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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - found another tick
| My dog tested positve for anaplasma in May, was treated and went on to develope IMHA. I haven't used Frontline since because of all the negative associations with this disease. Yesterday I found an engorged tick behind his ear. Do you think it's something I need to worry about? Jane |
| Jane MN |
| I bought a little thing called a tick twister. I make removal of ticks easy and clean. It doesn't squeeze the tick at all so there is no chance of it regurgitating or leaving mouth parts, which is usually how the animal gets sick. Once you remove the tick be sure to keep the area clean while it heals. "The way you deal with your coonhound's slobber can perhaps be the most telling way of how you handle your everyday problems; after all he is your best friend" ~Thomas Jefferson |
| Allie VA |
| Dear Jane, If you kept the tick go have it tested....I wish I would have with Jewel and I probably would not be in this situation with the tick disease progressing as far and as fast as it did....it is cheaper to have a tick tested the a blood transfusion and all the other tests that go along with ITP and IMHA. Relapses are very common and other tick diseases exist that could be even more harmful to a dog already exposed to one of the forms of bacteria. AT least let you vet know she was exposed to another tick and see what their suggestion is since your dog already was exposed once. Good luck and I will pray for your dog. Pam |
| Pam Milwaukee |
| Jane, This is a difficult complication. The original anaplasma may not have been cleared from the system depending on the length of treatment and the drug used. One symptom can be anemia. If you live in an area where there are ticks that carry this disease, you are at continual risk for re-exposure. Finding a tick doesn't necessarily mean that your dog has contracted the disease again, it depends on several factors: 1. How long the tick was attached. The longer it was there, the greater the risk of disease transference. 2. What kind of tick was attached, certain ticks are more prone to carry certain tick diseases. 3. Did the tick carry the disease? Ticks that attach in the fall are much more likely to carry disease than ones in the spring (although all ticks can carry disease). They have had time to mature and pick up disease over the summer. A SNAP 4 DX test is the front line test to determine exposure to a tick disease. This is an easy to do test in your vet's office. Usually once a dog has been treated with doxycycline for the proper amount of time, there is a waiting period and then the blood is tested with a more sophisticated test done by a lab like Protatek to determine the exact levels of antigens. If this test indicates a much lower level than previously found, then the dog is considered successfully treated. Ticks are not tested for tick disease. They are tested only to determine what kind of tick they are, approximately how long they were attached (by how engorged they were) and if they were completely removed. This can give you an idea if the tick might be one that carries tick disease and if it was attached long enough to transmit the disease. If there is any chance that it was disturbed by squeezing etc when being removed there is a good chance that it disgorged it's meal back into the host, highly increasing the chances for disease transmission. So if the head is missing, it's reasonable to expect that this happened. When I found ticks on both dogs after a trip to the Adirondacks a few years ago, I had both dogs immediately tested and I treated the one that had an engorged tick with high doses of doxycycline for 8 full weeks. I had both dogs retested at 6 weeks and then again a few months later. Tick diseases can be deadly and I took no chances. my best, Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed between 07/10/2008 and 13/10/2008
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