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HELP! My son pulled a deer tick off today


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I don't know if a pedi would treat it proactively. Try not to worry. It happens at my house several times a year. I remove the tick and keep an eye open for ANY signs of illness/rash. I don't know a whole lot beyond the basics of lyme, but I figure we are in good shape if we catch it early. I can tell you that, even with all of our bites (we live in a wooded area,) no one has contracted a tick-borne illness.

 

I hope it turns out to be a benign event for you.

Edited by 1tiredmama
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Hi,

 

I live in a very wooded area and the ticks are horrible this year. My son has had a few deer ticks on him past years and the Dr would not treat him with antibiotics she said wait and see if he gets flu symptoms. I didn't want to wait so since I had the tick I sent it to be tested. Here are a couple sites if you're interested in doing the same.

 

http://www.analyticalservices.com/tick_testing/

 

http://extension.umass.edu/agriculture/images/stories/pdf/tick_submission_2012_NEW.pdf

 

They usually have to be attached longer than 24 hours to pass Lyme disease, but not all ticks even carry it.

 

Hope this helps.

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I thought he had saved it(which was not engorged). When I asked him to go get it I heard "oh no!" Turns out he left it on the bathroom counter and it was no longer there. This kid is not the brightest bulb! So now I have 3 little tiny things in a ziploc, none are moving,not sure if they are tics or specks of dirt. He was bitten in the groin area. Which abx do you think I should ask for? I am nervous about doxy because he is going to camp and will be in the sun all day.

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How old is he? Amoxi would be good for as long as you can get it. In a perfect world 4 weeks would be great.

 

Put a moist piece of cotton or paper towel in the ziplok.

 

I dont know why doctors wait until "flu like symptoms apear"

 

Lets wait till the kid gets sick and then I will help you.

 

keep an eye on the site of the bite. Also double check his body again. behind knees behind ears etc.

 

If he was with someone that person should be checked as well.

 

Aproximately (last I heard) about 60% of these ticks carry Lyme. I also dont buy the 24 hour rule. Obviously the longer the tick is on the more likely disease can be transmitted.

 

Anything happens any strange symptoms, rashes, etc off to the pedi you go. No sense testing the kiddo for lyme right now as the body takes 4-6 weeks to make antibodies.

 

kids dont always present with the fatigue joint pain that typically plagues adults.

feel free to contact me if you like.

 

I would check him over every day for a few days to make sure there hasnt been a tick you missed.

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Spirochetes are awfully hard to get rid off. Bearing in mind I am 110% opinionated from watching my 8 year old suffer through months of Lyme ######, i cannot think of one good reason not to start antibiotics. Will share briefly my nephew was bitten about 6 weeks ago, tick was not engorged and attached <12 hours. i freaked out and insisted he start abx, my sisters ped put him on 10 days for a reason i dont understand instead of 28 days, 3 days after stopping my nephew woke up almost paralyzed in his legs from pain. started abx again, pain went away. amox dose is 50 mg/kg evry 8 hours for at least 28 days. Doxy is 100 to 200 mg bid.

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Just to offer another view of the single dose, there is a lot of debate around the single dose within the Lyme community. Too tired to search for it but I have read a number of strong arguments/evidence against the single dose theory which I believe was put forth by the same folks that say chronic Lyme does not exist. In my nephew's case, a short course of antibiotics was not enough, it was started within 48 hours. Also the tick was attached under 12 hours, they say it takes 24 to transmit - this was just not the case for us. Just our experience. When we saw our LLMD I asked him about a new bite and he said 30-60 days of abx. Minimaxwell if you google "treatthebite" there is more info. I truly hope that the tick was not carrying Bb or any of the other 5 co-infections, it is sheer ###### watching your child suffer from Lyme.

Edited by Hopeny
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Just to offer another view of the single dose, there is a lot of debate around the single dose within the Lyme community. Too tired to search for it but I have read a number of strong arguments/evidence against the single dose theory which I believe was put forth by the same folks that say chronic Lyme does not exist. In my nephew's case, a short course of antibiotics was not enough, it was started within 48 hours. Also the tick was attached under 12 hours, they say it takes 24 to transmit - this was just not the case for us. Just our experience. When we saw our LLMD I asked him about a new bite and he said 30-60 days of abx. Minimaxwell if you google "treatthebite" there is more info. I truly hope that the tick was not carrying Bb or any of the other 5 co-infections, it is sheer ###### watching your child suffer from Lyme.

 

I would have to agree...I wonder how much actual science/research was behind the "single dose" is sufficient theory.

 

Just like they say a tick has to be attached for 24 hours...I'm interested in seeing the actual studies that demonstrate this (esp. when those same people probably don't even know how to test for Lyme in the first place, relying on the flawed elisa/cdc quest criteria).

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