Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Tick Control
This illness shows similar signs and symptoms as Lyme disease in dogs. The danger is that pet owners and vets often chalk them up to a sprained ligament or twisted knee, because the pet seems better in a day or two. Keys to diagnosis include the appearance of fever, repeated symptoms or lameness that shifts between legs. Again, a disease-specific blood test is helpful.
Ticks are tough. Daily grooming and combing to search for ticks remains the best non-medical treatment. Because we have found no truly holistic alternative with the desired effect, I do advise topical tick control rub-on products like Frontline and collars like Preventic. Be aware that veterinary versions of such products are both safer and more effective than retail brands. Risk versus benefit to health is always the rule in considering the best route to take. The best advice for an individual animal will come from the family’s holistic veterinarian.
Treatment No vaccine exists for Erlichia or Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and the decision to vaccinate for Lyme disease depends on exposure risk. At the Alternative Care Center in Margate, New Jersey, we sometimes use nosodes, a homeopathic “vaccination” in the treatment or as a preventive measure for Lyme disease. Homeopathic treatment of active or resistant Lyme disease may use Lym D (from BioActive Nutritional) and Ledum, which can also be used in combination with antibiotics. Some holistic vets believe that such homeopathy works with the body to boost the immune system in attacking the Lyme organism. Yet the only prevention measure approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is the Lyme vaccine. Primary treatment for all tick-borne diseases is the antibiotic doxycycline, taken as prescribed for three to four weeks. Using special tests after treatment will show if the disease is gone.
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Mark D. Newkirk holds a veterinary medicines directorate degree and is the owner and director of Margate Animal Hospital and Alternative Care Center, in Margate, NJ. Phone consultations are available at 609-823-3031. For more information, visit AlternativeVet. com.
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