Ehrlichiosis: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment of the Tick Borne Disease

During a visit to my mom's house in Tennessee last May, I was astounded by the large amount of ticks present in the region. Since I was raised in a heavily populated area in Florida and I have only seen a few ticks in my entire life, I never bothered protecting myself or my dogs from ticks.

That all changed the first night I stayed in Tennessee. That evening, I found several ticks crawling on my clothing and a huge tick embedded in one of my dogs' ears. I became nervous after looking up various tick borne illnesses and finding out how serious they were. The next day, I bought my dogs tick prevention medication, and luckily, I didn't find anymore ticks after that.

However, my mom was not so lucky. A few days into my trip, she found a tick embedded in her leg and quickly removed it. Within a week or so, she began feeling lethargic and had a constant headache and terrible muscle aches. Remembering the tick bite and what I'd told her about Lyme Disease, she decided to go to the doctor and find out if her symptoms and the bite were related. After a blood test, the doctor informed my mom that she had Ehrlichiosis, a bacterial disease that is transmitted by an infected tick. My mom was given antibiotics to treat the infection, but she had to repeat the dose after she failed to respond to treatment the first time around.

Ehrlichiosis is similar in nature to other tick borne illnesses such as Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The symptoms include fever, malaise, muscle aches, and headache. The symptoms of Ehrlichiosis usually appear 3 days to 2 weeks after the bite, but there are cases when the symptoms have come on after 2 weeks, so if you have any of the symptoms and you have been in a tick infested area in the past month or so, it is recommended that you see your doctor. Ehrlichiosis can usually be treated with antibiotics, but it is fatal in some cases, so it is not a disease to take lightly.

About 600 cases of Ehrlichiosis have been confirmed in all regions of the United States, but the number of cases are increasing and it is not known how many cases have gone unreported. Anyone can contract Ehrlichiosis, but older people are at the highest risk for developing severe complications.

There are no absolute ways to protect yourself from Ehrlichiosis, so take extra care when you are outdoors in a tick infested area. Wear a hat when going outside, and when you come in, brush off completely and check all over yourself for ticks . The longer the tick is embedded, the more likely you are to get an infection. Also, ticks will find their way into your home on your dogs, so make sure your pets have some type of tick protection on them and brush off their fur before they come inside.