Ticks Are A Risk At All Times

The weather is starting to turn, with cooler days and more rainfall. We are led into a false sense of security by thinking that we are safe from ticks as the seasons starts to change. Surely you’re not as much at risk of a tick bite as we move into the fall, right? Wrong! Ticks are still making our lives a misery at times of the year when they used to give us a little respite. Here’s a story about a guy and his discovery of a tick and why he’s extra vigilant when it comes to checking himself and his dog for hitch hiking critters, whatever month it is.

Ticks are Nasty, Whatever the Season

As a newcomer in the 1990s, I was warned about ticks. The impact of those deaths decades earlier lingered in the psyche of valley residents. It was a spring worry, I was told. Once the snowmelt moved to the higher elevations, tick concerns eased.  That might explain the drinking-snowmelt myth. The legend got the timing right, though not the vector. That springtime tick fear stays with me. I only worry about them in the early part of the season, when the weather is cool. That changed this July when I woke to the sensation of something crawling up my arm. In a panicked sleep state I grabbed the crawling thing and set it on the nightstand. I turned on the light and was horrified to see a tick.

It can be frightening discovery to find a tick on your skin. You may not know how to remove a tick and then there is the added worry that it could be carrying bacteria that could infect you with a nasty disease.

If you can keep the tick safely for lab testing, after you have removed it, here is some more information as to what to do next.

The Tick Tests

We use highly specific, highly sensitive DNA detection methods (qPCR) to detect presence of disease-causing microbes (PATHOGENS) in ticks. This allows us to determine where these PATHOGENS are distributed and how abundant they are. Its important to know that our tests are not for DISEASE, which is something diagnosed in humans. We don’t practice human medicine or veterinary medicine. To diagnose disease, you need to see a health care professional.

Remember, if you are concerned about tick borne diseases and that you may be showing the symptoms of being infected, then please seek the advise of a medical professional.