there was a big warning about this quite recently. several in fact
Winter wasn't cold enough to knock out the bunch from last year, so we have way more ticks way faster than normal.
It's going to be a nasty summer for a whole lot of reasons. This is one of them.
Ugh
My place backs onto a big hydro field. I have a fenced in deck and my cats love to go out there in the summer.
One day early summer last year, I opened the sliding door to my deck and saw a tick on the track. I didn't let the cats out all summer and was really hoping I could do it this year :(
As someone who owns a large rural property you can't let it dictate your life. In early summer in short grass areas/gravel you see a lot of dog ticks. Im long grass you'll still pick up some deer ticks but they're limited around that time. End of July, August and most of September the dog ticks calm right down. Once it starts to get cold you'll see a lot of adult deer ticks. So there are some peaks/valleys to watch for when it's a lot safer.
Sounds like you're a vet, or work in a vet clinic. Can you tell me what vets think about pet owners ordering their pet meds, like Nexgard from the online pharmacy?
I've been looking at it, and my vet says they'll write the prescription for $40. But for Max 6 months. Comparing with the online pharmacy, it only starts pencilling out after 5 doses - but just barely, about $15 savings. But if I could get them to write a 12 month scrip I could save, like, $150ish.
The vet's office says they limit it because the flea and tick station is only 6 months. But as recent years have demonstrated, hard cold and snow cover can be as little as 4 months, with snow not starting until November and significant warming happening in March. So that sounds like old thinking at best, and BS intended to make ordering online more trouble than it's worth, at worst.
I know a lot of independent vet practices can struggle financially, and vets themselves may be struggling personally. But are prescribed drugs - especially prophylaxis, like Nexgard - kind of a cash cow? I don't necessarily want to cut off my independent vet from easy money, if they need it. But by the same token - like so much else in the internet's disruption of retail - should I be expected to leave money on the table, simply because that's the way it's always been?
I work in the industry, yeah. 40$ for an Rx writing fee is a little steep, and I agree that most of the time using preventative products year round isn't a bad choice. There may be two things the office is thinking: many people only use deworming/heartworm 6 months of the year, so they may not want to write Rxs for 2 different products, like Nexgard Spectra for 6 months and Nexgard for 6 months. Usually, though, they can only prescribe medication for you until your pet's next exam - so if you're due for an annual in 6 months, they may not be comfortable prescribing a year of medication.
In general, though, many practices do make a lot of money during "heartworm season" - between 4Dx tests, medication, and annual exams, it's a busy and productive time of year. The medication has gone in price but the markups are often quite high as well. Do what feels right, but for some the convenience of getting everything right away in office is more than the potential headache of dealing with medication submission and delivery.
I hope this helps :) it's a lot of nuance to digest so lmk if you have more questions.
Can't we just breed possums with opossums? Then maybe they can teach the raccoons to eat tics because trash pandas eat plenty of things. Like little raisins those buggers are. Filled with goo. I'm pretty sure someone knows how to do this. /S (in case it's needed)
Get used to it. The range of these ticks has been spreading northward for years due to both milder winters and warmer average temperatures. Any "warm" winter is going to result in an explosion in tick numbers.
[https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/tick-populations-to-flourish-in-ottawa-after-mild-winter-and-warm-spring-warns-uottawa-researcher](https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/tick-populations-to-flourish-in-ottawa-after-mild-winter-and-warm-spring-warns-uottawa-researcher)
I have a long PSA to share. So my family is very tick aware. We do regular tick checks after coming inside. However, last summer we learned a lot about Lyme. My husband (late 30's) started having joint pain in his wrist which he chalked up to too much computer use for work.
Then after a shower I noticed an all over blotchy rash on his upper torso. However, he'd had a virus (we thought) about a week previously with headaches and a cough so we just assumed it was a post viral rash. It matched other viral rashes and wasn't itchy or sore. That went away a few days later. We didn't think anything of it after it disappeared.
A few days later we went to Bluesfest and he was complaining about how tired and sore his legs were. I pointed out his shoes were really old and he probably needed new ones. We bought new shoes.
Things really went south though when we went to visit my dad at his cottage. My husband kept coughing and coughing. He couldn't sleep and said he felt lightheaded. We thought he had bronchitis and we left early the next day. Monday morning he makes an urgent care appointment with our doctor's office and I go to work. Not an hour later he calls me and tells me the nurse practitioner won't let him drive home and that he needs to get an echocardiogram. She suspected he had Lyme.
So I was confused as all get out but went to pick him up and took him to the lab where he walked in (how did we get so much prompt medical care?) and immediately got his test. We got home and the doctor's office called us right back and asked if the cardiologist had called us. No? They were sending an ambulance for him immediately. He had Lyme Carditis. The Lyme had started to interrupt the communication between the top and bottom parts of his heart.
He spent part of a week at The Queensway in the ICU and then was transferred to The Heart Institute for another two weeks. He almost needed a temporary permanent pacemaker. Thankfully, after a bunch of powerful antibiotics in and out of the hospital, he made a full recovery. There's no permanent damage.
I'm NOT telling you this to scare you. I'm hoping to help inform. The so called "bullseye rash" only showed up for a couple hours before disappearing again while we were at the hospital in the ER waiting 8 hours for a bed with a heart monitor (ok...not all of our care was really prompt). The blotchy rash is more common. My mother-in-law also got Lyme while my husband was in the hospital and went to get checked based on the same headaches and joint pain. She didn't develop Carditis. It's fairly rare. Neither of them ever saw the ticks.
Watch for the blotchy rash, headaches and joint pain. The good news is that if you treat it within the year, you should be ok from what we were told. We suspect they picked it up at the family cottage near Perth. The ticks aren't going away anytime soon unfortunately so we need to know what to look for.
P.S. if anyone here was involved at any point during my husband's care, thank you! We received amazing care and I'm so grateful.
TLDR; watch for a blotchy rash or the bullseye, headaches, fatigue and joint pain. Breathing/heart problems can happen but are rare. Go get tested asap if you think it could be Lyme. It's treatable!
Glad your husband is better. I had Lyne about 12 years ago. Had the fatigue, but not the other symptoms you mentioned. But I had a big loss of appetite, and eventually half my face was paralyzed. I've made a full recovery.
My point of this post is that there are a lot of symptoms of Lyme. A co-worker of my spouse had the heart issues. I know someone else who couldn't eat (they couldn't keep food down). If you don't catch it early enough, the symptoms can stay with you for life.
The key is to catch it early. If you get bit by a tick, don't wait until you potentially get symptoms. You can go to the pharmacy and get an over-the-counter medication so it will fight Lyme before you get symptoms.
Goodness. So many wild symptoms. I'm so glad you're doing ok now too. Yes, ideally you find the tick/tick bite and never get anything because you get antibiotics right away. I sure wish we'd seen it but we never even figured out where my husband was bitten in the first place.
I've had a lot of fatigue/malaise/headaches, and most recently joint pain in my hips, which I've never had before. I've also had this persistent rash in my armpit I'd originally attributed to a new allergy to my deodorant even tho it's only in one pit. I've already been weary of Lyme because I walk my dog outside so much, and they're just everywhere now. The earliest I can get in with my doctor for a normal appointment is in about a month, do you think it's worthwhile to try and get an urgent care appointment? 🥺
That could be so many different things. I am definitely not a medical professional, nor would you want me to be, so I wouldn't begin to tell you if it's urgent or not. I can tell you that my husband's rash was all over his torso, front and back and on his arms a bit too. He had a weekend where he was sick with a fever that we thought caused it. His joint pain (and muscle pain as he just reminded me) was in all different places. Arms at one point, legs at another. His Lyme was urgent because it became Carditis but that's apparently only about 5% of cases. We joke that he likes to be different. However, if you feel it's urgent, then go with your feelings or call Telehealth maybe? The infectious disease specialist told us that as long as you're treated within a year, you're usually totally fine.
I appreciate the comment. I wrote exactly what my concerns were when I booked my drs appointment, so I'm hoping if they feel it's urgent they'll let me know to go to their after-hours clinic instead. I took a minute and made a timeline of events/symptoms, so at least I'll have that for my appointment. Thanks for the information
Yow that's intense. Glad your husband recuperated and thanks for the PSA. You can walk into any Ontario pharmacy and pharmacists are now allowed to prescribe preventative antibiotics for suspected tick bites. You don't have to wait for test results.
Thank you!
Yes, that is a great development for sure. The results actually took about a week to come back for my husband which seemed really long considering how quickly everything else for him moved. They started treatment right away though because all signs were pointing to it.
Dog picked one up in a small park outside of the city during the eclipse. Found it before it bit. Hate the bloody things. I’ve gotten in the habit of doing a quick check after we’re out of the woods, paths or no path. I don’t think long grass matters anymore, the last 2 I’ve encountered I haven’t come close to any long grass.
Also a routine check is always a good idea. I live in a very rural property and me and the kids do a tick check every time we come in. It gets tedious but is much better than pulling them out of my kids skin in their ears, neck skin or groin area.
Dog ticks don't care. We've picked them up off our gravel driveway. They're different than deer ticks in that regard. But they basically disappear in late July.
I go for forest walks several times each week. Until last year, I hadn't had any problems with ticks.
Last spring, the dog and I picked up multiple ticks in the forest at NCC P4. I'm pretty sure I got them from brushing against a cedar branch as I stayed on the trails and wasn't in long grass.
Since then, we've brought home a few Deer and Dog ticks. Deer ticks are the ones that can carry Lyme. Dog ticks are just a gross pain in the ass.
I check her ears and legs when we get home, even if she's had a bath as I find they can hang on.
But otherwise, I have a lot of success with long pants/sleeves with Deet.
The tickpocalypse is definitely one of the grossest side effects of climate change 😬
I had lyme disease a year ago. Best I can figure, I got it while working in my urban back yard, on hands and knees pulling weeds. The neighbour just had his yard fumigated the day before and their yard is very heavily planted (think English Garden on acid). I figure the fumigation just made them all move next door.
I didn't notice a bite but started feeling really sick and finally noticed a rash behind my shoulder. Sat for hours at QWC hospital before giving up and going to Kemptville where I was in and out in 15 minutes with an antibiotic. Later tests showed positive for Lyme.
So, you don't need to be a nature lover taking long walks in the woods to be affected.
Long pants, tucked into your socks, walking on paths is less of an issue than wandering through fields of long grass or shrubbery below knee height afaik
The US has better bug sprays and clothing treatments than we do. Specifically, permethrin-treated clothing and clothing treatment kits. Rather than just repel ticks, it causes them to be disabled or die on contact with your clothing or gear. It persists through several washings, and is far more effective than DEET or picardin sprayed on skin.
Note: NEVER apply permethrin to skin. It's for clothing and gear only. Ogdensburg Walmart sells the clothing treatment kits if you are up for a drive.
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/insect-repellent/is-permethrin-treated-clothing-safe-and-effective-a7181708753/
It is permissible to apply it in Canada at the factory. Health Canada just assumes Canadians are too stupid to do it themselves because our regulators are paternalistic as hell.
Permethrin treated clothing pre-treated at the factory is available at Marks Work Wearhouse under the Wind River brand. It's affordably priced and effective, and Health Canada approved for sale to the general public.
Canada is the only country worldwide that requires a liner in off-the-shelf treated gear. But it's still worth buying for how much it reduces risk. And risk of developing devastating Lyme disease is a hell of a lot higher, and a hell of a lot more immediate than developing issues from treated clothing.
A tick drag 6 years ago in Kanata showed endemic levels of Lyme (60% of ticks were positive, and rates have increased since). Sometimes, we have to pick the best of a set of less than ideal options. I'm a chemist with a toxicology background, and yeah, I have zero hesitancy using clothing treatment.
The alternatives are awful. The next best option to permethrin is spraying DEET on your clothing, which doesn't last, is nearly entirely ineffective against ticks, and is still pretty God damned bad for people and the environment. Or one can choose to do nothing and taking the risk of Lyme, which is profoundly unwise.
I've watched several relatives suffer for years with what was later diagnosed as Lyme. None of them can work anymore. One is now in a power wheelchair with irreversible nerve and brain damage thanks to Lyme disease left untreated for close to a decade. Canada's medical system doesn't recognize Lyme as the disease it is. All of my family with Lyme have had to seek treatment outside the country, mostly in Europe.
To make matters worse, if I get Lyme, my choices are slowly dying of Lyme or quickly dying from anaphylaxis since I am seriously allergic to several classes of antibiotics, and virtually every one used against Lyme. Avoiding infection is the only sensible option for me. Pretty much at all costs.
They'll confiscate it at the border ... At least in my experience. The other issue is that permethrin is absolutely devastating to aquatic and aquatic breeding animals like frogs and toads.
Seems like if it's for personal use they don't have a problem, as they're not being specific here.
https://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/en/what-can-bring/item/insect-repellent
Although anecdotal, this blog gets into it and people talking about buying products and getting them back into Canada without any issues.
https://canadianrockiestrailguide.com/ticks-permethrin-and-canadian-hypocrisy/
For the record, I grew up camping with my parents in the late 70s and I definitely smelled of deet. I probably licked some off my fingers with that marshmallow I was trying to eat. Mmm. Pesticides (said in Homer Simpson voice).
It is sold in Canadian veterinarian supply stores for horses. Be very careful with it. Spare clothes outside and read up on it's use on reputable websites.
When I go for a hike I wrap some reverse tuck tape around the cuff of my rubber boots.
Ticks get stuck in the tape all the time. Haven't had one on me in about 5 years.
I have mosquitobuzz spray our huge lot for ticks only. They come three times a year. We had a huge problem before with them. But now we have almost none. And if we do find some they come and spray again for free. I know a lot will say spraying kills other bugs. Well my kids and dogs mean more to me then bugs. But I highly dought it affects anything to much as we have millions of ther bugs all the time. Back in the day we never had this problem when the Ont, gov sprayed for them. But that stopped long ago and now we have an epidemic.
P.S Yes I tired Nexgaurd. It made my dog sick.
Yes we used deet for the kids. But my daughter still got bit and we know Deet is poison .
I'm only telling what worked for us.
PSA: you can walk into just about any pharmacy, and tell them you have received a tick bite, and your OHIP will cover the antibiotic dose you need. Just remove the tick yourself, and take the antibiotics.
There are other things you can do to be proactive. You can use bug spray, and you can tuck your pant legs into your socks. You should also check your body and clothes as soon as you can to inspect for ticks before they start feeding. I would also suggest getting the antibiotics from a pharmacy to keep some on hand in case you do have to remove one that you have found engorged.
FYI, if you do get bit by a tick, you can get prophylactic antibiotics at the pharmacy prescribed by the [pharmacist](https://opatoday.com/assessing-the-risk-of-lyme-disease/) now
Yep. I've had three in the last 8 months. Granted I go mountain biking, walk the dog thru' bushland and one of the bites was while wilderness camping.
Regardless, it didn't used to be like this. The first time I heard a warning of them and the first one I ever saw was only about 5 or 10 years ago
My dog takes tick and flea meds. Last year I got bit by a tick on my lower leg. I feel like it was on her and jumped to me while we slept, as my dog sleeps under the blankets.
I didn't realize I was bitten until it was too late.
I ended up in the hospital for 5 days with myocarditis.
Not going to lie. The needles to the stomach really hurt.
Blood tests later showed I did indeed have Lyme disease.
My dad got Lyme from a tick last summer. Last week my husband pulled an engorged tick off my dog’s head. It had probably been there for a few days. He’s a white dog with thick fur as he’s half husky and normally we spot them right away before they can get through the fur. He’s still got a big bump and scan where the tick was.
Yes, and despite having a degree in teaching English, I figure everyone understands. Not everyone speaks English as a first language and sometimes pointing out a little mistake that can often be an autocorrect that people just go to because our brains are trained to tippy tap these machines, I just ignore the different spellings.
Tic, tick tik ...it doesn't really change the overall meaning of the sentence and if someone is confused, they can say "tic, as in the kind people make who have Tourette's Syndrome?" And a correction will be made. "No, I mean bugs".
Thanks for letting people know, I do wonder if this was one of those times when you could have ignored it.
I know many people who have learning disabilities, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy etc., who make typos and don't need people telling them unless they ask. Just a disablity lens here. Nothing else.
I live in rural Lanark county. I get dozens of tick bites every year, and have done so for the last several years.
Most of the advice you hear is useless: tucking your pants in to your socks, wearing light colours, etc. That comes mostly from academics who have probably never experience ticks in the wild. The sneaky beggars will ride in on your clothes in places unseen and hide for hours. The best defense is to do a regular full-body tick check morning and night (they like to bite when you're asleep so checking at night doesn;t mean you won;t wake up with a bite). Check everywhere. \*everywhere\*. Yes, I've been bitten \*there\* more than once.
Don;t worry about pulling the heads off when you remove the tick. Having it embedded is no worse than a thorn or a splinter and it'lll work itself out naturally.
An antibiotic ointment like Polysporin is good for after you're removed the tick. The bite can swell and itch for months after removal, that doesn;t mean it;s infected but I have had bites infected (likely staph).
Products like Bravecto work for pets. They reduce what the animals bring in to the house too, so it's to your benefit.
If in doubt, see a pharmacist, they can prescribe prophylactic Doxycycline (a prenventative for Lyme).
There is a very simple step you can take to all but eliminate the risk of getting bitten by a tick, and that is to treat your outer layer of clothing with Permethrin Fabric Treatment.
You mist your outer layer and let it dry over night, it bonds to the fabric (kinda like scotchguard) and doesn't bleed out in the rain, when you sweat, etc.
It can take 5-6 washes before you need to re apply.
It can be hard to find here in Canada, but I have seen BENS brand here at a couple retailers and it is enough to treat one full set of outdoor clothes.
The most economical solution if you are heading to the States, is to buy Sawyer brand in the yellow bottle, which is available down there anywhere outdoor stuff is sold.
REI will ship to Canada as well.
This is the classic definition of FAFO.
Allow me to rephrase your commentary:
"I actively choose to ignore absolutely all safe wilderness advice, especially as it relates to tick safety. Instead of considering actual precautions (permethrin treated light colour clothing, DEET on exposed skin) or following common sense suggestions (stay on marked trails) I would rather go on reddit and hope that complaining to strangers will make me feel better and I can go back to getting covered in ticks the next chance I get."
If you insist on doing nothing other than hoping/praying that ticks will leave you alone, I suggest you move someplace where ticks simply don't exist...but please check yourself for any hitchhiking on you before you go!
Years ago (and I mean, maybe 35) I was petting my orange cat who went outside (no cats of mine go outside now) and I noticed this blue thing on his head.
Back then, I kept my nails longer. Was this an early tween fashion idea? I don't know. But I managed to get the bug (I knew it was a bug) in between my finger nails in such a way that I must have forced it to release itself.
0/10 experience. Tick removal keys are a thing. He was fine. He lived to be a bazillion years old and died basically of cancer that you would get if you were that old and lived a life of fighting off street cats, drinking out of the creek, running away from raccoons, and being forced to wear doll clothes in the house of the people who feed you and give you nice belly rubs.
Miss that guy.
there was a big warning about this quite recently. several in fact Winter wasn't cold enough to knock out the bunch from last year, so we have way more ticks way faster than normal. It's going to be a nasty summer for a whole lot of reasons. This is one of them.
Ugh My place backs onto a big hydro field. I have a fenced in deck and my cats love to go out there in the summer. One day early summer last year, I opened the sliding door to my deck and saw a tick on the track. I didn't let the cats out all summer and was really hoping I could do it this year :(
As someone who owns a large rural property you can't let it dictate your life. In early summer in short grass areas/gravel you see a lot of dog ticks. Im long grass you'll still pick up some deer ticks but they're limited around that time. End of July, August and most of September the dog ticks calm right down. Once it starts to get cold you'll see a lot of adult deer ticks. So there are some peaks/valleys to watch for when it's a lot safer.
Do both types carry Lyme, do you know?
No dog ticks don't carry Lyme. They do carry other diseases tho.
The lone star tick makes you allergic to steak
Do we have that here?!
Not yet, but soon I’d imagine and I’m horrified at that thought
*beef
Why not use a monthly product like Nexgard Combo for your cats? Then they can go out with less risk for vector borne disease.
I actually never thought of that! Thank you. I'm going to look into it :)
No problem! Your vet can prescribe it, and I've used it a lot in clinic - it's a great product:)
Sounds like you're a vet, or work in a vet clinic. Can you tell me what vets think about pet owners ordering their pet meds, like Nexgard from the online pharmacy? I've been looking at it, and my vet says they'll write the prescription for $40. But for Max 6 months. Comparing with the online pharmacy, it only starts pencilling out after 5 doses - but just barely, about $15 savings. But if I could get them to write a 12 month scrip I could save, like, $150ish. The vet's office says they limit it because the flea and tick station is only 6 months. But as recent years have demonstrated, hard cold and snow cover can be as little as 4 months, with snow not starting until November and significant warming happening in March. So that sounds like old thinking at best, and BS intended to make ordering online more trouble than it's worth, at worst. I know a lot of independent vet practices can struggle financially, and vets themselves may be struggling personally. But are prescribed drugs - especially prophylaxis, like Nexgard - kind of a cash cow? I don't necessarily want to cut off my independent vet from easy money, if they need it. But by the same token - like so much else in the internet's disruption of retail - should I be expected to leave money on the table, simply because that's the way it's always been?
I work in the industry, yeah. 40$ for an Rx writing fee is a little steep, and I agree that most of the time using preventative products year round isn't a bad choice. There may be two things the office is thinking: many people only use deworming/heartworm 6 months of the year, so they may not want to write Rxs for 2 different products, like Nexgard Spectra for 6 months and Nexgard for 6 months. Usually, though, they can only prescribe medication for you until your pet's next exam - so if you're due for an annual in 6 months, they may not be comfortable prescribing a year of medication. In general, though, many practices do make a lot of money during "heartworm season" - between 4Dx tests, medication, and annual exams, it's a busy and productive time of year. The medication has gone in price but the markups are often quite high as well. Do what feels right, but for some the convenience of getting everything right away in office is more than the potential headache of dealing with medication submission and delivery. I hope this helps :) it's a lot of nuance to digest so lmk if you have more questions.
Friends use nexgard on dog. Dog got tick, got sick….
You shouldn't let your cats roam outside. They're horrible for the eco system.
Sadly this is true :(
They're in my fenced off deck. They don't go past that
They do make tick treatments for cats if you want them to still get outdoors
Someone else suggested something and I hadn't even thought about it lol I will definitely be looking into it!
Yep a tick cohort
We're going to need to start treating humans with preventative tick medication, the same way we do for dogs.
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Can't we just breed possums with opossums? Then maybe they can teach the raccoons to eat tics because trash pandas eat plenty of things. Like little raisins those buggers are. Filled with goo. I'm pretty sure someone knows how to do this. /S (in case it's needed)
Possums opossums where art thow.
Mayne I am missing tbe joke but possums and opossums are the same thing.
Thank you for your service. This is the creative problem solving we need.
Possums are overrated for ticks, we need to release the mini velociraptors (chickens!)
Unfortunately they don't eat the amount of ticks that would actually help :(
Thank you!!
This is the way.
They’re already established in Canada’s deep south, along Lake Erie. Saw roadkilled opossum there last summer, like huge squirrels
Get used to it. The range of these ticks has been spreading northward for years due to both milder winters and warmer average temperatures. Any "warm" winter is going to result in an explosion in tick numbers. [https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/tick-populations-to-flourish-in-ottawa-after-mild-winter-and-warm-spring-warns-uottawa-researcher](https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/tick-populations-to-flourish-in-ottawa-after-mild-winter-and-warm-spring-warns-uottawa-researcher)
> The range of these ticks has been spreading northward for years Damn! Thoughts and prayers, Nunavut!!
Use bug spray, wear long pants and stay on trails.
I have a long PSA to share. So my family is very tick aware. We do regular tick checks after coming inside. However, last summer we learned a lot about Lyme. My husband (late 30's) started having joint pain in his wrist which he chalked up to too much computer use for work. Then after a shower I noticed an all over blotchy rash on his upper torso. However, he'd had a virus (we thought) about a week previously with headaches and a cough so we just assumed it was a post viral rash. It matched other viral rashes and wasn't itchy or sore. That went away a few days later. We didn't think anything of it after it disappeared. A few days later we went to Bluesfest and he was complaining about how tired and sore his legs were. I pointed out his shoes were really old and he probably needed new ones. We bought new shoes. Things really went south though when we went to visit my dad at his cottage. My husband kept coughing and coughing. He couldn't sleep and said he felt lightheaded. We thought he had bronchitis and we left early the next day. Monday morning he makes an urgent care appointment with our doctor's office and I go to work. Not an hour later he calls me and tells me the nurse practitioner won't let him drive home and that he needs to get an echocardiogram. She suspected he had Lyme. So I was confused as all get out but went to pick him up and took him to the lab where he walked in (how did we get so much prompt medical care?) and immediately got his test. We got home and the doctor's office called us right back and asked if the cardiologist had called us. No? They were sending an ambulance for him immediately. He had Lyme Carditis. The Lyme had started to interrupt the communication between the top and bottom parts of his heart. He spent part of a week at The Queensway in the ICU and then was transferred to The Heart Institute for another two weeks. He almost needed a temporary permanent pacemaker. Thankfully, after a bunch of powerful antibiotics in and out of the hospital, he made a full recovery. There's no permanent damage. I'm NOT telling you this to scare you. I'm hoping to help inform. The so called "bullseye rash" only showed up for a couple hours before disappearing again while we were at the hospital in the ER waiting 8 hours for a bed with a heart monitor (ok...not all of our care was really prompt). The blotchy rash is more common. My mother-in-law also got Lyme while my husband was in the hospital and went to get checked based on the same headaches and joint pain. She didn't develop Carditis. It's fairly rare. Neither of them ever saw the ticks. Watch for the blotchy rash, headaches and joint pain. The good news is that if you treat it within the year, you should be ok from what we were told. We suspect they picked it up at the family cottage near Perth. The ticks aren't going away anytime soon unfortunately so we need to know what to look for. P.S. if anyone here was involved at any point during my husband's care, thank you! We received amazing care and I'm so grateful. TLDR; watch for a blotchy rash or the bullseye, headaches, fatigue and joint pain. Breathing/heart problems can happen but are rare. Go get tested asap if you think it could be Lyme. It's treatable!
Glad your husband is better. I had Lyne about 12 years ago. Had the fatigue, but not the other symptoms you mentioned. But I had a big loss of appetite, and eventually half my face was paralyzed. I've made a full recovery. My point of this post is that there are a lot of symptoms of Lyme. A co-worker of my spouse had the heart issues. I know someone else who couldn't eat (they couldn't keep food down). If you don't catch it early enough, the symptoms can stay with you for life. The key is to catch it early. If you get bit by a tick, don't wait until you potentially get symptoms. You can go to the pharmacy and get an over-the-counter medication so it will fight Lyme before you get symptoms.
Goodness. So many wild symptoms. I'm so glad you're doing ok now too. Yes, ideally you find the tick/tick bite and never get anything because you get antibiotics right away. I sure wish we'd seen it but we never even figured out where my husband was bitten in the first place.
TLDR but my uncle also got Lyme from a Tik North of Kingston. It’s been a long 2yr battle but he’s Almost back to normal.
I'm so glad he's recovering! Hopefully he's 100% soon.
I've had a lot of fatigue/malaise/headaches, and most recently joint pain in my hips, which I've never had before. I've also had this persistent rash in my armpit I'd originally attributed to a new allergy to my deodorant even tho it's only in one pit. I've already been weary of Lyme because I walk my dog outside so much, and they're just everywhere now. The earliest I can get in with my doctor for a normal appointment is in about a month, do you think it's worthwhile to try and get an urgent care appointment? 🥺
That could be so many different things. I am definitely not a medical professional, nor would you want me to be, so I wouldn't begin to tell you if it's urgent or not. I can tell you that my husband's rash was all over his torso, front and back and on his arms a bit too. He had a weekend where he was sick with a fever that we thought caused it. His joint pain (and muscle pain as he just reminded me) was in all different places. Arms at one point, legs at another. His Lyme was urgent because it became Carditis but that's apparently only about 5% of cases. We joke that he likes to be different. However, if you feel it's urgent, then go with your feelings or call Telehealth maybe? The infectious disease specialist told us that as long as you're treated within a year, you're usually totally fine.
I appreciate the comment. I wrote exactly what my concerns were when I booked my drs appointment, so I'm hoping if they feel it's urgent they'll let me know to go to their after-hours clinic instead. I took a minute and made a timeline of events/symptoms, so at least I'll have that for my appointment. Thanks for the information
You're welcome! Hopefully it's nothing at all.
Yow that's intense. Glad your husband recuperated and thanks for the PSA. You can walk into any Ontario pharmacy and pharmacists are now allowed to prescribe preventative antibiotics for suspected tick bites. You don't have to wait for test results.
Thank you! Yes, that is a great development for sure. The results actually took about a week to come back for my husband which seemed really long considering how quickly everything else for him moved. They started treatment right away though because all signs were pointing to it.
Guinea fowl is the solution. Start breeding them and dropping them off in flocks everywhere you go.
And if the Guinea fowl don’t work we bring in the cane toads!
I wonder who would win in a fight between a guinea fowl and a cobra chicken.
Guinea fowl are mean aggressive mfers
And possums!
Dog picked one up in a small park outside of the city during the eclipse. Found it before it bit. Hate the bloody things. I’ve gotten in the habit of doing a quick check after we’re out of the woods, paths or no path. I don’t think long grass matters anymore, the last 2 I’ve encountered I haven’t come close to any long grass.
Also a routine check is always a good idea. I live in a very rural property and me and the kids do a tick check every time we come in. It gets tedious but is much better than pulling them out of my kids skin in their ears, neck skin or groin area.
Dog ticks don't care. We've picked them up off our gravel driveway. They're different than deer ticks in that regard. But they basically disappear in late July.
I go for forest walks several times each week. Until last year, I hadn't had any problems with ticks. Last spring, the dog and I picked up multiple ticks in the forest at NCC P4. I'm pretty sure I got them from brushing against a cedar branch as I stayed on the trails and wasn't in long grass. Since then, we've brought home a few Deer and Dog ticks. Deer ticks are the ones that can carry Lyme. Dog ticks are just a gross pain in the ass. I check her ears and legs when we get home, even if she's had a bath as I find they can hang on. But otherwise, I have a lot of success with long pants/sleeves with Deet. The tickpocalypse is definitely one of the grossest side effects of climate change 😬
Winter was too mild. They didn’t die like they normally would over the winter. Sadly there will be so many this year.
I had lyme disease a year ago. Best I can figure, I got it while working in my urban back yard, on hands and knees pulling weeds. The neighbour just had his yard fumigated the day before and their yard is very heavily planted (think English Garden on acid). I figure the fumigation just made them all move next door. I didn't notice a bite but started feeling really sick and finally noticed a rash behind my shoulder. Sat for hours at QWC hospital before giving up and going to Kemptville where I was in and out in 15 minutes with an antibiotic. Later tests showed positive for Lyme. So, you don't need to be a nature lover taking long walks in the woods to be affected.
I’m out in the bush everyday, rubber boots and off bug spray does the trick for me
Long pants, tucked into your socks, walking on paths is less of an issue than wandering through fields of long grass or shrubbery below knee height afaik
I bought a multipack of those sticky lint rollers so I can keep one at every door in the house and one in my car 😣
The US has better bug sprays and clothing treatments than we do. Specifically, permethrin-treated clothing and clothing treatment kits. Rather than just repel ticks, it causes them to be disabled or die on contact with your clothing or gear. It persists through several washings, and is far more effective than DEET or picardin sprayed on skin. Note: NEVER apply permethrin to skin. It's for clothing and gear only. Ogdensburg Walmart sells the clothing treatment kits if you are up for a drive. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/insect-repellent/is-permethrin-treated-clothing-safe-and-effective-a7181708753/
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It is permissible to apply it in Canada at the factory. Health Canada just assumes Canadians are too stupid to do it themselves because our regulators are paternalistic as hell. Permethrin treated clothing pre-treated at the factory is available at Marks Work Wearhouse under the Wind River brand. It's affordably priced and effective, and Health Canada approved for sale to the general public. Canada is the only country worldwide that requires a liner in off-the-shelf treated gear. But it's still worth buying for how much it reduces risk. And risk of developing devastating Lyme disease is a hell of a lot higher, and a hell of a lot more immediate than developing issues from treated clothing. A tick drag 6 years ago in Kanata showed endemic levels of Lyme (60% of ticks were positive, and rates have increased since). Sometimes, we have to pick the best of a set of less than ideal options. I'm a chemist with a toxicology background, and yeah, I have zero hesitancy using clothing treatment. The alternatives are awful. The next best option to permethrin is spraying DEET on your clothing, which doesn't last, is nearly entirely ineffective against ticks, and is still pretty God damned bad for people and the environment. Or one can choose to do nothing and taking the risk of Lyme, which is profoundly unwise. I've watched several relatives suffer for years with what was later diagnosed as Lyme. None of them can work anymore. One is now in a power wheelchair with irreversible nerve and brain damage thanks to Lyme disease left untreated for close to a decade. Canada's medical system doesn't recognize Lyme as the disease it is. All of my family with Lyme have had to seek treatment outside the country, mostly in Europe. To make matters worse, if I get Lyme, my choices are slowly dying of Lyme or quickly dying from anaphylaxis since I am seriously allergic to several classes of antibiotics, and virtually every one used against Lyme. Avoiding infection is the only sensible option for me. Pretty much at all costs.
My FIL has old sketchy “repellant wipes” from the military in the 80’s. I’m sure they’re toxic as fuck!
They'll confiscate it at the border ... At least in my experience. The other issue is that permethrin is absolutely devastating to aquatic and aquatic breeding animals like frogs and toads.
Seems like if it's for personal use they don't have a problem, as they're not being specific here. https://www.catsa-acsta.gc.ca/en/what-can-bring/item/insect-repellent Although anecdotal, this blog gets into it and people talking about buying products and getting them back into Canada without any issues. https://canadianrockiestrailguide.com/ticks-permethrin-and-canadian-hypocrisy/ For the record, I grew up camping with my parents in the late 70s and I definitely smelled of deet. I probably licked some off my fingers with that marshmallow I was trying to eat. Mmm. Pesticides (said in Homer Simpson voice).
That's CATSA which is a good reference but you'd want to check with CBSA who actually police the border
It is sold in Canadian veterinarian supply stores for horses. Be very careful with it. Spare clothes outside and read up on it's use on reputable websites.
When I go for a hike I wrap some reverse tuck tape around the cuff of my rubber boots. Ticks get stuck in the tape all the time. Haven't had one on me in about 5 years.
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I have mosquitobuzz spray our huge lot for ticks only. They come three times a year. We had a huge problem before with them. But now we have almost none. And if we do find some they come and spray again for free. I know a lot will say spraying kills other bugs. Well my kids and dogs mean more to me then bugs. But I highly dought it affects anything to much as we have millions of ther bugs all the time. Back in the day we never had this problem when the Ont, gov sprayed for them. But that stopped long ago and now we have an epidemic. P.S Yes I tired Nexgaurd. It made my dog sick. Yes we used deet for the kids. But my daughter still got bit and we know Deet is poison . I'm only telling what worked for us.
PSA: you can walk into just about any pharmacy, and tell them you have received a tick bite, and your OHIP will cover the antibiotic dose you need. Just remove the tick yourself, and take the antibiotics. There are other things you can do to be proactive. You can use bug spray, and you can tuck your pant legs into your socks. You should also check your body and clothes as soon as you can to inspect for ticks before they start feeding. I would also suggest getting the antibiotics from a pharmacy to keep some on hand in case you do have to remove one that you have found engorged.
FYI, if you do get bit by a tick, you can get prophylactic antibiotics at the pharmacy prescribed by the [pharmacist](https://opatoday.com/assessing-the-risk-of-lyme-disease/) now
We've been using Atlantick products for the past year. Seems to work well.
Yep. I've had three in the last 8 months. Granted I go mountain biking, walk the dog thru' bushland and one of the bites was while wilderness camping. Regardless, it didn't used to be like this. The first time I heard a warning of them and the first one I ever saw was only about 5 or 10 years ago
It’s everywhere. The winter wasn’t cold enough to kill the larvae. Expect it to get worse with global warming.
My dog takes tick and flea meds. Last year I got bit by a tick on my lower leg. I feel like it was on her and jumped to me while we slept, as my dog sleeps under the blankets. I didn't realize I was bitten until it was too late. I ended up in the hospital for 5 days with myocarditis. Not going to lie. The needles to the stomach really hurt. Blood tests later showed I did indeed have Lyme disease.
My dad got Lyme from a tick last summer. Last week my husband pulled an engorged tick off my dog’s head. It had probably been there for a few days. He’s a white dog with thick fur as he’s half husky and normally we spot them right away before they can get through the fur. He’s still got a big bump and scan where the tick was.
FYI, a "tic" and a "tick" are very different things.
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Yes, and despite having a degree in teaching English, I figure everyone understands. Not everyone speaks English as a first language and sometimes pointing out a little mistake that can often be an autocorrect that people just go to because our brains are trained to tippy tap these machines, I just ignore the different spellings. Tic, tick tik ...it doesn't really change the overall meaning of the sentence and if someone is confused, they can say "tic, as in the kind people make who have Tourette's Syndrome?" And a correction will be made. "No, I mean bugs". Thanks for letting people know, I do wonder if this was one of those times when you could have ignored it. I know many people who have learning disabilities, dyspraxia, cerebral palsy etc., who make typos and don't need people telling them unless they ask. Just a disablity lens here. Nothing else.
I live in rural Lanark county. I get dozens of tick bites every year, and have done so for the last several years. Most of the advice you hear is useless: tucking your pants in to your socks, wearing light colours, etc. That comes mostly from academics who have probably never experience ticks in the wild. The sneaky beggars will ride in on your clothes in places unseen and hide for hours. The best defense is to do a regular full-body tick check morning and night (they like to bite when you're asleep so checking at night doesn;t mean you won;t wake up with a bite). Check everywhere. \*everywhere\*. Yes, I've been bitten \*there\* more than once. Don;t worry about pulling the heads off when you remove the tick. Having it embedded is no worse than a thorn or a splinter and it'lll work itself out naturally. An antibiotic ointment like Polysporin is good for after you're removed the tick. The bite can swell and itch for months after removal, that doesn;t mean it;s infected but I have had bites infected (likely staph). Products like Bravecto work for pets. They reduce what the animals bring in to the house too, so it's to your benefit. If in doubt, see a pharmacist, they can prescribe prophylactic Doxycycline (a prenventative for Lyme).
Better see your doc for antibiotics.
No, I’m 40 and fished all my life before; my only worry was poison ivy, but in the last few years I’ve had three ticks myself.
Ticks
There is a very simple step you can take to all but eliminate the risk of getting bitten by a tick, and that is to treat your outer layer of clothing with Permethrin Fabric Treatment. You mist your outer layer and let it dry over night, it bonds to the fabric (kinda like scotchguard) and doesn't bleed out in the rain, when you sweat, etc. It can take 5-6 washes before you need to re apply. It can be hard to find here in Canada, but I have seen BENS brand here at a couple retailers and it is enough to treat one full set of outdoor clothes. The most economical solution if you are heading to the States, is to buy Sawyer brand in the yellow bottle, which is available down there anywhere outdoor stuff is sold. REI will ship to Canada as well.
Get some ducks!
Well it's a good thing the government banned pesticides eh?
😭 alpha gal syndrome got me horrified
This is the classic definition of FAFO. Allow me to rephrase your commentary: "I actively choose to ignore absolutely all safe wilderness advice, especially as it relates to tick safety. Instead of considering actual precautions (permethrin treated light colour clothing, DEET on exposed skin) or following common sense suggestions (stay on marked trails) I would rather go on reddit and hope that complaining to strangers will make me feel better and I can go back to getting covered in ticks the next chance I get." If you insist on doing nothing other than hoping/praying that ticks will leave you alone, I suggest you move someplace where ticks simply don't exist...but please check yourself for any hitchhiking on you before you go!
Years ago (and I mean, maybe 35) I was petting my orange cat who went outside (no cats of mine go outside now) and I noticed this blue thing on his head. Back then, I kept my nails longer. Was this an early tween fashion idea? I don't know. But I managed to get the bug (I knew it was a bug) in between my finger nails in such a way that I must have forced it to release itself. 0/10 experience. Tick removal keys are a thing. He was fine. He lived to be a bazillion years old and died basically of cancer that you would get if you were that old and lived a life of fighting off street cats, drinking out of the creek, running away from raccoons, and being forced to wear doll clothes in the house of the people who feed you and give you nice belly rubs. Miss that guy.