The Straight Dope: Do dogs have better protection from ticks than people do?

[Send questions for Cecil Adams: cecil@straightdope.com](mailto:cecil@straightdope.com) [dope_180618_ticks_online.gif] 06/08/2018 Dear Cecil: Why aren't there flea collars for people? I see ads for all kinds of products to protect pets from fleas and ticks, and nasty tick-borne diseases are becoming more common. I'm tired of having to strip and do an extensive tick check after every walk in the woods. — Bill Costa Cecil replies: Consider the dog, Bill, and how it lives. It sheds and slobbers. It dwells close to the ground. It doesn’t shower much. It rolls around in dirt, and will happily do the same in feces or rotting animal remains where available. Let’s just say if your personal habits depart much from the aforementioned, you might not really need flea control of any sort. Particularly in developed countries, modern hygiene has rendered fleas pretty much a medical nonissue. Where they remain a problem (e.g. in sub-Saharan Africa) it’s often because they burrow into the feet and hands — more easily countered with a pesticide wash than with dedicated neckwear. But let’s separate the fleas from the ticks here … [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE STAFF REPORT — 11/15/2005 Dear Straight Dope: i am a student at Palisades high school and was assined a reopt on numerology if you have any informaion could you please post it on your website or send it to me at my email address? — stipil SDStaff Dex replies: We normally don’t do homework help, but since you wrote this three years ago, we figure we’ll make an exception. Of course, if you’re still in that same class (not unlikely, given your spelling), you might be able to use this Staff Reopt. First we need to define numerology. [Click here]( for more. STRAIGHT DOPE CLASSIC — 11/03/2000 Dear Cecil: I've heard it said (many times recently!) that the Chinese word for "crisis" is the same as that for "opportunity." I find it difficult to believe, but is it really true? — Alison Raouf, via the Internet Cecil replies: I like your skeptical attitude, but we’d better get the story straight before we start acting superior. The usual explanation is that the Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is made up of two characters signifying “opportunity” and “danger.” To Westerners, this exemplifies the ancient wisdom of the East and is cited frequently by motivational speakers, self-help books, and the like, e.g., “A crisis provides an opportunity for change and growth as well as a danger of regression or stagnation,” etc. No question, it’s deep. But deep what? Here are my initial findings … [Click here]( for more. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [View this message as a webpage](. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. To advertise on The Straight Dope, contact Rich Hummel at rhummel@suntimes.com [Privacy Policy/Terms of Use]( • [Unsubscribe]( © 2018 Straight Dope, LLC. 30 N Racine Ave. Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60607