Tick Time

[John Mc]

One of my dogs tested positive for Ehrlichiosis a couple years ago and I have been treating her with Doxacycline as required.

I believe Ehrlichiosis is the same thing as Anaplasmosis (which I mentioned in an earlier post)... the kind that infects humans was originally called Ehrlichiosis, but the current name is Anaplasmosis. There are several strains, the one that is most common in dogs can also affect humans, and there is another that seems primarily to affect humans.

Ticks are not the only way to catch it. It is often undiagnosed. It's becoming more common to have this along with some other tick-borne disease (like Lymes disease), so an MD may think they've got a diagnosis from a positive Lymes test, but actually only have half the story.

The CDC has info on this here:
CDC anaplasmosis info. Click on the link about statistics to see a map with geographic distribution in the USA.
Avoiding ticks on people includes links on avoiding ticks on animals, removing ticks, etc.

Some wikipedia links:
Canine Elichiosis
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis

[northwoods1]

I believe Ehrlichiosis is the same thing as Anaplasmosis (which I mentioned in an earlier post)... the kind that infects humans was originally called Ehrlichiosis, but the current name is Anaplasmosis. There are several strains, the one that is most common in dogs can also affect humans, and there is another that seems primarily to affect humans.

Your right it is almost the same thing. I have been closely watching the spread and number of cases in my county of tick borne illnesses in pets closely since the 1st tests have become available which was about 6-7 years ago. My x wife and I owned a veterinary clinic and she still operates it and is a veterinarian herself, so this was easy for me to do. She called me the other day and let me know to start up treating the dogs again as they had begun finding ticks on some of the dogs that were coming in already. Every year since testing began at the clinic the positive cases are about 75% Lymes and 25% Ehrlichiosis. Once in a great while a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever will be found but it has always been on a dog that has lived in a region of the country where it is commonly found before coming here to WI. I think last year she had about 36 cases that tested postive. Those numbers seem very high considering the size of the area the clinic serves and the fact that only a small portion of the clientele chose to have their pets tested.

There is also a lot of good info on the subject of Lymes diseases available through the Lymes Disease Foundation website. I know at one time they had recommended that if a person knows that they have been bitten by a deer tick they should take 100-200 mg of oral antibiotics such as Doxacycline even if they don't bother to get tested or have a test that comes out negative. There are a lot of doctors out there that really have no idea of how to diagnose and treat some of these tick borne illnesses because they simply don't have much experience with them yet. Some of the best research that has been done to date has been done by veterinarians surprisingly enough.

[jander3]

I got religion and use Permanone Clothing Gear Insect Repellent, always, on everything.

A few weeks back ended up at the Mayo with Lymes, Antiplasmosis, and Babasiosis all at once.  Ended up in the Mayo for  week and took well over a year to recover. 

The permanone may not be good for you, but it is clear to me that it is the lesser of two evils.

Hate the ticks.  But, you get no choice.   Course we don't see many ticks in December.

[KBforester]

I grew up in Lyme Connecticut where Lyme disease is named after. As a boy I came home from playing in the salt marshes with at least 10 ticks on me at the end of the day. Maybe one out of 10 would be a deer tick. The drill was the same, check the outside of your clothes before you come in, go strait to your room, strip down and check, and check again. Check your sheets before you go to bed. I've gotten bit by deer ticks more times than I can remember (10-15 times maybe?) and have never gotten the disease (knock on wood). Many of my friends have though. You can probably figure if you have actually FOUND a deer tick biting you, then you can assume you've been bitten before. Your never going to notice a bulls eye on the top of your head, or where the sun don't shine. 

Since I've moved up north (Maine, and Northern NY) I've noticed everyone is freaking out about them. I found 1 tick on me in NY and maybe 3 in Maine. In my book, there are no tick problems up this far. I guess 0-3 is technically 300% increase. But still. The same goes with snakes. I've never met anyone more scared of Snakes than a Mainer, which is funny considering there are no poisons snakes in Maine.

[ely]

kb, i think i can outdo most mainers.
tom , i still use fire down here at the house.
not the last couple days with all the wind though.
ive almost burned off a whole 15 acres though.

[Tam-i-am]

Lyme has become a huge problem in different states.  Only 20% of the people will get the bullseye rash.  So Lyme often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
If you dismiss the flu like symptoms and never saw the tick or rash, your other symptoms like arthritis, neurologic problems, ADD in kids, and the list goes on forever will be treated as such instead of treating for lyme.  Lyme is a great mimic of other disease.

I have battled it for many years - never saw the tick, never had the rash.  Don't know how long I had it before I lost feeling in the left side of my face and then spread to left arm and leg.  Doctor tested for stroke, brain tumor, ms, chronic fatigue.  All the while he had a positive test for lyme but did not believe it could be lyme.  I ended up finding a lyme specialist to treat me.  There are not many around.  Usually they are well versed because they had lyme themselves.

The best prevention is to check yourself every morning, when coming in from woods or grassy area and before bed.  It takes 24 hours for the tick to infect you with lyme so if you can get them off before you can prevent lyme.  Of course you have to be careful when removing the tick to be sure you got his pesky little head out.  On another thread someone posted a great tick removal system and it is cheap and can hook to your key chain.  Save the tick if you can as it can be tested.  I find a piece of scotch tape works well.

[beenthere]

Tamiam
I have been 'storing' them on tape as well. Fold them in and they can be saved for some time later when the subject may come up again (hopefully not).

[submarinesailor]

I was treated for Lymes for the 3rd time last summer - not fun.

Bruce

[Magicman]

I got my first one off of me Friday.  Stuck tight just above my belt line.  I hate ticks.

[bill m]

So far I have never found a tick on me while or after being in the woods all day running a saw. ( did I just jinx myself )
I did have Lymes once. Caught it early and have had no effects from it. Never did find a bullseye or even remember being bit when I got it.

[ellmoe]

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings, even though I have even done it myself a couple of times. This one is real and important. If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warming weather and asks you to take your clothes off and spin around with your hands over your head,



   DO NOT DO IT!! IT'S A SCAM!!



They are not really checking for ticks. They just want to see you naked!



I wish someone had sent this to me yesterday. I feel so stupid.