news that naturally made him “scared a little bit.”
He explained:
“I leaned around and looked at [the doctor] and I asked him if he was joking and he said, ‘No, you have a deer tick or some type of tick.’ It was very little.”
Little or not, the idea of a tick in one’s eye is hugely unsettling. See a pic of the retina-residing arachnid for yourself (below). [Disclaimer: it’s gross AF!]
Eventually, the parasite was plucked from the man’s numbed eye with a tweezer and made a “popping sound” as it was evicted out of it’s unwelcoming home.
Prater was prescribed antibiotics and steroid drops, as ticks carry a number of diseases and pose serious health risks. The ticks native to Kentucky, for example, are said to carry spotted fever rickettsiosis, a fever-inducing disease that can be fatal.
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The parasites can also carry diseases like Lyme disease, Powassan virus disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Babesiosis, depending on where in the U.S. they’re found.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, anyone spending time outdoors should treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin. It also advises people to avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter if they can.
As for Prater, he says his eye feels mostly back to normal.
Still, we’ll be spending the rest of tick season locked indoors.
[Image via FOX 4 Now]
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