Tick bite

At the least check your dog every evening, We used to find ticks most evenings. I flushed them down the toilet.
no dogs now [sad[.

Just phoned the vets to pay for the spot on I’ve ordered and the receptionist I spoke to said she found a tick on her dog for the first time ever.

My neighbour used to let their lovely Labrador swim in the canal and she caught Weils disease. I understand that annual vaccinations protect from it now (?).She didn’t die but it did shorten her life dramatically. It’s why I’m so wary of those sorts of things. If the alerts had come up on my Facebook page one day earlier I wouldn’t have stupidly walked in long grass. It wouldn’t have stopped my dog from picking up a tick though. So many dog people are anti any sort of booster vaccinations and flea/tick prevention these days. And, of course, more people are having staycations in this country now.

that sounds like weils disease.

has everyone with a cat heard about the cat food recall.
www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/alert/fsa-prin-36-2021

ps animals can get it from drinking water infected by rat's urine if the rat is a carrier from a tick.

Just to put dog owners into panic mode again - there's another disease carried by ticks - piroplasmosis - which seems to affect animals more than humans. Especially horses.
When we lived in rural France it was quite common. a neighbour's dog died from it and both of ours had it once, but it responds to anibiotics.
It attacks the blood system so the animal becomes very tired.
Check colour of lower eye.
Others will know more about it than me.

Quite right too MayBee.

Yet another tick alert on another Facebook page today. People are seeing ticks on their dogs that have never seen them before. I told the guy at 111 to be aware and am boring everyone I know to be on their guard. My ankle was only exposed for a few minutes because my sock kept rolling down.My only concession to summer is to wear 3/4 length leggings instead of full length so the only exposed part if my body is my lower leg. And, of course, symptoms can be mistaken for covid symptoms. At least people I’ve spoken to that have had Lyme disease have been ok after taking antibiotics. I think there’s going to be a real problem this year, though. If I feel only remotely unwell in the weeks to come I shall insist on a course of antibiotics.

Hi MayBee70, you are having a tough time but I feel sure you will ' ride the storm'. Please take note of the message from Stillwaters. Rash / bulls eye rash is not always there! My son did not have a bulls eye rash.
Felt ok for some time so didn't see his GP for some time. When he felt strong enough to go, the GP dismissed his thought that he had Lyme Disease!!! You know the rest of the story , eventually long course of antibiotics sorted him out, although he does still have a few issues as a result of Lyme Disease, but on the whole he has been very lucky. Tick bites must be taken seriously , not all ticks are infected of course - but some are ! Not worth the risk of being complacent. So many people make light of tick bites , I hope they realize that Lyme Disease is not to be taken lightly!!!! The lives of people are severely compromised by the effects of Lyme Disease. Sorry to keep ' going on' but I am concerned.

I also noticed that people prefer following someone's advice after reading it on the Internet rather than thinking the problem over and looking for the solution. Of course, we all are here for receiving advice and sharing experiences, but we all get a mind of our own.

I think there are some parts of social media that I need to avoid for a while. On a local thread where someone asked people to think twice about letting off fireworks on Sunday night as her cat had come home traumatised when England played Denmark people said to just keep the cat in so I pointed out that lots of dogs are terrified too inside the home and there’s nothing you can do to console them. So I got verbal abuse from people as well. And when I warned people on another page about how many ticks there were this year someone jokingly said that I must be really dirty and soap and water would keep them at bay. He did think he was being funny but some people then pointed out that they’d had to have antibiotics. The internet is fantastic in so many ways but it can really get to you sometimes. Worse for young people as well I think.

Maybee how awful that you received such abuse. I have had vets recommend piriton and hibiscrub especially if a dog is suffering from an allergic reaction and scratching themselves. If you go to the chemist tell them the hibiscrub is for your own personal use or they won’t sell it to you. (Hope I don’t now get lots of abuse - see my thread on Social media)

Esspee

If you get a bull’s eye type rash you should see a doctor immediately. Otherwise you will be fine.

Please be aware that you don't always get the rash and symptoms can occur several months later - www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/

Good to hear. I won’t be happy to take my dog out until I get the spot on from the vets. Having tried to avoid putting chemicals on her because of my last dog having cancer I’m now worried that she might develop Lyme disease. Whippets can get adverse reactions from some medication: for some reason I feel happier with spot on’s than tablets. I did have some Non Stinky Stuff shampoo that is supposed to repel ticks but it had been too cold to bath her till yesterday. And I’m putting Jungle formula on although people have said that it doesn’t repel ticks. I had a light bulb moment last night and thought about taking quinine but on googling it found it had been banned as it was quite toxic. It all seems to be balancing one thing against another. I know that someone once told me that if you ignore the instructions and take doxycycline with alcohol you will ‘wish you’d never been born as the headache will be the worst headache imaginable’. And even if you’re careful you can get badly sunburnt. Having mentioned on Facebook to someone whose dog had been bitten by a tick which had caused the whole area to go red that the vet I spoke to told me to give my dog piriton, I had lots of abuse from a couple of people saying I shouldn’t advise people on giving their dogs medication. I pointed out that sometimes a dog can get a terrible reaction from a wasp sting and that if you can’t get to a vets a piriton tablet can be a life saver and that I always have them with me. And that it was advice from a vet!And someone else got angry with me for asking for advice re ticks on a Facebook dog page. So, what with the tick I feel a bit under siege at the moment. Grateful for the advice on here though.

On holiday, and an early morning walk on the Northumberland moors, saw lots of deer and the dog breakfasting on sheep’s poo. (Muesli) so off to the local vet this morning to buy tick and worm preparation.

I never give him anything as he stays parasite free but not sure about wholesale onslaught! Better safe than sorry.

You were very lucky indeed. Just a polite reminder Lyme disease does not have an S in the spelling. A common and easy mistake. Enjoy the coming summer watch out for those horrible ticks and check your pets too.

My daughter found a tick a few years ago after a D of E expedition. She removed it hurriedly and didn’t have any problems after. Horrid things!

I got a bite although I didn’t know it was a tick, I had felt something on my foot and brushed it off.

I was so ill the next day and I had a perfect bulls eye rash, I went to see my GP.

The doctor had no idea what it was but prescribed an antibiotic.

In hindsight I realise how lucky I was.

MayBee 70 I’m not sure what they mean by the treatment is so severe. I didn’t find it so.

Regarding disposing of ticks I flush them down the loo - probably all swimming around in the sceptic tank!

I always wear long trousers, socks and walking shoes when out with the dog - no cropped trousers or sockless sandals for me.

I have a small back pack in which I carry dog treats, poo bags and a tick remover for when I am away from home.

Like you I’m not happy about some of the tick and flea preventives. I don’t take strong medication myself so why would I give it to my dog?

Finally avoid long grass as the little blighters can live up to a year with no host. Take care.

I spoke to 111. They were really nice and helpful but decided that, as the chance of developing Lyme disease was quite small and the treatment so severe it was best to leave it. But that if any symptom showed up in the future I’d be put on doxycycline immediately. So at least it’s on my medical record.

It’s a tricky problem. Like Baggs I frequently get ticks on me just from gardening. I have had Lymes- the bullseye rash didn’t show for 3 weeks and I was treated. As this is the first one you’ve had I’d be inclined to ask GP for
antibiotics. If like me you get them all the time it’s a bit different - don’t want to be on antibiotics all summer. However, it can be extremely serious , so set your mind at rest and ask for some treatment

I’ve pm’d you by the way as I wanted to ask you something…..it’s what happened to Matt Dawson that worried me.

Gosh, sounds like a bad year for ticks, good the swelling on your dog is reducing. Do hope I haven't alarmed you with my messages but would not like what happened to my son happen to anyone else. He was very fortunate not to be seriously incapacitated. Spot on for the dog is a good plan , we don't have a dog but I do use spot on regularly for the cat. Pleased you are feeling ok, take care.

Still ok Shelflife! Swelling on the dog is going down. But on Facebook today there are three dog pages talking about ticks I’m away from home at the moment but a local dog walking group back home have put up an alert saying ticks are absolutely rife and to avoid long grass. So it’s not just me and my dog, they seem to be everywhere. I’ve been watching people walking in the dunes wearing shorts or short trousers and I just want to warn everybody. I’m pretty sure I git my tick out very quickly: the digs might have been in her for longer. It looks like there’s going to be a problem this year and not everyone will carry a tick remover with them, or have hibiscrub and antihistamines with them. I’ve been putting antibiotic cream on our bites as well. I’m getting some spot on for the dog next week. I try not to put chemicals on her but there’s no avoiding it now. And reading up on how to kill the blighters. Even washing your clothes in a washing machine doesn’t kill them!

MayBe 70 , hope you are ok .