Killers are on the loose throughout the forests of upstate New York - tiny, toothy killers that the state health department and many physicians urge New Yorkers to take very seriously.
Angela Kershner / The Citizen
Dr. Artie Schnabel applies medicine to Teddy, a cat, at Weedsport Animal Hospital. Medicines like K9 Advantix and Advantage help repel pests such as fleas, ticks and mosquitoes from dogs and cats. Preventing ticks on your pets will help reduce the number of ticks you are likely to come into contact with.
Dr. Artie Schnabel applies medicine to Teddy, a cat, at Weedsport Animal Hospital. Medicines like K9 Advantix and Advantage help repel pests such as fleas, ticks and mosquitoes from dogs and cats. Preventing ticks on your pets will help reduce the number of ticks you are likely to come into contact with.
From spring until just through November every year, until the weather drops below freezing again, deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are free to roam, burrowing into the skin of animals and humans alike.
Deer ticks by themselves are merely a painful nuisance, but when they are infected, they can cause Lyme disease, an illness that can debilitate humans for an extended time period and cause chronic health conditions. Ticks are also responsible for spreading other diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and HGE, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Nearby regions that are highly endemic to Lyme disease include southeastern New York state, the Hudson Valley, Long Island and Connecticut.
Since 1986, more than 68,000 cases of Lyme disease have been reported in New York state, according to the state health department. Just last year, the department received more than 5,000 reports of Lyme disease cases.
What many citizens do not know is that ticks can come from any contact with vegetation, including playing in the yard. Dr. Jamie Ciaccio, an emergency room physician for Auburn Memorial Hospital, recommends that residents take care when they enter tick-infested areas, such as wooded areas and fields, by wearing clothing that covers as much of the body as possible. Also remember that people are most at risk for tick bites in the spring when ticks are most active, but it can happen in summer or fall as well. For exposed skin, Ciaccio recommends products containing the commercial compound, DEET, which can be found in Deep Woods Off, to prevent ticks from attacking.
According to Ciaccio, the repellent is fairly safe but must be used with a heavy dose of common sense, because in some higher concentrations, large amounts of repellent used on small children has been known to cause seizures.
“A lot of the stuff is a low concentration. And a lot of it has to do with the application, if you don't put too much on. Just follow the directions,” Ciaccio recommends. Ciaccio also warns that Lyme disease is a dangerous condition, so consumers must weigh the benefits of using repellent with the risks.
In some cases, it is too late for tick prevention. The tell-tale black bug has already implanted itself somewhere on the body, and now it is time to remove it, a task that may be easier written than done.
According to Ciaccio, the tick should be removed as soon as it is detected. It takes some time for Lyme disease to be transmitted, with ticks requiring 36 hours of contact before transmitting.
The best prevention is to thoroughly check the skin upon leaving wooded areas and fields and immediately remove all ticks.
“Do not crush them when removing them, it squeezes the tick's fluids into your body,” Ciaccio said. He also states that many methods of removing ticks have been suggested but no particular method is perfect.
He recommends inserting the tool - usually a pair of tweezers - under the tick's head and gently pulling it out, and warns that the procedure is difficult.
Because quick removal of ticks is the key to preventing Lyme disease, Ciaccio also recommends keeping a small kit on hand when entering tick-infested areas that contains tweezers, antiseptic, band-aids and ointments. With timing being the key method of prevention, Ciaccio warns that if a person feels a tick has been on for a significant period of time they should seek care.
Check with your veterinarian for tick control products that they consider safe for your animal.
If your pet goes outdoors, check them carefully when they return inside.
Another precaution is to designate specific sleeping areas for your pets and check their bedding routinely for ticks (if pets get on your furniture, check it also).
Activley checking areas where ticks may hide is the best preventive system to follow.
Deer ticks by themselves are merely a painful nuisance, but when they are infected, they can cause Lyme disease, an illness that can debilitate humans for an extended time period and cause chronic health conditions. Ticks are also responsible for spreading other diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and HGE, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis. Nearby regions that are highly endemic to Lyme disease include southeastern New York state, the Hudson Valley, Long Island and Connecticut.
Since 1986, more than 68,000 cases of Lyme disease have been reported in New York state, according to the state health department. Just last year, the department received more than 5,000 reports of Lyme disease cases.
What many citizens do not know is that ticks can come from any contact with vegetation, including playing in the yard. Dr. Jamie Ciaccio, an emergency room physician for Auburn Memorial Hospital, recommends that residents take care when they enter tick-infested areas, such as wooded areas and fields, by wearing clothing that covers as much of the body as possible. Also remember that people are most at risk for tick bites in the spring when ticks are most active, but it can happen in summer or fall as well. For exposed skin, Ciaccio recommends products containing the commercial compound, DEET, which can be found in Deep Woods Off, to prevent ticks from attacking.
According to Ciaccio, the repellent is fairly safe but must be used with a heavy dose of common sense, because in some higher concentrations, large amounts of repellent used on small children has been known to cause seizures.
“A lot of the stuff is a low concentration. And a lot of it has to do with the application, if you don't put too much on. Just follow the directions,” Ciaccio recommends. Ciaccio also warns that Lyme disease is a dangerous condition, so consumers must weigh the benefits of using repellent with the risks.
In some cases, it is too late for tick prevention. The tell-tale black bug has already implanted itself somewhere on the body, and now it is time to remove it, a task that may be easier written than done.
According to Ciaccio, the tick should be removed as soon as it is detected. It takes some time for Lyme disease to be transmitted, with ticks requiring 36 hours of contact before transmitting.
The best prevention is to thoroughly check the skin upon leaving wooded areas and fields and immediately remove all ticks.
“Do not crush them when removing them, it squeezes the tick's fluids into your body,” Ciaccio said. He also states that many methods of removing ticks have been suggested but no particular method is perfect.
He recommends inserting the tool - usually a pair of tweezers - under the tick's head and gently pulling it out, and warns that the procedure is difficult.
Because quick removal of ticks is the key to preventing Lyme disease, Ciaccio also recommends keeping a small kit on hand when entering tick-infested areas that contains tweezers, antiseptic, band-aids and ointments. With timing being the key method of prevention, Ciaccio warns that if a person feels a tick has been on for a significant period of time they should seek care.
Check with your veterinarian for tick control products that they consider safe for your animal.
If your pet goes outdoors, check them carefully when they return inside.
Another precaution is to designate specific sleeping areas for your pets and check their bedding routinely for ticks (if pets get on your furniture, check it also).
Activley checking areas where ticks may hide is the best preventive system to follow.
