little bit of tick info

[saddie]

Hi guys, I volunteer for BADA-UK we raise awareness about ticks and the diseases they carry..mostly Lyme Disease. We run a Tick Bite Prevention Week (TBPW) every year, this year we are trying to hit as many relevant forums as we can to spread as much information as we can. below is a link to our TBPW website http://www.tickbitepreventionweek.org/

A quick don't do list......never burn, smother, freeze or try to remove a tick with your fingers. If a tick feels threatened it will regurgitate it's gut contents into it's host.....and that is whe bacteria is also passed on. Bacteria is also passed on to the host when the tick is feeding. The longer a tick is on a host the greater the chance of infection, BUT it isn't true that if you remove a tick within 24 hrs your safe. Firstly you don't know when the tick attached, and secondly I have never seen a tick with a watch!! I will post a seperate thread that will give you all our information. Feel free to ask me any questions you have. I will answer them as soon as I can... cheers

 

[DavidJT]

Interesting read...

http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Fungus-kills-Lyme-disease-carrying-ticks-3379407.php

Testing natural pesticide, a species specific fungus that targets only the ticks.

By the way the family and I have also been vaccinated against TBE, but we did it whilst in Sweden, where it's a real problem in certain areas.

 

[Toddy]

Interesting

Maybe the multi pronged approach will work; there's the anti-biotic spot on after you've removed the tick, the tick remover tool that gets it all, this stuff and the assorted essential oil treatments. In the meantime, take care and can we encourage something that eats the blasted things too ?

Thanks for the link

cheers,
M

 

[Noius]

Thanks for the info everyone. I never knew any of this. I thought that ticks were only something that affected dogs and wild animals and I never knew that they carried disease, I thought they were like head lice but for animals.

I'm gonna get a tick remover and get into the routine of checking myself and my dog after we've been out.

 

[Dogoak]

Found one on one of our cats last night. Bloody early, we don't normally see them until about May, possibly due due to the ridiculously mild winter we've had up here?

 

[R3XXY]

Does anyone know if a garlic and Marmite rich diet has any deterrent effect against them, as is rumoured for midges and mozzies ?

 

[saddie]

It took my husband 10 years to get diagnosed as the early symptoms were missed....he was a very very active man, mountain climbing, biking, ice climbing and an operational Fireman....after talking to a volunteer from BADA he realised it was Lyme he had. He got tested and it was positive...the problem with the blood test is you can receive false negatives and positives. That is why we are trying to raise awareness, so people can catch the symptoms early and get treated. My husband now has a desk job, and doesn't have the energy or power to do many outdoor pursuits, it has totally changed his life. Our Chairperson is a Zoologist and came across many ticks, which she burnt, smothered off when we didn't know better...it took 3 years for her to be diagnosed. She is now paralysed from the waist down, blind in one eye, partially sighted in the other and has serious heart issues all down to Lyme....We just hope we can help others from going through what our volunteers have.

Ticks are active when the temperature is 3.5 degrees and above. They will wait for months for the correct host. They will wander about for roughly 12 hrs to find the right place to feed. Removing a tick before it has been feeding for 24 hrs does not mean you are free from infection....firstly you will never know exactly when a tick begins to feed, they can take about 2 hrs to get there mouth parts in. Secondly ticks don't have watches..... The longer a tick is feeding the higher the risk of trasfer of bacteria, but the transfer occurs when feeding...so treat any tick bite the same way. Remove the tick correctly..and O'Tom Tick Twister is proven to be the best tool for this...then place the tick inbetween two bits of cellotape. Mark the date on the calendar and keep an eye on yourself for about 6 weeks. If you get any rashes (on the bite site or anywhere else) take photos as they can fade, and getting a GP appt isn't always a quick experience. Also is you start to feel like you have the flu and very tired go to the Dr and take the tick with you as proof. Sadly not all GP's know much about ticks and Lyme Disease...on average 1 in 3 ticks are infected with Lyme..so you need to be tick aware....for lots more infomation go to our TBPW site, we also have our normal site which has got all you need to know about ticks...but if any of you have issues with you GP's not listening, contact us and we can help you.

Meant to say the Lyme in America is an arthritic one where are in the UK it is a neurological strain.

http://www.tickbitepreventionweek.org/

www.bada-uk.org

 

[mrcharly]

Good info. I've shared that on g+ and fb.

My step daughter was bitten by a tick infected with Lyme disease when she was little. It just happened that her mum had read about Lyme disease the previous week and recognised the rash.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Brilliant thread and info!

 

[Dr Onion]

Lots of good info here - wasn't aware of a lot of it and also some "myths" squashed!

Cheers

Dr O

 

[mousey]

Ahhhhrrr

This thread is making me all itchy!!

I had a tick a while ago, was out with the dog in long grass had long trousers, long socks, t-shirt & jumper [it was summer but in scotland on a wild/chilly-ish day]. Had a bath that night to feel something wriggling on my inner thigh. looked at the bugger for a bit thinking it may drown & come off but decided not to wait that long, got the tick hook out then spent the next 15 minutes or so being very cruel...

My wife said they apparently go for warm hairy places... so could have been on a worse part of my body! knew they carried lymes disease and watched out for symptoms.

had a few on the dogs [don't know if lymes disease affects dogs? do they have a natural immunity?] never really thought about taking a tick remover out camping, but it probably is a good idea.

 

[santaman2000]

...I had a tick a while ago...

...had a few on the dogs [don't know if lymes disease affects dogs? do they have a natural immunity?...

Yes it does affect dogs also and no they don't have any more immunity that we do. At least that's what my vet tells me.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Yes it does affect dogs also and no they don't have any more immunity that we do. At least that's what my vet tells me.

Yep your vet is right....ticks can also transmite a disease called piroplasmosis into our mutts..not sure if it exists in the UK but it's widespread in Europe......it's always a good idea to remove ticks from your hounds as soon as possible ( within 24 hrs after implantation) before they start feeding.