[ctkid]

I can identify with your feelings. I am also reconsidering my move back to Ct. and I agree with you; my health and my family's health is a very important issue. From what I've read about lyme disease and from hearing about other people's experiences, we do have very good reasons to be concerned.

[KatWag]

We live in PA and are also looking at a possible relocation to CT. Our area of PA has a definite problem with deer ticks so I'm somewhat used to it. It's not only high grass areas. We live on a golf course and still have the problem. That's because we have deer who roam the golf course at night. Here's what I would recommend to you:

- Frontline your dog faithfully every month - this makes a huge difference.
- If you are going to be in high grass or wooded areas be sure to wear long pants/shirts and use a good spray with DEET.
- Shower, wash your clothes and check yourself after a walk in the woods or high grass. Check your dog as well.
- We have an exterminator who sprays the yard monthly.
That said, I would take a quick check of my dog when she comes in from anywhere other than my yard.

Deer ticks can be active from 35 degrees temp up from what I've read. We've seen them in the winter months, especially a year with a fairly mild winter.

I know there is a lot of really terrifying info out there from some of the associations. Please keep in mind that while these associations play a very important role, they also stay alive via public and private funding. To keep the money coming in requires that the disease remain in the public eye. As you can tell from your evening news, we Americans tend to focus on bad news and latch onto it - that's why the news opens with every bad crash they can find. Keeping us all focused on the dangers keeps the money coming in. That's important - it's how these diseases will eventually be brought under control. But please balance the info you get from those sites with the experiences of folks who have lived with this for years.

Please don't let this one item spoil your pleasure in your move. It honestly is not that bad. If it was, we'd have to abandon pretty much the entire east coast.

[Torn2pieces]

My grandmother who lives in CT was bitten by a tick and suffers from Lyme disease, and it' has done some bad things to her, being an elderly didn't help either. CT is overrun with deer.

[artichoke63]

Lyme disease is a serious problem, especially in the Northwest. I know several people that have had it. My dog had it as well. Even now, physicians misdiagnose it! The good news is, you can learn the symptoms and recognize them yourself. And it's easy to cure --- antibiotics! If you even think you have lyme, go on the antibiotics for two weeks minimum. My dog had full blown symptoms, pain in the joints. She would scream at night if my foot nudged her. within 24 hours on anitbiotics, all symptoms were gone. she had to be on them for a month...

[artichoke63]

Knowing what I do about Frontline, I would never put it on my dog again. Many adverse reactions. It's a very strong pesticided. However Advantage for fleas (only gets fleas) is okay. Your best defense against Lyme is to know the symptoms and use antiobiotics if you or your dogs gets sick.

Artie

[artichoke63]

Originally Posted by salatheel

The risk is real. I have Lyme disease. I caught it 3 years ago in Febuary when I didn't think the ticks would be active. There was snow on the ground and I took my dog for a walk through a path in a park. I found it on me the next day. Got the bullseye and all. I went immediately to the dr and was put on antibiotics. No symptoms till about 3 weeks in then it hit me. Lympth node swelled up all over my body. All my joints ached. My back ached. Instead of feeling 39 I felt 79. It took about 9 months to feel better. Many with Lymes never feel better. Once it is in your system it is always in your system. I have a cousin with it. My mother was diagnosed with it. A dog of mine died from Lymes and a co-infection. Several people at my work have had it. It is all over but Connecticut has had the most cases. It is severely under reported as well.

Antibiotics treat the disease just fine if you catch it right away. The key is to stay on them for a full month! My dog was on it for two weeks, went off, and the lyme symptoms came back right way. Vet tried to tell me it wasn't lyme -- yeah, right! Antibiotics, one full month...
Your dog is only going to die if it's left untreated. Know the signs! (bullseye, limping, pain in joints, headache, sleepy.) I have a friend in Virginia who lives out in the woods. If she even starts to feel tired or headachy, she goes on antibiotics.

Artie

[cchiang12]

I have a dog also here in CT, vet wants us to have the dog on Frontline all season long.
We do various things to prevent bugs in the house (or any bug bits while out).

[WyomingGirl]

to last person who posted (mrspjc). I may also be moving to CT from the midwest and would love your advice. I think you can e-mail me by looking on my profile. Thank you.

[trooper638]

Hi In response to your inquiry about Lyme Disease. It is a concern no matter where you live in CT and it is spreading outside of this state. But anyway, for your dog, use Frontline after giving it a bath. It kills fleas and ticks.
We live in a wooded area and except for having one tick on our Shi Tzu last year, we have not had any on us.
Just to let you know, CT is also getting hit with West Nile virus that is carried by mosquitos. So in the evening you need to cover up and spray with an insect repellant.
Hope I don't scare you away, CT has more to offer than the negative press it gets. Good Luck!!

[CnMinCT]

I live in rural CT, near Bradley Airport. I have Lyme Disease. I was diagnosed in 1997, with stage III (Acute) Lyme Disease. I spent three years on various antibiotic and other medications. I will live the rest of my life with the debilitating effects of a disease that in 1996, doctors refused to believe I could get from a tick that latched on to me, and I inadvertently pinched to remove (I thought it was dirt and tree sap...I had been outdoors that morning). I was living in Farmington, CT at the time. This is suburban CT, maybe 10 or so miles west of Hartford. Near the river.
Since then, I have had several instances of removing ticks from myself, my children...and my dogs. My golden retriever has been vaccinated, but I still check her frequently. When I have found ticks on my children that I was unsure of how long they were on (one from my son was fully engorged....adult female deer tick) I sent it to UCONN to be tested. I have treated my lawn with chemicals that will prevent ticks from appearing. (This option works very well). Bug repellants can help too…just be sure to use the ones that have DEET, citronella oil will NOT repel deer ticks.
Know what the Ticks are and look like, know where they live and thrive (moist areas....shrubs and tall grass...near streams and rivers, where wild life is prevalent). KNOW that the actual host animal for the spirochete that carries the disease is the white footed mouse (NOT the deer!). Once the tick feeds there, if they contract the disease, they can transmit it to the next blood meal they seek. Last and possibly most important…know how to remove a tick! I actually carry “splinter tweezers” in my purse. Wrongly removing the tick, sousing it in Vaseline or alcohol, burning, pinching it off can all significantly increase your risk.
I also think it is important t to realize that Doctors are a little less ignorant now than 10+ years ago. Where-ever you live, there is something to be concerned with. I will not leave CT, I love it here. The state is beautiful, my kids are in great schools, and I find way to cope with arthritis and fibromyalgia. Best of luck to you.