Terrified...is it a deer tick bite

[Wickedmaineah]

DD, 2, has a bite mark on her cheek with a round circle around it. She is just getting over pneumonia and ended her treatement today. Doctor stated on her check up that she believed the bite on her cheek was from a deer tick and to watch it.

I would insert the picture I took if I know how to insert a photo. Wondering if anyone could described their tick bite looked like if they knew and what we should be looking for.

Concerned because we are already dealing with a recent PANDAS diagnosis for our son. Can't seem to get a break from stuff lately.

Thanks.

[LNN]

You can see views of rashes here:

http://www.drjoneskids.org/

scroll down to the rashes link

 

If your doctor even suspects it could be lyme, you should immediately get your daughter on a month of antibiotics. A month of prevention could save you from years of chronic infection. You don't "watch" a lyme rash.

[Wickedmaineah]

You can see views of rashes here:

http://www.drjoneskids.org/

scroll down to the rashes link

 

If your doctor even suspects it could be lyme, you should immediately get your daughter on a month of antibiotics. A month of prevention could save you from years of chronic infection. You don't "watch" a lyme rash.

 

 

It was at the doctor's office that the PA stated it looked like a tick bite and then there was no follow up, just keep an eye on it. She was diagnosed last Sunday with pneumonia and treated with 5 days of antibiotics. At the same doctor's appt I pointed out that she had red bump, rash all over her. They asked about bug bites, but she had been inside due to being ill so I doubted regular bug bites. We dont have that many bugs in our house. Now they are guessing swimmer's itch. Today there is one on her face is a bullseye.

Could the pneumonia be a sign of lyme disease? I need to get someone moving on it, but I really feel like they just dismissed me. Would lyme disease already show up on a blood test or does it take time?

Any help is appreciated as I am still learning about PANDAS for my DS, I never expected this with my DD.

[mama2alex]

Here's a quote from the ILADS web site on bulls-eye rashes: "It is important to know that the EM (bulls-eye) rash is pathognomonic of Lyme disease and requires no further verification prior to starting an appropriate course of antibiotic therapy."

 

Here's a link to the page where I found that, if you want to read more: http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/about_lyme.html

 

If they are ignoring it, dismissing it, and taking the "wait and see" approach, they aren't the right doctors to deal with this. Can you find an ILADS doctor near you?

 

When my husband was bitten, our doctor had him on a 4 week course of abx within 4 days of the bite. We found out later that the tick was positive for Lyme. He never got any rash. Better safe than sorry!

[mama2alex]

Oh, one more thing. I just noticed you said you are just learning about PANDAS, so I'm not sure if you know about the PANDAS-Lyme connection. A lot of folks on the PANDAS forum have found that their PANDAS kids also have Lyme/coinfections. If you have your daughter checked by a Lyme-literate (ILADS-trained) doctor, you might just want to ask them to take a look at your PANDAS son as well.

[Suzan]

The rash on her cheek came out during the time she was on antibiotics for the pneumonia? I am wondering if this could be a herx reaction. I agree with mama2alex, with the pandas diagnosis for your son and this rash for your daughter, you should all be evaluated for lyme. Do you show any signs that you could have lyme?

 

Susan

[lyme_mom]

I thought the same thing- a rash can come out during treatment as a herx reaction.

[butterflymom]

=

Edited October 8, 2015 by tampicc

[Wickedmaineah]

Thanks for so many replies. I must have not made it clear, the rash started before the antibiotics. As a family that is allergic to penicillin, I always watch for anything associated when someone is placed on an antibiotic.

Last Sunday she had the pneumonia and rash. The one on her face turned to a bullseye this week, though it was there before just solid.

I am calling her pediatrician this morning. Our baby is only 2, I hate to put her through any pain, but we need a blood test to rule out Lyme.

DS had the western blot lyme test and showed negative. Though he has had classic symptoms since 2007.

[LNN]

I am calling her pediatrician this morning. Our baby is only 2, I hate to put her through any pain, but we need a blood test to rule out Lyme.

DS had the western blot lyme test and showed negative. Though he has had classic symptoms since 2007.

 

My DS was completely negative on a standard CDC WB. He had 5 bands on Igenex - bands 31, 34 and 39 - which are highly specific to lyme but are not measured on a CDC WB. The negative your DS rec'd shouldn't be relied on, especially if he has classic symptoms.

 

PLEASE read Cure Unknown by Pamela Weintraub, or if your reading time is restricted, at least read this:

http://www.astralgia.com/pdf/EL_Lyme.pdf

which is a 7 page "cliff notes" version of her story

 

I am not trying to diagnose your son. But I do urge you to test with Igenex and/or see an LLMD.

[momaine]

I am calling her pediatrician this morning. Our baby is only 2, I hate to put her through any pain, but we need a blood test to rule out Lyme.

DS had the western blot lyme test and showed negative. Though he has had classic symptoms since 2007.

 

My DS was completely negative on a standard CDC WB. He had 5 bands on Igenex - bands 31, 34 and 39 - which are highly specific to lyme but are not measured on a CDC WB. The negative your DS rec'd shouldn't be relied on, especially if he has classic symptoms.

 

PLEASE read Cure Unknown by Pamela Weintraub, or if your reading time is restricted, at least read this:

http://www.astralgia.com/pdf/EL_Lyme.pdf

which is a 7 page "cliff notes" version of her story

 

I am not trying to diagnose your son. But I do urge you to test with Igenex and/or see an LLMD.

I second that urge. Please see an LLMD. And find someone to get your 2 yo with the bullseye rash on antibiotics immediately! If you'd been through the ###### that we've been through, you would understand our urgency. The possibilities of illness from undiagnosed Lyme are overwhelming. The bullseye is indicative of a current infection and that alone warrents treatment.

 

I also wanted to state, that I understand money difficulties and trying to decide who to go to and where to spend your money, not wanting to waste it. (or even charge it) I've always been frugal and hesitated to take my kids to the doctor for viruses that had to run their course anyway. But, when your child gets as sick as mine has from untreated Lyme and now PANDAS/PITAND, you stop thinking about it at all and just want your child well, even if it bankrupts you. At one point I did not think my daughter would ever live independently. She is doing really well now but its been one long hellacious road and one I would spend any amount of money to avoid if at all possible.

Edited July 15, 2011 by momaine

[Suzan]

http://www.publichealthalert.org/pdf/2009_10.pdf

 

For young children with lyme symptoms, I think this article is also very important to read regarding pediatric/congenital lyme. It's true, we have all had such a hard road that we just want to help urge you to determine if it's an issue for your children. HUGS to you!

 

Susan

[lismom]

A month of antibiotics is not that invasive. Even if it turned out not to be lyme. Some need that anyway to get over pneumonia. With that being said, we started out with what we thought was pneumonia. Went to a PANDAS diagnosis. Two years later were finally diagnosed with lyme/bartonella. Better safe than sorry.

[Wickedmaineah]

Well after about a dozen phone calls, one extremely nasty one directed at the lack of effectiveness of the doctor, two calls to the Maine CDC, and another doctor's visit our DD is now on 2 weeks worth of Ceftin. The doctor stated that the bullseye could be from hives. WTH......am I just a stupid neurotic parent. My children have had hives frequently...from soaps, medicines, grass. I know what hives look like.

I did ask for referrals for both children to a lyme specialist. She said she is convinced DS does not have it and that there was no specialist around. I do know that our local hospital has an infectious disease office that treats lyme. I will be pursuing more testing in some sort of way. The doctor did say she expects DD's first round of testing to be negative and then we will know with the follow up test in 2 weeks.

I wish I could find another pediatrician who is willing to work with me, not against me. But sadly, there is not much else in the area.

[Suzan]

Good for you! You are not stupid and you are just taking steps to ensure your daughter does not get a horrible infection that is hard to get rid of! I wish there was a way for you to get one more month of treatment. Keep a journal if you can of what happens these two weeks in the event that it will be good information for a lyme doc if you get to one. How nice of the non-lyme specialist to guarantee you that she doesn't have it

 

I went to a new local doc who was an integrative medicine doctor. I was completely shocked when she told me she would be working to prove I did not have lyme, even in the presence of a positive test and improvement on the treatment. It was not CDC positive so she refused to believe it was true. She said I may be improving but only because whatever was wrong was also treated by the lyme protocol

 

Susan