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PAGE 12A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JULY 9. 2020
Continued From 1A
Ticks
years of practice has never
had a patient test positive for
Lyme disease. He noted that
Lyme Disease is much more
prevalent in the north, and
pointed out that the disease
was named after a town
called Old Lyme in Connecti
cut.
“Even though there are
ticks all over the place in
Georgia, there is an ex
tremely low incidence of
those diseases here,” he said.
Of course, the risk - de
spite it being small - is still
there, as well as the risk for
other tick-borne illnesses like
Southern Tick Associated
Rash Illness (STARI) and
“tick fever.”
Dr. McCurdy said the
longer a tick is attached and
feeding, the greater the
chance a person will get sick.
“A tick that is still walking
around on you has not caused
damage,” Dr. McCurdy said.
“Just brush them off. And
ticks that are easy to remove,
still very small and not en
gorged, have likely not been
there long. Take a deer tick,
for example. They take be
tween 24 and 36 hours being
attached before they will hurt
you.”
Other ticks need to be at
tached for different amounts
of time to infect a person.
Early detection and re
moval is key, and anyone
with concern about a tick bite
or who develops a fever or
rash should see their doctor
immediately. It’s also best to
try to identify the tick, as dif
ferent ticks cause different
illnesses.
Regular tick checks are a
good idea, Dr. McCurdy said,
as is using an insect repellant
on clothing when going out
side. Ticks tend to gravitate
to warm areas on the body,
such as the head, underarm,
and groin areas, but they can
be found anywhere.
Ticks and dogs
Dr. Lyn Lewis, of Way-
side Animal Clinic in Jasper,
sees quite a bit of tick-born
illnesses in dogs, unlike Dr.
McCurdy’s experience with
humans. In addition to Lyme
Disease and Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever, dogs can con
tract Ehrlichoiosis, the most
common tick illness, and oth
ers like tick paralysis or
Babesiosis, which is much
more rare.
For over two decades,
topical flea and tick products
like Frontline and Advantix
were the go-to, but just a few
years ago pill treatments
drastically improved effec
tiveness against ticks, Dr.
Lewis said.
“Ticks are kind of like
armor-plated monsters, and
with the topical [treatments]
it was just never that great,”
he said. “With the pills like
Simparica, a tick will be dead
within an hour of biting. It’s
impossible for them to trans
mit those diseases. [The pills]
are extremely effective.”
They’re so effective that
Dr. Lewis rarely vaccinates
against diseases like Lyme
Disease these days if the ani
mal is on a pill medication
for ticks. [He noted that these
new medicines are also
highly effective against fleas,
and have practically cured
flea-allergies in animals that
use them. They also treat for
mange.]
There are flea and tick
pills that are effective for
three months per pill, but Dr.
Lewis recommends the one-
month dose because people
tend to forget to medicate
their animal after too much
time passes.
Regular tick checks on an
imals is recommended at
least once a week, or anytime
the animal has been on a
walk in heavy vegetation and
woods. Ticks can be any
where on a dog, but gravitate
towards the ear/inside the ear,
neck and armpits.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control, “Dogs
are very susceptible to tick
bites and tick-borne diseases.
Vaccines are not available for
most of the tick-borne dis
eases that dogs can get, and
they don’t keep the dogs
from bringing ticks into your
home.”
The CDC says tick bites
can be hard to detect on dogs,
and that signs of tick-borne
disease may not appear for 7-
21 days or longer after a tick
bite, “so watch your dog
closely for changes in behav
ior or appetite if you suspect
that your pet has been bitten
by a tick.”
Protecting your home
Ticks have poor eyesight
but can sense warm-blooded
animals to feed on. When a
human or animal is detected,
they crawl to the end of veg
etation and snag onto the an
imal with their barbed legs.
When vegetation brushes up
against the body, ticks will
latch on.
Charles Ruby, a local ex
terminator and owner of Safe
Exterminating, also reminds
people that ticks prefer
cooler, shady areas.
“They don’t like the hot,”
said Ruby, who doesn’t field
many calls for ticks specifi
cally, but offered advice
about products homeowners
can use as a preventative
measure.
“If you follow the label
properly, people can use any
thing I can use and it could
help a great deal,” he said.
Ruby recommends Ny-
Guard, a sterilization product
- not a pesticide - that keeps
ticks and other pests from re
producing. Homeowners can
apply this to their yards to
stop the tick life cycle. In
areas that could be problem
spots for ticks, like those
where animals tend to relieve
themselves and could brush
up against vegetation, apply
granules that have a pesticide
called Bifen L/R Bifenthrin
is the chemical in Bifen L/P
and a variety of brand name
products that can be found in
stores and online in granular
or liquid form, and aerosols.
“It’s a go-to. I call it my
vanilla ice cream,” he said.
“And so much cheaper than it
used to be.”
Tick-bite prevention, from
the UGA Cooperative
Extension
•Check yourself for ticks
at least twice a day. There is
evidence that the longer an
infected tick feeds, the
greater the chance it has of
transmitting a disease to you.
•The best way to avoid
tick bites and tick-borne dis
eases is to stay in areas where
the vegetation is open or
maintained below ankle
height. When on wooded
trails, in high grass or in
brushy areas, it is imperative
to take personal precautions.
Avoiding vegetation that
brushes against the body, es
pecially the legs, is essential
to avoiding host-seeking
ticks.
•Wear long pants. Tuck
the pant leg into your socks
and tuck your shirt under
your belt. The tick will move
up toward the head where de
tecting it is easier. You don't
want the tick to get under
your clothing where detec
tion is more difficult.
•Use a repellent. Repel
lents containing "DEET" are
available in many brands and
formulations. Liquid formu
lations of DEET can be
rubbed on the skin and will
normally provide protection
for several hours. DEET in
aerosols can be sprayed on
clothing as well as skin for
added protection. Per-
manone(R), a repellent con
taining the insecticide perme-
thrin, comes only as an
aerosol and is sprayed on
clothing only. It is long-last
ing and not only repels but
also kills ticks. The best com
bination is to put DEET on
skin (as directed on the label)
and Permanone(R) on cloth
ing.
How to remove a tick,
from the Centers for
Disease Control
•Use fine-tipped tweezers
to grasp the tick as close to
the skin’s surface as possible.
•Pull upward with steady,
even pressure. Don’t twist or
jerk the tick; this can cause
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the mouth-parts to break off
and remain in the skin. If this
happens, remove the mouth-
parts with tweezers. If you
are unable to remove the
mouth easily with clean
tweezers, leave it alone and
let the skin heal.
•After removing the tick,
thoroughly clean the bite area
and your hands with rubbing
alcohol or soap and water.
•Never crush a tick with
your fingers. Dispose of a
live tick by putting it in alco
hol, placing it in a sealed
bag/container, wrapping it
tightly in tape, or flushing it
down the toilet.
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