Tick bites can cause serious health issues in dogs and humans. As the tick sucks blood from the host’s body, it can spread serious, and sometimes, deadly disease including Lyme, Tularemia, Tick paralysis and Rocky Mountain fever. According to recent studies on tick bite symptoms in humans, it was determined that nearly 5-23% of patients suffer from some form or other of gastrointestinal manifestation of tick borne diseases. In tick borne relapsing fever, nearly 19% patients suffered from diarrhea. In some cases, though rare, blood diarrhea was also present. If you are experiencing diarrhea after tick bite, then seek prompt medical attention. Let us discuss common tick bite diseases and their symptoms.
Rocky Mountain Fever symptoms (appear after 3 days to 2 weeks of the bite)
Diarrhea occurs in 19-45% of patients and can be the main symptom apart from the following tick bite flu like symptoms:
- Chills
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- Fever
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
- Gastro-intestinal distress
Tick Paralysis symptoms
- Weakness
- Inability to stand or walk
Lyme disease symptoms (may arise after 3 to 32 days after bite)
- Fever
- Headache
- Stiffness
- Sore throat
- Stomach and joint ache
- Loss of appetite
Tularemia symptoms (may arise after 1 to 14 days after bite)
- Chills
- Headache
- Fever
- Muscle ache
- Nausea
- Diarrhea can be watery and severe but not bloody.
- Rashes
Other tick bite diseases like Ehrlichiosis can also cause diarrhea in 10% of the victims.
Here are some facts about tick bite diseases:
Tick bite flu symptoms: Facts
- Tick paralysis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever affect children more than adults.
- Most tick bite cases in dogs and humans are seen in spring, summer and the warmer months.
- It is very important to remove the tick as soon as it is seen so as to prevent infection.
- Follow the same precautions as you’d follow when removing ticks in animals and humans.
- Do not allow children to remove ticks themselves
- Ticks secrete a whitish substance which is like cement that allows them to clasp the host’s skin firmly. Make sure the cement and tick’s body parts are all removed from the skin.
Handling tick bite diarrhea in dog
Dogs are much likely to get Lyme disease compared to cats. If you feel your dog is suffering from diarrhea after a tick bite, seek prompt medical attention. A round of antibiotics will help alleviate symptoms and give your pet much needed relief. Feed the dog a mild diet of rice and chicken broth if it is still eating. Make sure that you get it to drink a lot of water, since acute diarrhea could give rise to dehydration. Administer the complete dose of antibiotics as prescribed by the vet and make sure not to skip any dose. This will prevent the symptoms from coming back.
Handling diarrhea after tick bite in humans
Here are some tips to deal with diarrhea following tick bites in humans:
- Get yourself examined by a doctor immediately. Many tick bite diseases occur in phases. Lyme disease, for example, starts out as a rash and could turn into a persistent disease with chronic complications. Many people are known to suffer from lifelong symptoms including arthritis, mood changes and neurological symptoms if prompt treatment is not sought.
- Your doctor will order a series of tests include complete blood work and urine test to check for antibodies of Lyme disease.
- Take the complete dosage of antibiotics as prescribed by the doctor. Usually doxycycline or Cefuroxime may be prescribed.
- In young and elderly patients, the antibiotics could change the gut flora and could themselves lead to diarrhea. If this occurs, talk to the doctor.
- Take the medicine with a meal to lessen the gastrointestinal symptoms. Eat some crackers with the medicine. Drink plenty of water.
- The use of vitamin B complex Omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids and magnesium supplements is known to help alleviate many tick bite flu like symptoms.
Prevention of tick bite flu
- Use tick repellents
- Make sure dogs wear a tick collar or other vet-approved tick prevention
- Mow the grass regularly. Apply pesticides to the lawn twice annually to prevent 68-80% ticks.
- Perform routine tick checks after coming back home from hikes. Simply washing clothes will not stop ticks- so run them through a dryer on highest setting.
- The CDC recommends prompt antibiotic prevention for many symptoms including sore throat and diarrhea after tick bite.
- There is no Lyme disease vaccine to prevent tick bite flu symptoms so prevention of the bites is the only way to keep you and your pets safe.
Tick bite diarrhea in dogs and humans is distressing enough but early dose of antibiotics can help alleviate and prevent other complications. We hope the tips given here give you prompt relief from all kinds of tick bite symptoms.