Tick bite

[powerofprayer]

Ewwwww, ewwww, ewwww! I had a tick on the back if my leg on Saturday. DH removed it for me but then threw it out. I so wish he would've held on to it so we could've identified the species. I'd feel so much better if I KNEW it was not a deer tick. (I know the others transmit disease, but its the Lyme i most worry about).

Since yesterday the site has been very itchy and has a small raised bump, like a mosquito bite. From what Ive read this is normal in the first 48 hours after a bite? My doctor said that Lyme is unlikely if the tick was attached less than 48 hours? True???

so is this just a wait and see situation? At least I KNOW I've been bitten so if those flu like symptoms were to start Id know why. From what I understand the classic EM rash doesnt always show up.

Any advice/info is appreciated.

[JoyBop]

I would question the advice you were given. First, you don't know for sure how long the tick was there. Second, you should get a treatment to prevent the infection in the first place. Our doc always gives us antibiotic after a bite. We never send out the tic as it costs several hundreds of dollars and takes weeks. By that time its irrelevant bc we have already received the treatment. If you catch the bite in the first 48 hours and treat you can avoid a bigger problem later.

[sf_mom]

DH was bitten two weeks ago. We saved the TIC and are having it tested. We think the TIC was embedded less than 12 hours. No rash and not itchy. He is on three weeks of Doxy as preventative. We will treat for co-infections if the TIC comes back positive.

 

I would try to get 3 weeks of Doxy if you can. ANY HINT OF SYMPTOMS YOU SHOULD TREAT IMMEDIATELY. When removing a TIC, a TIC removal tweezer should be used to ensure head dislodges properly. If you squeezed with finger tips and twisted often the head is left in place and the majority of bacteria in the TIC is squeezed back into host. Typically, it takes three weeks to mount enough antibodies for testing purposes. I would not bother testing yourself at this point but you might consider doing so in a month.

[Hopeny]

My nephew contracted lyme from a tick that was attached less than 12 hours and was not engorged. He took preventative antibiotics (mainly because I went crazy and insisted my sister insist on it) for three weeks and woke up unable to move his legs 24 hours after stopping. My 3yo had what we thought was a mosquito bite and developed a bullseye rash four weeks later. After six weeks of treatment she tested positive for active infection with a Lyme specific indicator. Personally imo I see little downside in taking four weeks of doxycycline compared to what if takes to get someone well from chronic Lyme. Ticks also carry five or so other nasty infections. Treatthebite.org may be helpful to you on considering how to proceed. Good luck

[mama2alex]

The 24/36/48?! hour rule is just a theory as far as I know. I've never been able to find actual studies that prove this. I don't know why mainstream doctors repeat this to people over and over.

 

My dh was bitten two years ago. We are on the west coast. We saved the tick and had it tested by Igenex. In the meantime he was treated with a month of doxycyclene. The tick came back positive for Lyme, but negative for other diseases (Bartonella, Babesia, etc) so we stuck with just the doxy. He ended up doing two months because he wasn't very good about taking the medicine every day for the first few weeks (before the test results came back), and once we saw the tick was carrying Lyme, everyone agreed it was prudent to do one more month just to be safe. We were already seeing an LLMD for my son and myself, so that made it easier for us to get him treated so quickly.

 

I think you should find a doctor who will treat the bite. Don't wait for symptoms to appear - it's really not worth it.

[powerofprayer]

I would question the advice you were given. First, you don't know for sure how long the tick was there. Second, you should get a treatment to prevent the infection in the first place. Our doc always gives us antibiotic after a bite. We never send out the tic as it costs several hundreds of dollars and takes weeks. By that time its irrelevant bc we have already received the treatment. If you catch the bite in the first 48 hours and treat you can avoid a bigger problem later.

JoyBop,

By treatment to prevent infection, what do you mean exactly? Is it a one time prophy dose of doxy? I went in today because my reaction has been horrible. It's beyond itchy and extremely red and a little swollen. Anyway the NP I saw thinks cellulitis so she gave me 10 days of Keflex. She also gave me ONE 200mg dose of Doxy since we were still in the 72 hour window of the tick being removed. Is that dosage typical of mainstream doctors? The pharmacist told me its pretty standard to give that one time dose in NC.

[powerofprayer]

DH was bitten two weeks ago. We saved the TIC and are having it tested. We think the TIC was embedded less than 12 hours. No rash and not itchy. He is on three weeks of Doxy as preventative. We will treat for co-infections if the TIC comes back positive.

 

I would try to get 3 weeks of Doxy if you can. ANY HINT OF SYMPTOMS YOU SHOULD TREAT IMMEDIATELY. When removing a TIC, a TIC removal tweezer should be used to ensure head dislodges properly. If you squeezed with finger tips and twisted often the head is left in place and the majority of bacteria in the TIC is squeezed back into host. Typically, it takes three weeks to mount enough antibodies for testing purposes. I would not bother testing yourself at this point but you might consider doing so in a month.

SF Mom,

Thanks for your input. There was no way they were even considering giving me three weeks of Doxy. I'm guessing you see an LLMD. I may need to find one in NC just in case. I do feel that some tick parts may have been left behind

We were in the car when I noticed it and my husband claims he had to remove it as fast as he could because I was "overreacting". Pffft....do you think kicking and screaming, "Get it off, get it off" is overreacting?

Anyway if something was left behind that would explain the bad reaction, right? But it probably has increased my chances if getting a TBI too doesn't it?

[nicklemama]

I've read conflicting literature that says the 48 hr rule is not true. That said, my son has ehrlichia and anaplasma that is transmitted by the Lone Star tick and we never knew he'd been bitten. There is much to be concerned about and I'd press for antibiotics.

[Hopeny]

I believe that the single dose of Doxy idea is put forth by the same folks that insist, despite scientific and patient evidence, that there is no such thing as chronic Lyme. If the tick wasn't removed properly it also is an issue, could still transmit the virus. Even with my situation and knowing better, I saw something I thought was a tick on myself last summer, panicked, ripped it out and threw it out the window - it's a completely natural reaction. 30 days of Doxy should also protect you against Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Ehrlicia, two infections that ticks carry that can in some cases be fatal. I just don't get it, I am willing to bet good money that if I took my dog to the vet and said I removed a tick, that they would give me a 30 day course of Doxy. Why not for humans?