Ticks are back in force

[erugs]

The seminar on Ticks at UNH Manchester last night was quite interesting. Lots of handouts, good attendance --which equated to lots of questions at the conclusion.

My first impression was that it was quite alarmist, but what that has done is encourage me to find further information. While it is called Lyme Disease, there are many forms of it throughout the world which cause the same types of symptoms.

Many people with Lyme don't remember being bit, nor does everyone get the Bull's Eye identifier. It can cross the placenta and has been determiend to be a STD. Testing for Lyme is unreliable. It's been called "the great imitator" because of its many symptoms. (The checklist is two pages long!)

The vacine, as I learned from the speaker, was pulled from the market not because of lack of interest, but because it produced Lyme.

I'm looking forward to the film next Thursday.

 

[una_dogger]

Terra just tested postive for Lyme and Anaplasma this week, for the dog owners out there, ask your vet for the Snap4DX test when you go in for your annual heartworm check this spring. Its screens for heartworm, lyme, anaplasma, ehrlichiosis. Deer ticks are sooo small this time of year --- and still carry a punch.

 

[jrichard]

r said they don't fool around, they automatically prescribe a powerful dose of antibotics for anybody with tick bites now.

I wonder if different sets of doctors have different protocols. We just called about a semi-buried deer tick. Our son's doctor said they have a new rules this year: no antibiotics unless/until there are symptoms.

I don't know why there was a change.

(Deer ticks have been awful here for years - and several of our neighbors have had diagnosed Lyme.)

 

[CINDERSMOM]

Ticks

My dog is also on frontline and occasionally gets ticks too. My vet explained that Frontline is only 100% effective for 28 days. Since we only apply it once a month those last couple of days in the Month its' effectiveness decreases by 50% each day. So if you really want to keep track and keep your dog safe apply it every 28 days. My dog was diagnosed with Lyme disease when she was 3 years old and she has been vaccinated for it since she was a puppy, but the good news is she is now 'Lyme Free". so I would recommend the Lyme vaccine if you are a dog owner. They need to come up with a frontline for us humans. I pilled a tick off of myself and my husband had one on him also, not to mention the ones that were on the walls in the house!! They are out there in Southern NH full force.

 

[bobmak]

I called my physician about the tick I found; in the past she just prescribed doxycycline. This time however she asked me to come into the office in 3 weeks to test for Lyme. I was always under the impression that the test for Lyme was not all that accurate; at least not in the first few weeks. Any thoughts on this?

 

[una_dogger]

My dog has a serious history with Lyme/Anaplasma co-infections....we don't mess around, almost lost her once...not going there again!!!!

Check out
www.idexx.com/snap4dx for info on testing frequency

 

[Waumbek]

No. NH (Franconia) is still tick-free, a silver lining for today's bluster, sub-freezing temps., and snow.

 

[marty]

I called my physician about the tick I found; in the past she just prescribed doxycycline. This time however she asked me to come into the office in 3 weeks to test for Lyme. I was always under the impression that the test for Lyme was not all that accurate; at least not in the first few weeks. Any thoughts on this?

Both times I had a tick on me, they put me on Doxycycline, just to be sure. Not sure about the accuracy of a Lyme test three weeks later.

Marty

 

[erugs]

Symptoms Checklist

from what I learned last week, and am still researching, there is only one lab that tests most accurately for Lyme Disease -- someplace in California. The labs that where blood workup are sent have a very high false negative.

I am planning to go to a support group meeting in Manchester this Wednesday as well as attend the film on Lyme that is being show here at UNH Manchester Thursday evening.

If anyone would like a checklist of symptoms, please pm me.

 

[peakbagger]

Guniea Fowls work great for ticks , but their side effects are a very annoying call that sounds like a rusty hinge being forced open. Until you have had them around for a day or so, you dont realize how annoying it is!

 

[The Hikers]

Not sure I would ever take Doxy JUST because I had a tick on me. That's some rugged stuff. I have taken it twice now; Once when the initial tick bite was diagnosed, and a year later when symptoms reoccurred.

 

[Dugan]

ask your vet for the Snap4DX test when you go in for your annual heartworm check this spring

My vet doesn't do an annual heartworm check any more. They recommend heartworm preventive year-round with a check only every other year. I asked for Boo to be tested anyway and was surprised when they assured me it wasn't necessary. a. Since when does a vet turn down revenue, and b. why would they think dogs who spend time outside don't need checking for lyme and anaplasma!

 

[dentonfabrics]

...and right on cue, the ConMon chimes in with an article saying that Lyme Disease instances have almost doubled in the past year.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090417/NEWS01/904170320

 

[bobmak]

Great link to the concord monitor article; thanks! I found the link to this movie in the comments section of the article, putting it on my "to see" list. I have several friends with varying degrees of Lyme, it's not pretty. Also, here's another link to a Chronicle story that is going to air on Boston channel 5 on Tuesday. I believe you can watch it online after the airing date. For those of us that spend time hiking in lower elevations knowledge of ticks and Lyme has become just as important as knowledge of other backcountry skills.

 

[Hillwalker]

Migration

I believe that the ticks got up here in Northern NH just like the Mourning Doves and Opossum. They are moving north as the climate warms. Never ever saw any of those growing up in N NH in the 40s and 50s.

If you think ticks are a nuisance, Wait until we get Chiggers up here. Oops, we already have. In the fields around the horse stables up near Castle in the Clouds. They likely came north on the southern horses. Only place I have encountered them so far and that was ten years ago.

 

[Waumbek]

No ticks in Franconia yet. If it takes temps constantly above 45F for them to bloom, it may be a few more weeks. We've had frosts every night.

 

[erugs]

Great link to the concord monitor article; thanks! I found the link to this movie in the comments section of the article, putting it on my "to see" list. I have several friends with varying degrees of Lyme, it's not pretty. Also, here's another link to a Chronicle story that is going to air on Boston channel 5 on Tuesday. I believe you can watch it online after the airing date. For those of us that spend time hiking in lower elevations knowledge of ticks and Lyme has become just as important as knowledge of other backcountry skills.

I saw most of that movie last Thursday night at UNH Manchester. It was eye-opening and scarey. It's also being shown in a coast-line area community this Thursday. If anyone is interested, I'll find out where. There should be interesting discussion following the film. (I would have stayed longer at UNHM last Thursday, but "had" to babysit for the world's best granddaughter. )

 

[Jason Berard]

I believe that the ticks got up here in Northern NH just like the Mourning Doves and Opossum. They are moving north as the climate warms. Never ever saw any of those growing up in N NH in the 40s and 50s.

If you think ticks are a nuisance, Wait until we get Chiggers up here. Oops, we already have. In the fields around the horse stables up near Castle in the Clouds. They likely came north on the southern horses. Only place I have encountered them so far and that was ten years ago.

Maybe the ticks hitched a ride on NOBO thru-hikers.

 

[marty]

For those of us that spend time hiking in lower elevations knowledge of ticks and Lyme has become just as important as knowledge of other backcountry skills.

Well stated. I do a thorough tick check after any time spent in the woods in northeast Massachusetts. The dang things could hide just about anywhere.

It's amazing how many little nooks and crannies the human body really has.

Marty

 

[Waumbek]

I found the first tick on me after a walk in the woods yesterday, so the season has begun here in Franconia. It was a large and unattached dog tick, soft-shelled and easy to dispatch. I also finally located one can of the anti-tick clothing spray yesterday at Farmway and will start that regimen today. Future supply I am ordering online now; it's just too hard to find the stuff up here from local merchants (not at Wal-Mart, outdoor stores, hardware stores, drug stores, etc.).