Oakland Park Vet Teaches Lyme Disease Prevention

Spring and fall are wonderful times to spend time with your pet outdoors. However, these seasons also bring out parasites like fleas and ticks. A responsible pet owner is vigilant in detecting and removing these pests before they can cause health problems for your pet, such as Lyme disease.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is the number one tick-borne disease in the United States. The disease, which can also affect humans, initially causes fever, headache and fatigue but can lead to more serious health problems, such as joint inflammation and problems with heart and central nervous systems. If contracted, Lyme disease is generally treated successfully with antibiotics.

Preventing Lyme Disease

Fortunately, Lyme disease is easy to prevent. Oakland Park Animal Hospital has the medications you need to prevent ticks from attaching to your cat or dog. Topical medications, such as Frontline and Advantage, are easy to apply and the protection lasts for around 30 days. In addition, our veterinarians can show you how to check for ticks and remove them from your pet, something you should do every time your pet goes outside. Ticks generally don't start feeding on a host for 24 hours so prompt examination is important.

Regular pet vaccinations, including that for Lyme disease, can also keep this health threat at bay. You can avoid a trip to an emergency pet hospital by following these simple precautions.

Our Oakland Park veterinarians can help you with all of your pet care needs. In addition to helping you prevent Lyme Disease, we are a full-service animal vet clinic and offer pet vaccinations, animal surgery and pet emergency care.

Have you had a recent run-in with Lyme disease and your pet? Was your pet treated at a veterinary hospital? Share your experiences with our readers by leaving a comment below.