Ahhh, A tick!

[JPdad]

Our DS6 with PANS, no lyme, came home from baseball practice today and had a tick stuck in his arm. We followed protocol and tried the cottonball with soap trick which didn't work so ended up getting it out with tweezers. I'm pretty confident that we got the whole tick out because it was crawling around afterwards. We washed the areas and applied antibiotic ointment.

 

Our question is now, what to do the prevent lyme. We live in PA, and this was a deer tick. Lyme is pretty common around here. Should we get him on an antibiotic? He takes a proph. dose of Augmentin now. Should we see a doctor?

 

Your advice is appreciated.

[beeskneesmommy]

If a kiddo is over age 8, they can give a prophylaxis of doxycycline, most effective within the 1st 24 hours. Not sure what they would use for s kiddo under 8. Although I do noit believe this to be totally true for our immuno-compromised population, typically it is believed that the tick needs to be attached for 24 hours to transmit Lyme. If the tick was "new" and not engorged, the chance of contracting disease is decreased. However, I believe that this rule (stated confidently by most docs) may not be completely accurate. I would take him in ASAP.

[smartyjones]

i would definitely take him to see your doc.good to get the medical opinion and have it in his record for the future.

 

be sure you have a feeling of your docs feelings about lyme in general to properly evaluate what they tell you.

a number of years ago, i found a bloated tick attached to me. my doc put me on doxy and sent the tick to be tested - quest said neg - not sure i trust that.

last year, ds8 - then 7 - came home from a camping trip with an attached tick - not bloated. we went to doc - no doxy b/c under 8. he did have a mark - not bullseye, he is pale and sensitive skin. we watched him closely - the area physically and him behaviorally.

 

for PANS, we see an integrative MD and have been treated for lyme and take a propylactic homeopathic. we increased that. we saw nothing troublesome that we attributed to this tick.

 

i don't believe the 24 hour rule - but i believe it is fairly widespreadly believed in the conventional medical community.

 

so - i'd say, consult with your doc, watch your son closely, be aware of signs and symptoms but don't be freaked out and wildly worried.

 

Good luck.

Edited April 26, 2013 by smartyjones

[Teri]

I would also recommend following up. Almost a year ago I pulled a tick off my then 5 yr old DD. The tick was attached but not engorged and i was able to get it off her probably within 12 hours. She has PANDAS and was currently on Azithromycin. We are in NJ so Lyme is also common here. I took her into the Pediatrician for something else but informed her. She wasn't that concerned.

 

By June (prob. 4 weeks after bite) we began to see lots of new OCD behaviors. In Aug. she tested positive for Lyme & Bart. She has been on combo abx since August and is now on 3 different abx. Its been a tough road. We also heard that they had to be attached 24+ hours and/ or engorged to infect. That was not true for us.

[Hopeny]

Full disclosure that I am from the once bitten, twice shy camp. My nephew contracted Lyme from a tick that was attached less than 12 hours and was not engorged, during a camping trip where my sister was checking frequently so she was sure on the attachment time. I know there has been much posted on the single dose of Doxy (I think its from the same folks who say chronic Lyme doesn't exist) but after what I have been through that would not be enough. My nephew took a few weeks of amoxicillin and as soon as he stopped he woke up and could not move his legs. He ended up taking six or even weeks work and is fine. My 3 YO had a bullseye last summer and had 6 weeks of amoxicillin starting within two hours of when I saw the bullseye. after stopping she had positive IGM bands (and a CDC positive test) and symptoms, so we are now continuing to treat.

Given that it's the summer, if it were me, I think I would ask for 2-3 weeks of Doxy followed by the 3 x/day high dose amoxicillin recommended in the guidelines for at least 3-4 weeks. It's not only Lyme you need to be concerned about, its the co infections too, so you also need to watch and test. To me it is so worth preventing the Lyme&Co nightmare. If you have a high enough dose I presume augmentin could be substituted for amox, but its something to ask a doctor.

For future you can save and test the ticks, Igenex and other labs will test, its an expense but worth saving the heartache and the not knowing. If you google a website called treatthebite they have lots of info. Good luck and ugh!

 

*just saw your DS is 6 so the only option is amoxicillin. I did request and give my 3 YO a 3 day course of Doxy because she came back IGG+ for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever which put me over the edge, we even called the CDC to ask and they said Doxy regardless of age for that infection. Infectious disease doc validated that the day dose was not enough to cause any issues before he would prescribe it.

Edited April 26, 2013 by Hopeny

[JPdad]

Thanks for the advice. We saved the tick. Should it get tested? What do I do when my pediatrician doesnt want to treat with antibiotics rigth away? Is there some info I should take with me? Going in the morning.

[dcmom]

Hey JP dad- My pandas- non lyme-daughter got a tick, hmm, two years ago? It was engorged and on her overnight (grrr).

 

We did have the tick tested- which I wouldn't do again- it cost a few hundred to find out- yes the tick had lyme (which we assumed anyway)- and just caused me to feel sick. If money is any issue at all, I would not put my money in the test of the tick, but rather assume the tick does have lyme. Our story (so far) has a happy ending, so others may disagree.

 

We went to our pands- friendly- but- not-knowledgeable ped the next day. They NORMALLY will not do anything unless there are symptoms- but they fully understood my position that if we waited for symptoms, we could be in pandas troubel- so they agreed to give us a scrip. I think she was 7 at the time, so I believe it was amox or augmentin for two weeks. She, at the time, was still on daily zith, which continued for 6 mos plus after tick bite- for pandas.

 

She has never had an issue with lyme that we are aware of, and she has been fortunate to have long remissions, with occasional flare ups of pandas- so I think the immediate abx treatment, possibly followed by the long term abx did the trick.

 

I did have a lyme doc tell me that although zith is not the ideal abx for lyme, that the lyme would probably not become chronic if on long term zith.

 

I hope this helps. I would ask your ped for 14 days of lyme abx due to the fact that if you wait- the lyme could cause a pandas flare. This should not be a big deal for them.

[JPdad]

So does Augmentin work for preventing the Lyme? He is on Proph. Augmentin now, so could we run a full dose for a few weeks? Will that also fight the other co-infections we need to worry about?

[philamom]

You could show him literature from "Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease" by Dr. Joseph Burrascano (Get it Right...treat the bite).

 

tick bite- oral therapy for 28 days for child

 

tick bite with rash- 6 months for child

 

*With symptoms, you may need to treat longer.

Edited April 26, 2013 by philamom

[LNN]

In CT, the dept of agriculture will test the tick for free. It takes a month, but when my DH had an engorged deer tick on him, it was very, very comforting when the results came back negative. It was one less thing hanging in the back of our minds, one less "what if". You may want to see if PA has a similar testing option, or call to see how much testing costs.

 

For immediate treatment, I'd advocate for as long a daily treatment option you can muster. Good luck!

[lfran]

Igenex will test the tick but it is not free.

[philamom]

East Stroudsburg has come out with a tick testing kit, but I think it only tests for borrelia - not co infections. It's $35 www.lymeaidkit.com

 

There are also labs listed on www.tickencounter.org. This is a great website for identifying what type of tick it is.