Why am I writing a story about a little girl that was paralyzed by a tick? The answer is simple. While pet owners are aware that any adventure with their dog in the woods, forest, or rural area is call for a flea and tick check when you get home people without pets don’t necessarily think about these parasites. Just like dogs people can have flea allergy dermititis but unless you live somewhere that is infested with fleas it is unlikely a flea could cause any major harm to a person (though infestation of a home could cause anemia and therefore would be a concern in a young baby or an elderly adult).
Ticks on the other hand can be just as dangerous to people as they potentially can be to dogs or cats. There is even more danger from ticks this year as it was a relatively warm winter in many parts of the country so we did not see the normal dying off of ticks we would normally.
A two-year old girl suffering from a worsening onset of paralysis was cured this month by an Albany Medical Center physician who recognized the girl’s unusual condition from a case she had observed only once during her training more than five years ago. After a brief clinical examination and a review of numerous medical tests that failed to identify the condition, Karen Powers, M.D., assistant professor of pediatric neurology, asked to check the girl’s hair, where she found the suspected source of the problem: a dog tick that can cause paralysis and even death, but is rarely found in the area of the country the little girl was living in. Within hours of removing the tick from the little girl’s scalp she had recovered and will have no lasting impact from the incident.
In known tick-infested areas, the best protection is to avoid contact with soil, leaf litter and vegetation during the the warm months. If you are going for a hike in the woods or to a forest stream to play here are some ways to protect your entire family against ticks:
• Wearing light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.
• Wearing enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.
• Checking clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors.
• Using insect repellent.
• Staying on cleared, well-traveled trails. Walk in the center of trails. Avoid dense woods and bushy areas.
• Keeping long hair tied back, especially when gardening.
• Bathing/showering as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.
• Conducting a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (including children and pets), and removing ticks promptly.
We always have clients coming into our office telling us that they are lymes positive themselves. It’s scary.
Pinned! Very good advice! My vet gave me a extra tick collar for King – he takes Revolution but the vet felt since the tic’s are so bad this year in Wisconsin that a extra collar was needed. I twist tied the tick collar on the inside of his collar. So far – it it working – NO Tic’s! Since King is a black lab it is really hard to check him daily.
Amazing. I did not know ticks could cause paralysis.
the thought of thee freaks me out! A friend of mine was just diagnosed with Lime Disease and has to have daily treatments. Thank you for the tips.
This is so scary! Thank you for the information
Yikes! This is scary stuff. I’m personally terrified of ticks. We go camping every summer with my parents on the weekends, and I am a fanatic about wearing hats and checking for ticks. I just wish I wasn’t so opposed to dousing myself and the kids with bug spray. I’d probably feel a lot more confident if we were all covered in an inch-thick coating of DEET. Thanks for sharing! I’m stopping by from Karma Bloggers. Have a great week!
Smiles, Jenn @Misadventures in Motherhood
its so sad. We didn’t have this issue when i was young. Now kids are almost afraid to play outside!
Because of the warm winter we had here, they were saying ticks were going to be bad already in March! And sure enough, Sunday afternoon I was sitting on my front stoop (we don’t have chairs on our porch yet) and noticed something crawling towards me. It was a tick! On my front porch!! I didn’t take any chances and used bug killer to kill it, but yea… first time I’ve ever seen a tick so close to home–usually it’s while on walks at the dog park, at the beach, or at the forest preserve.
After reading this story, and seeing the one so close to home, you can rest assured I’ll not only be checking the dog for ticks regularly (despite her being on preventative stuff), but myself and hubby as well!!
I am so glad the effects went away as soon as it was removed! I couldn’t even imagine. Darn little bugs can cause so much hard!