My husband and a friend took our two dogs walking at Presque Isle since it was such a nice day. After about an hour being home, I was just sitting and petting my dog, Chance, when I saw what looked like a flea. I soon realized that it was much larger than a flea and it was actually a tick. Since I am a camp counselor, I have seen ticks, and I know how to remove them as well. The most imporatant thing about removing a tick is that you get the entire tick, most importantly the head. Ticks literally cling on to their prey face first, and if you do not remove the entire tick there can be serious health risks for you and your animal. So, I proceeded to get the tick out of Chance, cleaned him well with alcohol in the area and checked the rest of his body for more. Now, he is black so this task was near impossible, but I did my best. I checked my other dog and my husband as well. We did decide to give both of our dogs the lyme shot when they were young, which I would suggest for any dog owner.
Ticks carry many diseases. The one we hear about the most is lyme, however, not all ticks carry the disease. If a person were to have a tick, it is very important to keep the tick to be tested by a doctor. Also, check the area for a bullseye type rash. Ticks usually find the warm, sweaty places to hide, so check those areas extra well! This is important knowledge as I have had 2 friends in the area get lyme disease from a tick. If it is caught fast enough, treatment will cure it. Otherwise, it can be a chronic condition. Here are some pictures to know what to look for.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/johncarleton/10887237/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27849635@N05/2735492545/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Last summer I found a tick on my head, and completely freaked out. I had no idea what it was! I used my nails like tweezers to remove it but didn't realize til after that it was a tick... thank God I had gotten all of it. The strange thing was, when I went to the doctor she seemed confused as to why I had come (since I wasn't showing any bad symptoms), and grossed out that I had brought the little thing. I mean what!? I thought for sure they would want to test it! They didn't, but did make me take a blood test. It was just not a fun experience, now I'm a freak about checking for ticks!!! Thanks for encouraging everyone to check for the little buggers!
ReplyDelete