It’s Tick Season!

While we are enjoying the warmer, longer days, increasing our outdoor activities, and adventuring into nature, ticks are waiting for an opportunity to make a meal out of us, our families, and our dogs!

Most of us have encountered ticks or Lyme Disease in some fashion. Either we have seen a tick, know what a tick is, have had a tick bite, have had Lyme disease, our dog has had Lyme disease, or we know someone or someone’s dog who has had Lyme Disease. The truth is that Lyme is an endemic infection, with nearly 476,000 cases of Lyme disease diagnosed in the US each year. So, if you haven’t yet encountered a tick or the diseases they carry….you could in the future. Let’s review some tick bite prevention strategies and how to best prevent tick-borne illnesses.

 

Map of Lyme disease cases in the US, 2022 

Why do we need to prevent tick bites?

Ticks carry bacteria that can be passed to humans when they bite and feed on you. While Lyme Disease is the most diagnosed tick-borne illness, many others exist. See list below:

  • Bartonella
  • Babesia
  • Ehrlichia
  • Anaplasmosis
  • Powassan Virus
  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
  • Tick Borne Relapsing Fever
  • Tularemia
  • Coxiella (Q-fever)

Since Lyme Disease is the most common affliction that comes from tick bites, let’s review some signs and symptoms that are commonly associated. Early symptoms that a person can have after a tick bite include:

  • Fever
  • Flu Like Symptoms
  • Headache
  • Body aches
  • Stiff neck
  • Bulls eye rash (see picture below) 

If Lyme Disease is not treated in an early stage, the bacteria can progress through the body and become a disseminated disease. This spread of bacteria would take weeks to months to occur. Symptoms of early disseminated Lyme disease may include, but are not limited to:

  • Pain or numbness on a nerve distribution
  • Meningitis seen as severe headache and stiff neck, sometimes with a fever
  • Changes in heart rate, slowed heart rate, or other alterations of rhythm
  • Lightheadedness or fainting
  • Paralysis or weakness in a muscle, for example, Bell’s Palsy

 

It's crucial to note that if Lyme Disease is not treated in the acute or even early disseminated stage, it can progress into a late disseminated disease that occurs months to years after the original infection. 

Symptoms of late-stage Lyme Disease may include, but are not limited to:

  • Neuropathy with numbness and pain in the peripheral nerves
  • Other significant neurologic problems

What about our dogs?

Dogs can get Lyme disease and other tick borne illnesses from tick bites too. Symptoms of Lyme disease in dogs can include, but are not limited to:

  • Lameness in a limb
  • Joint swelling
  • Lack of appetite and possible weight loss
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Lethargy
  • Vomiting
  • Fever

Preventing the Tick Bite

The first and most important thing to know is how to assess your risk of a tick bite and how to reduce that risk.

Avoid tick habitats!!!

Tick Habitats include:

  • Wooded areas
  • Tall grass
  • Leaf litter
  • Around stone walls
  • Where the lawn meets the woods
  • Where the trail meets the woods
  • Under ground cover plants

Seen in the picture above is myself and my two dogs playing in a tick habitat. What you don’t see or might not notice are the tick bite prevention measures I have taken before going out with my dogs. Read on for these tick bite prevention measures.

In the above picture, you can see that my dogs are wearing Seresto collars. I highly recommend reviewing all options with your veterinarian to determine the best prevention plan for you and your dog.  

Prevention is the best medicine!!!

To reduce the risk of tick bites, preventative measures must be pre-planned. Let’s go through some preventative steps that you can take to help protect yourself and your pets from tick bites.