Ticks! Yikes

[Lil Foot]

Cant understand a word he said

Yep, pretty poor audio.....

 

[Lil Foot]

The wife's uncle had a place in the woods in the UP, nearest town was Escanaba.
First time we went there, he stopped at the end of his road to explain where he wanted me to park my fifth wheel.
Maybe 1/4 mile down down the road I saw a big, dense cloud of smoke, so I assumed one of his neighbors must be burning slash.
Turned out it wasn't smoke, it was mosquitos.
When we got out, it wasn't 30 seconds and we had ticks crawling up our legs, and we battled them the whole 3 days we were there.
No amount of spraying or bug rubs had much effect on either the ticks or the mosquitos- it was a horrible experience.
Both dogs had been treated, and one had lots of ticks, but strangely, our white german shepherd never had a single tick on him.

 

[Russell King]

Cant understand a word he said

I’m glad to know that it was just not me that thought he was singing in a foreign language!

 

[Blue2Orange]

Tick transmitted diseases are too common up here. Have been retired for +8 years. Changes in tx may have occurred. At the Clinic for suspected cases antibiotics were prescribed, labs ordered.... 10-21 day course of doxycycline for adults with no contraindication were routinely prescribed. Amoxicillin and cephalosporin for pediatric patients.

Sometimes Lymes test comes back negative. Either clinical correct or an issue with sensitivity. IIRC, 2nd blood sample couple weeks after the initial were routinely ordered. To deal with the sensitivity issue. If the patient doesn't need to continue the doxycycline and doesn't dispose it we warn the patient to be aware of when the medication expires. Maybe a risk for a drug induced disease from outdated medication. Fanconi Syndrome. Also, be aware that doxycycline like any tetracycline can cause phototoxicity. Sunblock time.

Alpha gal syndrome is more than an issue with red meat. Wide range of meats, dairy products, and all our processed foods that have the molecule. So far, uncommon up here or just missed in the patient work up.

It's starting to more or less warm up. May is usually the beginning of max tick season. Doesn't matter if we have abnormally dry or wet weather. The buggers just thrive. Too many deer and mice in the woods. Need more natural predator for both. More hunters in the autumn.

 

[johnjk]

I did a treatment of permethrin last weekend and the pups haven’t brought in a tick since. They were coming in with 2-3 to very time they went out in the yard. Not sure how quickly it kills them but they were knocked down pretty good. Will do another treatment around Memorial Day. I do the whole yard and gardens around the house and I do all my trails, tree line, 12’ in and 12’ up and 12’ in to the field areas. I mixed up 300 gallons and put it down heavy making sure to really wet things down.

 

[Joisey]

Any tick can carry dangerous pathogens that can cause serious illness. Not just the black legged tick that causes Lyme. Had a dog tick attach to the back of my left knee once. I removed it but a week later the area swelled up and I ended up with antibiotics.

I've had Lyme 3 separate times. All three times it was from a dog tick, all three times I had no bullseye rash. The tick that almost ended me was a tiny seed tick that gave me Ehrlichiosis. Caused pericarditis (swelling of the sack around your heart). It feels like you are trying to breathe with a person sitting on your chest, but you don't wheeze. Spent 10 days in the ICU with that. I was too tired to breathe. Got out of the hospital, called my doctor to ask should I get tested for Lyme, he ordered the test. I tested positive. IV bags of ceftriaxone for a month. Luckily no permanent damage. My wife was recently diagnosed with Alpha Gal. Tho they are tiny, ticks will kill you, given the chance.

 

[Shawn T. W]

I've only seen one tick so far here in Southwestern Missouri this year, I was petting one of my cats, and felt something in its fur, I figured it was some kind of sticker he had picked up, it ended up being a tick, looking for a place ... My cats are treated, so it probably didn't like the taste ... I do go heavy on garlic consumption!

I try to keep my place mowed down, at least where I go ... Got Rocky Mountain Fever about 5 years ago, no fun!