We are all familiar with ticks on our pets. How often has your dog run off in to the woods or long grass and returned with a couple “friends” that you had rather they had left behind? Heather moorlands, bracken-rich spaces, woodlands, local areas such as the New Forest, are all prime habitats for ticks. What many people do not know is that as well as being a parasite that will attach itself to your dog, ticks will also attach themselves to people, and ticks carry Lyme Disease.
Lyme Disease, if left untreated, can progress to affect the joints, the heart and the nervous system. Early symptoms of the disease include a circular red rash, headaches, stiff neck, extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, whilst also affecting sight, hearing, digestive system and sleep. These early symptoms will pass and a few (usually symptomless) months later, the disease progresses to affect the neuromusculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. With the disease affecting the muscles and joints, many seek the advice of a chiropractor, not linking their current symptoms to earlier events.
Remember, wherever your dog goes, it is likely that you have been there too! Dogs and people can both be affected by Lyme Disease. For more advice on how to avoid tick bites and what to do if you think you have been affected, visit www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk