I was out walking my dog last night. He has been out for several weeks now and I have noticed that he has become very active and has a tendency to run off into the woods at times. He also seems to be getting bigger every day. The other day I noticed that he had a little white spot on his ear. It looked like a small dot.
I did some research online and found that it was probably just dirt or something else. But then I thought about it and realized that I had never seen a tick bite before. I decided to take him to the vet this morning and get it checked out. When I got there the vet said that it was probably nothing but they would check it out anyway. Well, when I got home I did some more research and found out that there are actually three different types of ticks. They are:
1) Dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis)
2) Brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)
3) Deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis)
All three of these ticks are very common in the United States and can carry a lot of diseases. One of the main concerns is Lyme disease. The symptoms of Lyme disease are similar to those of many other illnesses. The only way to know if you have Lyme disease is to have your doctor run a test called an ELISA test. If you have a positive result from the ELISA test then you should go see your doctor immediately and get treated with antibiotics.
If you do not want to worry about Lyme disease then the best thing to do is to prevent it by using tick repellent and wearing long sleeves and long pants whenever you are outside. Also, make sure that your pet is on flea and tick control. It is recommended that you use a product that is labeled as a “spot-on” treatment. These products work by killing adult ticks and larvae on contact and are usually safe for pets.
If you find a tick on your pet or your child, you should pick it off carefully so that you don’t spread any diseases. You should also wash the area where the tick was attached with soap and water. This will help to kill any parasites that may have been left behind. If the tick is not removed properly it could cause a serious problem such as Lyme disease.
