Lyme Disease
 

Anybody get bitten by a deer tick?
I found a small tick dug into my leg tonight I yanked it out head & all I tossed his ass in a bag for future showing.
I now have a small red dot where the little bastard was,how long will I know if this guy was infected meaning will I get the bulls eye in a short time or what if the dot goes away come morning, I am ok?

I am no hypochondriac by any stretch I guess my question is there a time frame this can be treated before one get's Lyme disease?I understand not all deer ticks carry/are infected with Lyme disease or should I just stay ahead of the curve & go to the doc's for an opinion.
Many thank's in advance.


Bob

Not all ticks carry it as you say. If you are concerned, phone your Doctor in the am and see what he/she says?;)

If your worried then get to a doctor and get some antibiotics,,, the sooner you get them the better off you will be,,,,,, don't chance it,,,

Get some blood work done asap.

I suggest you go see your doctor. Why take the chance.

from web md

It is important to get treatment for Lyme disease as soon as possible. Talk to your doctor if you have had a tick attached to your skin, especially if you live in an area where people have reported getting Lyme disease. Also watch for early symptoms of Lyme disease, such as a slowly expanding rash or flu-like symptoms.

If possible, put the tick that was attached to you in a jar or on a damp paper towel in a ziplock plastic bag and take it to the doctor with you. Sometimes tests can be done on the tick to see if it is a carrier of Lyme disease.

Many of the people I know that have been bit and went in for testing were immediately prescribed antibiotics. Doctors tend to prefer starting treatment as soon as possible - kind of an "act now, ask later" kind of approach.

Call that doc in the morning to check his preference. Chances are, he'll want you to head in to be checked.

ticks also carry a few other diseases. I have had 2, babesiosis and lyme. both were treated with 30 days of antibiotics.

What these guys said. I'd get bloodwork done asap

deer ticks are tiny, about the size of the head of a pin.

:wave:

diagnosed in June this year

get bloodwork done asap

deer ticks are miniscule.....almost to the point of not being able to see them

as the "bullseye" appeared..got bloodwork done asap and came back positive..

the bullseye appears in a day or two

starts off as something that looks like a mosquito bite..then gets larger with time
you will be very sluggish....almost flu like symptoms for the first couple of days


good luck

Every doctor I know of will treat you with anti-biotics as a precautionary measure. Call or visit ASAP. It is much easier to cure when caught early.

Thank you all for all of your time & support,it's been almost 24hrs. and still no bulls eye:bounce:
I called my Doc this morning, basically what he said that they can't prescribe antibiotics till they visibly see a bulls eye or show symptoms that verify that you might have Lyme disease.
So stats quo.

It's funny how this whole thing started,a week ago Wednesday we adopted a dog & the Wife & I had the talk of "Frontline" for the dog & me being the cheap Bastard so no she'll be fine:hidin:

The chances are pretty good that it was a dog tick. It's very difficult to remove a deer tick without tweezers, and many people need a magnifying glass just to see it. They're about the size of a poppy seed.

The day before this whole thing started my daughter found a deer tick on the dogs face and like you said they are terribly small there so small its to the point of being easily overlooked.When the Mrs. got word of a tick in the house she went out and got front line my wife & I applied it to the pooch & I think that's when the tick/ticks jumped ship.

My Doc said that being able remove the whole tick indicates it was attached for a shot time,woohoo!


Bob

the smaller the deer tick, the less chance you have of getting lyme disease.. a nymph tick has probably not had a chance to feed off of a mouse or a deer yet.. they are the hosts of lyme... the tick is the carrier...

Lyme
 

My wife who has worked in a lab doing those test for 30+ years says it takes about 10 days for that to show up in your bloodwork, positive results or negative depending on your view for Lyme disease. Like all the guys said, see your doctor. If he/she is worth his/her salt they will probably put you on antibiotics for tens days just for chits and giggles.

This is interesting to me because I know of many situations where the doctors have immediately prescribed antibiotics. As Swimmer stated, it can take up to 10 days for lyme to show in the blood work. Doctors generally prefer to get a jump on it before then.

For the average person, antibiotics are harmless anyway.

Keep in mind the trade mark "bullseye" doesn't always show up. :( I know a two people who have gotten Lymes Disease and they went untreated for too long and it let to MANY other problems.

My boss raced mountain bikes and was very active. He got to the point it was very painful for him to walk because joints were such a mess. He dropped 20 lb of muscle or more and well over a yr later he is starting to be able to ride his bike again and move around pain free.

The other guy is friend's brother and he is a mess. Not able to work any more and is on disability for the rest of his life. :(

Lymes Disease is no joke. Err on side of being paranoid.

I have been bitin about 4 years ago and got antibiotics immediately from doc. I kept the tick and showed him and he put me on them as a precaution. As a matter of fact my daughter and her friend were playing in the woods the other day and had 4 or 5 each of the little buggers when they came home. I saw them climbing on their light colored clothes. Not cold enough yet to kill em.

Time for a second opinion.

It is almost funny how there are still some doctors that don't take Lyme seriously.

Paul I have always heard that ticks are 24/7 year round? Is this wrong?

I know a young Dude who is on medicine and his joints are aching and is looking for an expert in this field. Anyone heard of a specialist? Thanks

Forget a second opinion---time to find another doctor.

Like Karl said, bulls eye rash only shows about 50% of the time.
My wife had Lyme's 3 times and fortunate to have the rash each time. She was treated by an Infectious Disease specialist within a week each time and put on a regime of antibiotics. Got it in time.

My daughter was not so lucky, didn't know she was bitten, no rash, and was finally diagnosed with it, but still has problems after 5 years.

Nothing to fool with or take a chance.