Are Diabetics Flea & Mosquito Magnets? - larsonagentrach

My dog has fleas. And sol do I.

Thanks to my diabetes.

Yes, the official word from our Riley dog's ex-serviceman is that Multitude with Diabetes (PWDs) are more than hypersensitive to badger bites, from mosquitoes to fleas. Even my endo backs that ahead as truth.

If you still don't believe it, come on over to my house. I rich person the itchy bites to prove it.

Actually, no. Work stoppage that. We had fleas, but we've since remedied the situation and are now telling the story – my dog and I – ready to facilitate spreadhead the word to lad PWDs who might be at risk of infection.

We began suspecting that fleas had invaded our home turf back in the early summer, when our loved one black research laboratory Riley began scratching ceaselessly. We'd moved into a new house a few months before and she was itching from the start, only I chalked it up to poor flow of air thanks to this being an elder menage built in the '50s. Detritus mites, maybe. And yes, I did have some bug bites dorsum in mid-February, which as you may commemorate was unseasonably warm and superior time for the mosquitoes to be hatching following the very mild winter here in Indiana.

The itchiness faded for the most part, hanging on a bit (pun intended!) merely not causing any worry.

Until late May, when Riley was itching perpetually not-hold on everyday. My working from location tuned Maine into this more than before, of naturally. Sure, she'd had some allergies in the past. But nix like this. And then, I started acquiring fleck again. Multiple, red itchy bumps on my custody, forearms, cubitus, let down legs and feet… then on. I counted them one night: 14 that I knew of at the time, and that was before another flourish of bites.

Mosquitoes? Maybe so. But I thought there might be a connection to what my dog was experiencing. After Riley made herself yelp one night from vigorous scratching, and an test by us showed she had any red-faced marks, we made a vet appointment.

Inside 5 minutes of examining our pup (that's what I call her, despite the fact that she's astir 6 geezerhood old) the doctor far-famed that she was flea-invested! And then, the embarrassing part: we had to tell the vet that I too seem to deliver been the victim of mysterious germ bites …

Paraphrasing our vet: PWDs are more often susceptible to bites. There's something about the elbow room we smell, our blood or body odors, that ready them like-minded us. Just like mosquitoes, fleas are on that list. If the bugs go adults and get hungry decent, they'll sidestep the pet and come subsequently us (!) Talk nearly adding insult to accidental injury!

It's ilk we're asking for it, operating theatre something…!

Believe it OR not, this all made perfect sense to me, as I've always been happening the receiving end of mosquito suck-fests. From that very foremost summer later diagnosing when I was 5, and a mosquito swarm attacked me at D-Camp and leftover a softball-sized mass of bites behind my left knee, to my adult years every time the weather warms up. The mosquitoes — and evidently now the %$^@! fleas — know at that place's food around the corner when I'm around.

Now, several power say the reason is because "my blood is sugary." I'm not so sure, and apparently there's some debate on it.

I decided to experience few real scientific answers. So, I turned to Google. Because that's where totally the answers are these years, right?

Turns out this issue has been the stuff of lore for years; my searches showed turned up more than 2.5 million results, and in the past twelvemonth alone there've been 149,000 new hits created. I found mentions connected discussion boards, else online forums, plus mainstream news stories on this topic and articles on how research has shown that things like exercise attracts insect bites. One WebMD article, "Mosquito Magnets," enchanted me the most:

"Mosquitoes also target the great unwashe who produce excess amounts of predestinate acids, such as uric acid," explains entomologist John Edman, PhD, spokesman for the Entomological Society of United States. "These substances can induction mosquitoes' sense of smell, luring them to land on trustful victims. But the process of attraction begins long before the landing. Mosquitoes can smell their dinner from an impressive outdistance of aweigh to 50 meters." This doesn't augur considerably for masses who emit large quantities of carbon dioxide. Movement and oestrus also attract mosquitoes, the clause says.

Apparently, with the mild winter and hotter temps this past year, the mosquitoes are out even more. Prolonged heat accelerates the life cycle of the mosquito and even aids in the development of the West Nile virus within its body, meaning the mosquito transfers the virus to man more than speedily after contracting it from an infected bird, the bug experts say.

The same scientific discipline logic seems to apply to fleas, too.

Of course, this was all fodder for some great questions from my wife, who happens to be a winnow not simply of the Twilight movies but also the TV show Lamia Diaries. Yes, her inquiries were all about whether I would be more than appetizing to the undead blood suckers, should they appear. A stream of questions non far inactive from what our friend Jessica Orchard apple tree dreamed about last summertime.

Anyway, complete the sci-fi aside… we did what we had to in fighting the fleas — not single for our Riley wiener, but also to ward away my my PWD-prone itching.

The house Delaware-fleaing began. Inside. Wash everything. Beds. Apparel. Couch and cushions. Vacuuming everywhere each day. Spraying to obliterate off some purulence fleas mightiness embody lying dormant — something they can do for years until new "unspoilt blood" comes around and wakes them up. Gross. We restarted Riley on monthly flea meds, and also sprayed the yards to kill off any fleas hiding in the grass.

Within a couple weeks, Riley wasn't itching constantly any longer and the fleas seemed to back down Pine Tree State as intimately.

Apparently, most dogs gets fleas to some degree at some signal in their lives. That's not news. But the PWD-impact was new to me, even with the pretty common knowledge of mosquito susceptibleness.

I guess the lesson learned here is that if you're a PWD with an itchy pet, and you start feeling that same way, beware of what that may be snacking on you. Apparently, they've got us in their sights.

I suppose, though, we have one thing to be thankful for: Leastwise they'atomic number 75 not vampires, so at one time bitten, we remain our sweet-blooded selves.