Its Tick season again Does anyone know a good Tick deterrent? Does Garlic work? I found a deer tick on my guy two weeks ago and like clockwork he developed Ehrlichiosis. He had classic symptoms (stopped eating, lethargy, joint pain and high fever 103 and rising). I have been down this road before and we ended up at Tufts. I didn’t want this to happen again. What is totally mind blowing about this situation is that the young Vet that came to treat my horse wanted to wait for laboratory confirmation before dispensing medication. As a nurse practitioner, I was taught the best diagnosis is made with a thorough History and Physical exam and that lab work and tests only help to confirm your diagnosis. An article by Dr. Michael A. Caruso III, VMD & Jacqueline Bartol, DVM, DACVIM states Diagnosis is often based on geographic location, presence of ticks on the horse, typical clinical signs (especially fever, depression, lethargy), and abnormal laboratory findings. While there are tests available, the authors’ experience is that clinical signs and response to treatment are more valuable than testing. Treatment is often instituted primarily based on clinical signs, and response to treatment can be used as a subjective positive diagnosis. Intravenous oxytetracycline once daily for 3-5 days or one dose of IV oxytetracycline followed by one week of oral doxycycline is usually sufficient to resolve the disease. We also recommend treatment with Banamine to manage the fever and some horses need additional supportive therapies such as IV fluids and laminitis prevention due to the high fevers. The prognosis for recovery from Anaplasmosis is excellent, and horses that are promptly treated often have resolution of clinical signs within 12-24 hours. A full course of treatment is still recommended to be certain that the Anaplasma organism is eliminated If I had waited for lab results to confirm the obvious....(like the young Vet wanted me to)....my horse would have suffered needlessly and for a longer period of time, I may have even ended up at Tufts again. Thank God there are many wonderful, knowledgeable Vets in Connecticut and I was able get my horse treated that day. A few doses of Doxy and he is acting like his old self again. We are waiting for lab work to confirm the diagnosis but I was told that it may be too early in the game for positive result....so the lab work may not be reliable. I guess the moral to this story is you have to know your Vet, trust your instincts check your horse for Ticks and be a good advocate for your horse.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 23:08:05 +0000
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