OT: Lyme disease.
- Thread starter DJ Spanky
- Start date
Definitely did - had it under a jeweler's light when taking it out, and have saved the tick's body in a ziploc bag.
you can have blood tested now for a baseline and then go back in a few week for a second test to see if anything develops. or you can wait and see if any rash develops have been bitten twice and once developed the rash. 2 weeks of antibiotics and that was it.
Spend a lot of time in the great outdoors in NC, from coast to the mountains, and ticks are real common hereabouts. I routinely pluck a few off during the warm weather months. Chances are slight that you'll contract Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, if you remove the tick cleanly and within a few hours. But your physician could prescribe a precautionary antibiotic (doxycycline) , should you have any underlying health concerns.
An adult deer tick is about as big as a sesame seed. Dog/wood ticks are about twice that size
I agree. Probably better to be safe than sorry. If you' re really concerned have the tick ID' ed and it can be analyzed for Lyme, but it's a little expensive.
Sounds like you did the right things. My wife contracted Lyme and it hit her very hard. Seems it manifests in different ways. It attacks joints and could feel like the flu as described in other posts. In her case, it attacked the heart. She developed arrhythmia as was stuck in the CCU till they diagnosed it. Two weeks of in home IV followed and she eventually got it under control. It never leaves the system completely, and she checks for it yearly.
Our neighbor had it and developed Bells Palsey. She never completely recovered. We are in Princeton, and half the houses on our street have someone with the disease.
Bottom line, in my opinion, is it is not rare it is common in NJ. It is also misdiagnosed often. I would get the tick checked if possible and dothe blood test, if you can't confirm.
Good luck.
Our neighbor had it and developed Bells Palsey. She never completely recovered. We are in Princeton, and half the houses on our street have someone with the disease.
Bottom line, in my opinion, is it is not rare it is common in NJ. It is also misdiagnosed often. I would get the tick checked if possible and dothe blood test, if you can't confirm.
Good luck.
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forgot how old Corey is....if he is over eight years old, the doxy is ok.....
It is way under diagnosed and under treated. Most people do not develop the bullseye rash nor show immediate symptoms and the test are notoriously unreliable especially early. If it is treated early most of the time it can eradicated quickly. If left untreated it can lead to serious long term issues.
The best thing to do if you know you were bitten by a deer tick is to start treatment immediately irrespective of serology. If symptoms develop and persist, be sure to continue on antibiotics until they are gone and perhaps see a LD literate MD who may subscribe different treatments. There are also coinfections that you can contract from a tick bite aside from LD that may need to be treated differently. But most of the time an early course of general antibiotics will knock out any infections pretty quickly. The main thing is to make sure that if he is not feeling well even after 2 weeks of ABX that you continue treating. If your MD refuses or insists he is cured, see a different MD, ideally on with a lot of experience seeing Lyme patients.
The best thing to do if you know you were bitten by a deer tick is to start treatment immediately irrespective of serology. If symptoms develop and persist, be sure to continue on antibiotics until they are gone and perhaps see a LD literate MD who may subscribe different treatments. There are also coinfections that you can contract from a tick bite aside from LD that may need to be treated differently. But most of the time an early course of general antibiotics will knock out any infections pretty quickly. The main thing is to make sure that if he is not feeling well even after 2 weeks of ABX that you continue treating. If your MD refuses or insists he is cured, see a different MD, ideally on with a lot of experience seeing Lyme patients.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Don't let your kids roll around in tall grass with their shirts off.
When Jim Harbaugh comes over for Sunday dinner, it's a special occasion.
Get a blood test 3 weeks after the bite (that's when any titer will show up). If he tests positive, then he can get antibiotics for a few weeks.
The earlier you treat Lyme, the easier it is to cure. My mom had one friend die of chronic Lyme, and she has another friend who's in better shape than the other one, but still struggles on some days. Sometimes she's in good shape, other days she feels miserable.
The earlier you treat Lyme, the easier it is to cure. My mom had one friend die of chronic Lyme, and she has another friend who's in better shape than the other one, but still struggles on some days. Sometimes she's in good shape, other days she feels miserable.
The bullseye is what you should be looking for since the other symptoms will lost likely take a while to manifest.
My old roommate got lymes and was initially tested and they told him he didn't have it. There are two tests and the standard one is cheaper but less accurate
My old roommate got lymes and was initially tested and they told him he didn't have it. There are two tests and the standard one is cheaper but less accurate
go to the town health department and they have forms you can send the tick in and get it tested for like 60$
I spent 15 yrs and 50k on Lyme. Don't rely on any symptoms to give an indication. Get the tick tested. Many people don't get a rash or a positive test. The Lyme bacteria has corkscrew bits and burrows into tissues. It can chill-out in a sub-clinical/dormant manner. You can be unaware its there for awhile. Then you can get random odd things going wrong. When the buggers decide to wake-up and go to war on you full go watch out. Many Lyme literate doctors will give a prophylactic dose of antibiotics to anyone bitten. If you want to do something in meantime, the allicin in raw garlic has anti-bacterial/microbial/fungal effect. Throw a clove in a juicer/blender with some apples, parsley, fruit juice. It won't work on everything and the antibiotics are better but it helps while you wait. I was losing vision and hearing once, and the Garlic held me up while I went through a series of doctors who were lost. Finally got a good guy after a month or so.
Lyme disease symptoms
Stage 1 symptoms of Lyme disease (usually occur within a month)
- Chills
- Fever
- Headache
- Lack of energy
- Achy joints or muscles
- Rash that resembles a bull’s-eye (an estimated 70% to 85% will get a rash)
- Tiredness
- Additional rashes
- Pain, weakness or numbness in the arms or legs
- Paralysis of nerves in the face
- Recurring headaches or fainting
- Poor memory, inability to concentrate
- Conjunctivitis
- Occasional rapid heartbeats
- Joint swelling, especially the knees
- Numbness and tingling in hands, feet or back
- Severe fatigue
- Neurologic changes
- Chronic Lyme arthritis
You don't live in the ghetto like me. Actually, they told me they'd test it on the phone and then made the wife use the pay one when she showed up.
Not every tick has Lyme disease. Not every deer tick even has Lyme disease. Be cautious but not ridiculous.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/lyme-disease-myths-facts_n_3287872.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/lyme-disease-myths-facts_n_3287872.html
A lot of articles will say 30k cases a year but CDC came out and said actual cases are 10x higher
"ATLANTA — Lyme disease is about 10 times more common than previously reported, health officials said Monday.
As many as 300,000 Americans are actually diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced..."
New Lyme disease estimate: 300,000 cases a year
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/19/lyme-disease-estimate/2671237/
"ATLANTA — Lyme disease is about 10 times more common than previously reported, health officials said Monday.
As many as 300,000 Americans are actually diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced..."
New Lyme disease estimate: 300,000 cases a year
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/08/19/lyme-disease-estimate/2671237/
There is a place in New Brunswick that tests ticks for lyme for $60. If it tests positive then bring the report to your doctor and you will get two weeks of doxycycline or amoxicillin. It takes about two weeks to get the report but getting antibiotics three or four weeks after getting bitten is in the okay time range.
