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| Ticks - Are we protected? |
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 Ticks: The dog is covered in ticks at the moment so we are discussing the best way to remove the pests. “How about painting them with nail varnish?” I suggest. “You could burn them off with a cigarette like you would leeches.” All interesting suggestions from the family. “Yea, the chef Heston Blumenthal fed leeches up with goose blood and cooked them up for a gothic feast, maybe we could do that.” REMEDY April to July is the time of year that ticks are lurking in the grass to jump on to unsuspecting hosts. These ticks are tiny spider like creatures that attach themselves to animals, normally sheep or deer, and don’t let go until they have gorged themselves with the hosts’ blood. Our new dog tends to spend a lot of time up the hill and in the woodland terrorising the pheasants that are around this year (courtesy of the gun club releasing loads into the wild). She never manages to catch one but she is very persistent, if she had a tail it would be wagging. The only thing she does catch though are the ticks, at least twenty a day. I rather enjoyed picking them off initially, but the novelty has worn off. Nothing seems to deter them. (We have been heaping spoonfuls of dry garlic into her food). I go to the chemists to get an over the counter remedy for ticks and fleas. “I have two types of liquid to put on the dogs skin,” the helpful girl behind the counter tells me, “One for small dogs and one for dogs over 25kg.” I thought anything over 25 kg was a horse, but convinced myself and the girl that my Springer Spaniel was very large and needed a large dose. The girl looked a bit concerned but I assured her I am responsible.  At home, I follow the instructions on the packet, smearing the liquid in four key places along the dogs back. Three days later I am still picking the ticks off and they seem none the worse for the chemical attack, in fact they are thriving. One has even attached itself to her eyelid, which is proving difficult to remove.REMOVING THE TICKS Removing ticks can be tricky without leaving the head of the parasite embedded in the skin. They need to be turned anti clockwise from as close to the skin as possible with the thumb and forefinger. The reason for this is two fold. One, the ticks burrow into the skin clockwise so they need unscrewing. Two, if you squeeze their bodies and they pop you will be left with a splatter of blood, risking the chance of infection if any gets into the host’s body. This can lead to Lyme’s disease. Lyme’s disease is very rare in Ireland, but a handful of cases do happen every year so it’s best to be wary. NOT FUSSY The problem with the ticks is that they are not fussy whose blood they suck and can attach themselves to us when we are gardening or walking in the long grass. We have all had them at some point, as do most people who spend a lot of time out of doors. The ticks will drop off eventually when they are full, but removing them within 24 hours of becoming attached reduces the chances of getting Lyme’s disease to practically zero. Treatment for the disease is possible if it’s caught quickly. There are some things we can do to keep these tiny blood suckers off of us when working in the grassy, bushy or woodland areas of the garden
This is the busy time for the ticks. Thankfully they ease off later in the summer. Just in time for the wasps to come out.  TICKS AND LYME DISEASE CONTINUED Since writing this article about ticks I have done nothing but itch. It's probably just the thought of these spider like pests, but knowing that doesn't really help. I put the article on the Gardening Matters blogsite and have been receiving letters from people in the UK and Ireland who have been affected by Lyme disease these ticks carry. We are getting more and more of them on the dog and I've even taken to smearing her with insect repellent to try to keep them at bay. The Co-op do a product called Spot On that is used on sheep, cows and horses so I might invest in some of that if the infestation gets any worse. Here are a few of the letters about concerns of Lyme disease and the difficulty getting diagnosis. From: A representative of Tick Talk Ireland "Encouraging awareness, prevention & treatment of Lyme Disease (Borreliosis) in Ireland." Hello - I loved the topic of ticks and the problems with repellents. I was infected in the States and my 3 dogs would be treated with frontline flea & tick repellent and yet every time they came in I had to kneel down & pick the little blighters off them. Unbeknown to me, as I was kneeling down a tick decided to run up my leg and feast on me instead. Only after 18 months of ME did I realise I had Lyme disease. Sadly now, it may be too late to completely eradicate the disease due to delays in my treatment. A lot of emphasis is given on the Elisa tests for Lyme but the test kit manufacturers themselves state that a negative result should not be used to exclude diagnosis. Sadly this information never seems to filter down to the physician who requested the test. There are some private labs that will test for Lyme in the States and Germany at the expense of the patient and even then patients results are disbelieved, so getting treatment can be very hard indeed. We are very keen to encourage the Department of Health in Ireland that Lyme is made notifiable - hopefully in time it will be so that more doctors can be made aware of its existence and of its seriousness if left untreated. Thanks again for highlighting a problem unknown to many. Lyme disease can have the potential to afflict anyone of us, including doctors themselves! With best wishes, Tick Talk Ireland From: Joanne Drayson Surrey Re: Ticks. There can be dangers with ticks, especially: 1. In removing the ticks by hand. 2. If removed by any other means than thin nosed tweezers or a tick remover you don't just risk squishing the contents on yourself but if stressed the tick regurgitates it's stomach contents into the host. 3.Not all ticks carry Lyme but they can also carry other difficult to treat infections and we cannot ask the tick whether it is infected or not. One leading Prof of Entermology said at 2008 Lyme Disease Action conference that where there are ticks an unknown percentage will carry Lyme Disease. The infection in fact comes from other small mammals rats etc. 4.ticks do not need to be attached so long if they have already had a partial blood means that they can transfer infection sooner and in fact there are many case studies which show infection in far less than 24hours. 5. Not all patients get the tell tale Bulls eye rash but if you do you are infected and should take immediate antibiotic treatment. 6. There are increasing numbers of patients very very sick with Lyme disease in Ireland as well as here where I am in England. 7. Sadly because our health authorities in the UK say the tests for Lyme Disease are 100% accurate doctors are not aware that research shows they can miss 50% of cases. 8.Patients can present with such an array of symptoms that they are often miss diagnosed with ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Muscle weakness, Neurological illnesses such as MS, MN, Parkinson's and even Alzheimer's. Psychiatric illness, ADHD, OCD, Autism but sadly most of these people will receive only symptomatic treatment and many even refused the inadequate Lyme disease test, spending years suffering not realising that specialist doctors will treat on long term antibiotics helping to improve symptoms and their life. To read more about this awful illness I would suggest you read ILADS and/or Burrascano Guidelines found on ilads.org. Also UK charity lymediseaseaction.org.uk has much information on this matter. It took 5 doctors and 3 rheumatologists 4 years to diagnose me and 3 years to treat me on long term antibiotics but I am no longer crippled with arthritis and muscle weakness and can cycle and enjoy my gardening once again.  From: Denise from iPetitions Hi there - I really would like to warn you that Lyme disease is a real problem for dogs and humans, and horses too. I've got Lyme disease, caught in Scotland on holiday in 1985 when I was 33, happy and very fit. No one diagnosed it, not until private tests 20 years later. Too late for me now to get better and the NHS won't give any treatment anyway, so I buy my own antibiotics when I can afford them. Without them I go downhill even worse than I am now. By the way, Ireland is absolutely rife with Lyme disease; even in the mid 90s they found it in about 8% of the blood supply. Some people can carry it for a while before they get ill. They actually don't know what to do about it, except pretend there is no problem. Please have a look at our petition We might get it copied into the whole of Europe eventually. In Holland they began a petition a year ago and now have 65,000 signatures. We don't think the government are taking things seriously enough - there should be warning posters and leaflets in every doctor's surgery and at every park and forest and country walk. If you go to the petition have a look at the comments and it will shock you how bad things are and how many people are suffering. Perhaps some ticks are not infected, but it's best to think of them as if they were. They can even carry things such as nematode worms and flukes. Those of us who have been through hell with the disease are horrified at the thought of so many people not knowing about it and we want to prevent anyone from having to go through it. Some people die, from a stroke or heart attack, and others are paralysed or affected mentally. CAUTION So there you go. Become aware and informed and make sure you take every preventative measure when dealing with these parasites. Trackback(0)
Comments (2)
  written by Gareth33, May 18, 2010
Great article on ticks. Was looking at our own dog last night and i noticed a tick on her face. And i thought 'Jaysus only the other day i got an rss feed about ticks' consulted your article and removed it. I spoke to a girl who exhibits dogs and she said to give the dog garlic supplement and this helps prevent them,
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When Chris Liddle, of Kenmare, Co Kerry, began to notice that he was pulling ticks off himself on an increasingly regular basis, after walks in the country or simply walking around his garden, he asked his GP if there was a vaccination available for Lyme disease. There wasn’t, and isn’t, but his Doctor sold him a Tick Twister® which he had bought in Inverness, Scotland while on holiday.
The Tick Twister® made the unpleasant and fiddly job of removing the ticks far simpler and safer. Chris had been following standard advice about smothering the tick with surgical spirit or petroleum jelly before removal; even nail varnish had been suggested. All these methods, as well as others, like burning them off with a match, are a very bad idea as they can put the tick under stress causing it to regurgitate its stomach contents into your blood stream, and that is when infections such as Lyme Disease (Borreliosis) and Tick Borne Encephalitis are transmitted, should the tick be a carrier.
In fact, according to a survey published in the UK Journal, ‘Veterinary Record’, the Tick Twister® was preferred and recommended by both the authors (specialists in parasitology) and the Veterinarians who participated in the study. This was because the Tick Twister® doesn’t compress the abdomen of the ticks and therefore minimizes the risk of transmission of pathogens (Lyme disease, Tick Borne Encephalitis). An added bonus is that if used properly the Tick Twister® also removes the mouthparts of the tick, which if broken off with tweezers or fingers and left in the skin can cause irritation for several days and may also lead to infection.
Unfortunately Chris lost his Tick Twister® and was unable to buy another one in Ireland. As a shopping trip to Inverness was not an option he contacted the manufacturer and is now importing the Tick Twister® to Ireland where it will be available from Pharmacists, Vets, outdoor pursuits shops, pet groomers and agricultural co-operatives.
Tick numbers are on the rise all across Europe and there is a growing pressure to make Lyme Disease a notifiable infectious disease in Ireland from groups such as Tick Talk Ireland (http://ticktalkireland.wordpress.com/info/). Tick Talk Ireland also aim to increase public awareness of the dangers of ticks and the correct and safest way to deal with them. In addition the HSPC have put together an information leaflet, outlining the dangers of ticks and how to avoid them. The leaflet is to be distributed to Coillte, the National Trails Office, National Park Visitors Centres and local authorities. The leaflet can be found here: -
http://www.hpsc.ie/hpsc/A-Z/Vectorborne/LymeDisease/Publications/File,1821,en.pdf
So if you work in the countryside, enjoy outdoor pursuits or gardening, or own a dog, cat, horse or other livestock, you should see the Tick Twister® in action on people and pets. For a comprehensive demonstration please go to this web address - http://www.otom.com/en/1-how-to-remove-a-tick.php
If you would like more information on the Tick Twister® or if you would like to find your nearest stockist you can contact Chris at: -
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086 325 3701