We don’t usually think of tick season till the weather warms up, but after having to surgically remove an embedded tick from a patient’s thigh this morning, we can’t be too careful.
Ticks begin looking for a blood meal around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s when they wake up and begin looking for a meal. For those of us in the northwest, consider tick season in full force. 40 degrees can be a very common temperature this time of year. March in Canada is considered National Tick Awareness Month.
Ticks don’t jump, fly, or drop from trees. They climb up on vegetation and wait for an animal or person to come close enough to crawl up on them to feed on their blood. Be sure to check your pets (and yourself) carefully after spending time outdoors. If you have pets that spend time outdoors, this is the time of year to begin tick awareness. Consult your veterinary clinic for help in protecting your pet against ticks.
Sucking blood is bad enough, but the potential of getting really sick from a tick bite is a very real concern. Infection can occur from a bite, but more serious is the concern of getting Lyme disease. Bad enough your beloved pet could become infected, but the disease can be extremely serious in us humans.
Safe tick removal is something you need to know. Never crush a tick, as this will force toxins into the wound. They dig in and hold on for dear life. If they die while their head is under the flesh, removal of the entire bug can be a challenge. I’ve had to surgically remove dead ticks by cutting the flesh around their head to fully dislodge the entire head and legs.
The picture on this newsletter is the partially engorged tick I removed this morning. As they feed, they swell up with the blood they drink. The larger the body, the more blood they have consumed. Removal needs to be at the head and not by grasping the body.
Not all ticks carry Lyme disease, but if left untreated, Lyme can create serious heart problems as well as some neurological damage and a type of arthritis. Symptoms can come on as flu like symptoms and headaches. The classic bulls eye rash following a bite is not something you want to see and requires immediate attention.
Prophylactic treatment following a questionable bite involves the use of a one time dose of antibiotic to deal with the bacteria which causes Lyme disease. Treatment should be initiated within 24 hours of being bitten. The saliva of the tick is what carries this bacteria. As much as I dislike using the antibiotic Doxycycline, treating an established Lyme disease is far less enjoyable.
If removed promptly, the infection risk is dramatically reduced. Killing the tick with a match can frequently cause the tick to burrow deeper and latch on tighter to the tissues it’s sucking blood from. It’s best to firmly grasp the tick as close to the head as possible and steadily pull straight out. The skin will lift and gradually the tick will release.
Lyme disease can act as a stealth pathogen creating immune confusion, which sets a person’s immune system against their own organs. This has been seen in the autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s disease. Most physicians give thyroid hormone to deal with the hypothyroid condition associated with Hashimoto’s, but the real culprit may be a stealth pathogen like Lyme. Although Lyme has been implicated in Hashimoto’s, Epstein Barr, H. Pylori, and Yersinia enterocolitica are the most common infections which can create this condition. Yersinia enterocolitica is the most common and can come from spoiled meat.
Among potential disease carriers in the northwest, ticks and mosquitos are probably experienced more than any others. We do have spiders like black widow, brown recluse, and the hobo which all have the potential of creating serious problems for people, but ticks are becoming more of a problem due to an increased presence of the Lyme bacteria.
Ticks begin looking for a blood meal around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s when they wake up and begin looking for a meal. For those of us in the northwest, consider tick season in full force. 40 degrees can be a very common temperature this time of year. March in Canada is considered National Tick Awareness Month.
Ticks don’t jump, fly, or drop from trees. They climb up on vegetation and wait for an animal or person to come close enough to crawl up on them to feed on their blood. Be sure to check your pets (and yourself) carefully after spending time outdoors. If you have pets that spend time outdoors, this is the time of year to begin tick awareness. Consult your veterinary clinic for help in protecting your pet against ticks.
Sucking blood is bad enough, but the potential of getting really sick from a tick bite is a very real concern. Infection can occur from a bite, but more serious is the concern of getting Lyme disease. Bad enough your beloved pet could become infected, but the disease can be extremely serious in us humans.
Safe tick removal is something you need to know. Never crush a tick, as this will force toxins into the wound. They dig in and hold on for dear life. If they die while their head is under the flesh, removal of the entire bug can be a challenge. I’ve had to surgically remove dead ticks by cutting the flesh around their head to fully dislodge the entire head and legs.
The picture on this newsletter is the partially engorged tick I removed this morning. As they feed, they swell up with the blood they drink. The larger the body, the more blood they have consumed. Removal needs to be at the head and not by grasping the body.
Not all ticks carry Lyme disease, but if left untreated, Lyme can create serious heart problems as well as some neurological damage and a type of arthritis. Symptoms can come on as flu like symptoms and headaches. The classic bulls eye rash following a bite is not something you want to see and requires immediate attention.
Prophylactic treatment following a questionable bite involves the use of a one time dose of antibiotic to deal with the bacteria which causes Lyme disease. Treatment should be initiated within 24 hours of being bitten. The saliva of the tick is what carries this bacteria. As much as I dislike using the antibiotic Doxycycline, treating an established Lyme disease is far less enjoyable.
If removed promptly, the infection risk is dramatically reduced. Killing the tick with a match can frequently cause the tick to burrow deeper and latch on tighter to the tissues it’s sucking blood from. It’s best to firmly grasp the tick as close to the head as possible and steadily pull straight out. The skin will lift and gradually the tick will release.
Lyme disease can act as a stealth pathogen creating immune confusion, which sets a person’s immune system against their own organs. This has been seen in the autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s disease. Most physicians give thyroid hormone to deal with the hypothyroid condition associated with Hashimoto’s, but the real culprit may be a stealth pathogen like Lyme. Although Lyme has been implicated in Hashimoto’s, Epstein Barr, H. Pylori, and Yersinia enterocolitica are the most common infections which can create this condition. Yersinia enterocolitica is the most common and can come from spoiled meat.
Among potential disease carriers in the northwest, ticks and mosquitos are probably experienced more than any others. We do have spiders like black widow, brown recluse, and the hobo which all have the potential of creating serious problems for people, but ticks are becoming more of a problem due to an increased presence of the Lyme bacteria.
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