Ticks and fleas issue in dog and essential oil-based solution to it.

Offering essential oil-based tick flea managing solution and herb based deworming water solution.

Ticks are ectoparasitic in nature, which harms a wide range of animals. Ectoparasite means Ecto: outside Parasite: harmful organism. A parasite is an organism that lives on the body or in the skin, but they are generally not found within the body. Fleas and lice are some examples of ectoparasites, along with ticks and mites. An infestation with an ectoparasite is called an ectoparasite. Ticks are small, blood-sucking bugs that feed on the blood of the host. They attach to the skin of the host organism and derive nutrition from the host. Ticks are very harmful to dogs as they transmit harmful infections and diseases. Let us look into the diseases caused by ticks.

Ticks And Diseases

Ticks, as mentioned before, are blood-sucking and disease-transmitting bugs. In fact, there are several diseases that can be transmitted to your pet via a tick bite. Some of the most common tick-borne diseases are Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and tick paralysis. Let us have a look at some diseases caused by these infectious ectoparasites.

1.Tick Fever

Tick fever is a broad term used for infection caused by ticks. Ticks transmit various microscopic organism such as protozoa – Babesia or Ehrlichia. These two organisms causes Tick Fever or in medical terms- ‘Babesiosis’ and ‘Ehrlichiosis’.

Babesiosis& Ehrlichiosis

Babesiosis is a disease caused by the organism Babesia canis [dogs] and this organism: Babesia is a tiny parasite that infects your dogs’ red blood cells. It is a life-threatening infection that rapidly destroys red blood cells and platelets. On the other hand, Ehrlichiosis is caused by an organism named Ehrlichia which again affects the hemodynamic structure of the body.

We all know the importance of red blood cells, which is the crux of our being. RBCs, or red blood cell, transport oxygen and essential nutrients throughout our body and ensures each organ-tissue-cell receives enough oxygen and nutrients. What happens in Babesiosis is that this organism, Babesia requires the red blood cell to grow and divide, and eventually many cellular reactions take place ultimately leading to the untimely death of RBCs. This leads to severe anemia, and we even observe low platelet counts. Of course, on further diagnosis, other blood parameters might also exhibit changes. Let us focus on RBCs and platelets, which are majorly affected.

What does this lead to?

1.       Low RBC means low Oxygen [hypoxia]

2.     Low RBC means many tissues and cells are not getting enough nutrients

3.     Thus, it can cause feelings of fatigue, tiredness, and weakness.

4.     Low RBC means many cells are not functioning optimally, which eventually leads to-

5.     Cellular dysfunction and death.

6.     This will cause the immunity of the body to go down, thus, affecting the immune system badly

7.     When the immune system is disturbed, other viral-bacterial infections may immediately set in.

2. Anaemia

Anaemia is the deficiency of blood RBCs. It could be a multifaceted dysfunction. Make sure you check out our blog on anaemia, where we covered the basic A, B, and Cs of anaemia, causes of anaemia, diagnostics, and treatment protocol associated with the same.

Now, these ticks are particularly very efficient in sucking blood from the host [dog]; thus, if your dog is affected by a large number of ticks, anaemia may ensue. However, it is important to note that even one tick is efficient and sufficient enough to transmit tick fever. What? Yes. That is very much true. One tick is enough to make your pet sick. As these ticks carry infectious organisms like Babesia or Ehrlichia we cannot say which tick bite will or will not lead to threatening disease. It is always better to stay vigilant and safe against the same.

Fleas: The Little Runner Bugs

Fleas are small flightless insects that are also grouped under the family of ectoparasites, just like ticks, and they, too, act as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by consuming blood from their hosts. However, a striking difference between ticks and fleas is that ticks are attached to the body [skin] where they suck blood and get engorged, whereas the fleas suck blood, but they do not stay attached to the skin, instead they keep on moving or running on the skin.

What Harm Does A Flea Cause?

Again, the major one is Anaemia, Irritation, and restlessness. But there are some important conditions that are caused by fleas. FAD and Parasitic Diseases are the most common manifestation or sequels of flea bites.

One of the major one is

1. Fad: Flea Allergic Dermatitis

So, in this condition, due to flea bite, there is irritation on the skin, which causes your pet to itch more as a result of the intense biting action and irritating saliva of the fleas. Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) or flea bite hypersensitivity is the most common dermatologic disease.

WHAT DO I OBSERVE?

·        Your dog is itching more than usual

·        Your dog is restless due to itching

·        You observed black fleas on the skin

·        Your dog has some red papule on the skin [which could be a manifestation of FAD]

·        Redness on the skin

·        Rough hair coat

CLINICAL SIGNS ASSOCIATED WITH FAD DEPEND UPON THE FOLLOWING: 

·        The frequency of flea exposure [how long your dog has been exposed to fleas]

·        duration of disease [how long the treatment or prevention has been delayed]

·        presence of secondary or another concurrent skin disease [if there are secondary bacterial infections]

·        degree of hypersensitivity [if your pet is comparatively sensitive to flea bites]

2. Parasitic Disease:

Fleas carry one of the life cycle stages of tapeworm [dogs] named Dipylidiumcaninum. So what happens here is, as mentioned earlier, fleas bite the skin and thus cause immense irritation to the dog. As a natural reflex, dogs tend to bite or scratch their skin. Usually, while biting, they might end up swallowing the flea. On swallowing, the fleas get digested in the stomach, releasing the tapeworm organism. Thus, our pets end up suffering from tapeworm infection. It is indeed a complex system. 

So how do I co-relate? 

1.       Does your dog have fleas on its body?

2.     Have you observed irritation or itching recently?

3.     Has your dog been given access to bushes and grass-laden areas?

4.     Have you observed a white-rice grain seed-like structure in your dog’s feces?

5.     Then you might need to get your dog dewormed, but along with this, you will definitely need to address the flea issue at the earliest.

Essential oils are very effective against all of them .They are a lot safer and economical.