can fleas/ticks actually live in the layers of your skin

[tryinghard]

i know it is a dumb question..but just wondering if a doctor to be can answer this question

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[dvm n 06]

Fleas and ticks don't live in the layers of skin. They feed on blood through the skin, but they don't actually burrow into the skin.

 

[tryinghard]

can they live in the blood/ vasculature system?

are you sure that fleas/ ticks can not move through the layers of skin? how are they able to eat blood by just being on the top layer of the skin.

 

[dvm n 06]

Fleas belong to the order Siphonaptera because they have siphon-like mouthparts which are used for piercing the skin and sucking blood.

There is a species of flea that does burrow into the soles of the feet and palms of the hand, Tunga penetrans. They usually have to be surgically removed. It can infect humans, but I think it is pretty rare.

Most of the fleas that are seen on cats and dogs are Ctenocephalides felis which do not burrow into the skin of the host. The adults do remain on the host for the most part, but not in the skin. They live in the hair of the animal.

Ticks on the other hand have cheliceriae and a hypostome located on their capitulum which is the penetrating and anchoring mechanism of the tick. The cheliceriae are used to cut into the host skin. The hypostome contains backward facing teeth that the tick uses to anchor the tick in the skin. The capitulum is the only part of the tick that is in the host. The rest of the tick remains visible.

Fleas and ticks don't live within the tissue layers (except for the 1 species I mentioned above) or blood vasculature. Only their mouthparts penetrate the skin and they are able to feed that way.

I hope this doesn't confuse you too much.

 

[tryinghard]

no..that was a very intersesting lesson. thanks.

hey about that 1 species of fleas, are they know to have big numbers anywhere on all 50 states of teh U.S.

 

[dvm n 06]

From what I could find, Tunga penetrans is pretty common in Central and South America, but it is extremely rare in North America. I saw somewhere that a study was done in 1989 in which 14 cases were discovered. It isn't a reportable disease so the actually incidence is unknown, but I would think that it's very low.

 

[doepug]

Yes, there are insects living in your skin!

Demodex are mites that live in your hair follicles, burrowed deep in your epidermis. Everyone has them. I saw them on a daily basis during a dermatopathology rotation.

While demodex aren't classified as fleas or ticks, it's important to recognize that we are all covered with mites.

doepug
MS III, Johns Hopkins

 

[dvm n 06]

Thank you for pointing that out. I didn't mention that because he specifically was referring to fleas and ticks and I figured I had given enough of a parasitology lesson for one day.

 

[dvm n 06]

By the way...Demodex are not insects. Mites and ticks belong to the class Arachnida. They are actually further classified as Acarines which cause acariasis (not mange!). We were forbidden to use the term mange by one of our Parasitology professors.

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, fleas are indeed insects.

 

[kaos]

 

[KittsKat]

Omg ewww