Tick Bite?

[Stonewall]

I just found a tick that had successfuly bit my rump. I was out hiking yesterday so it has ony been about 16 hours since it could have possibly bitten me and it was not full of blood yet I do believe it was a deer tick looinkg at its markings. I did pull it out for the most part its head it still stuck in my keester. In reading, i read At least 36 to 48 hours of feeding is required for a tick to have fed and be able to spread the organism that causes Lyme disease. This is where i got my info (http://patients.uptodate.com/topic.asp?file=inf_immu/7714).

So i am just curious sould i get anti biotics just in case. or not to be too worried and just have a sore spot for a day or 2?

[halftime]

Backpacker Magazine had a series of articles on this last summer. You might check out this link.

http://www.backpacker.com/article/1,2646,10546,00.html

[littledragon]

Watch for symtoms by all means. I picked up a tick in PA this past summer, but I never even saw it. I became quite ill - fever of 103 for a couple of days and a big bull's eye mark among other things. I went to the doctor who drew blood and sent it to the lab. The list came back with just about everything that could be positive for Lyme's being positive. My doctor had felt this would be the outcome, so he had started the treatment. Things are fine now, but it gave me a scare.

[Ender]

Well, 16 hours is a short time, but it's no garauntee that you're in the clear. Go get the tests from your doc, and watch for symptoms. If you start showing any symptoms, go on the meds immediatly.

Me, I'd go on the meds anyway, but that's because of the experience my father and fiance have had with lyme... I'm a little twitchy about it now. My father just found that even though he had been treated, lyme had settled into one of his joints, causing him to not be able to bend his knee, so he's got to go back on the meds, and possibly have knee surgery. Lyme is nothing to mess with... it's amazingly resilliant, and has serious effects if untreated.

[orangebug]

Bring your info from your research to your doc today. I'd discourage planning on testing - testing is unreliable and you shouldn't be infected at this point. Bring the parts of the tick with you.

Ask your doc to put you on prophylactic antibiotic - prolly doxycycline - for a limited number of days. Costs and risks are very low.

But do it today.

[Stonewall]

I just called my doc to ask about a lyme disease test and told him that when I pulled it out the head was till stuck in there. He told me that they could not do a test until 21 days afterwards and to stick a hot compress on where the head was to draw the ticks head out

[Appalachian Tater]

I agree with the others. Absolutely get your physician to prescribe a course of antibiotics for the recommended three weeks. The risks of Lyme greatly overshadow the consequences of an un-needed course of antibiotics.

The test for Lyme is next to worthless with many false negatives and the diagnosis or need for treatment boils down to clinical judgement.

Many health care providers and articles have incorrect information. The articles on this page and those on pages it links to are generally reliable: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/tick.htm .

[Appalachian Tater]

If you decide not to get treatment or if you can't convince your MD to write for antibiotics, make sure you know all the symptoms and be paranoid about them. The rash occurs less than half the time. Chronic Lyme disease is much more difficult to treat.

[UK-Blue]

I had the exact same thing happen to me about 3 weeks ago. Driving home from my hike, my rear end began itching and, upon further review, I saw that the tick had pretty much buried itself in my flesh. My wife struggled to pull it out and it still itches, but no illness yet. As a matter of fact, there is still a pretty nice bump there. However, my doctor told me not to be concerned until a fever developes. I do like the antibiotic advice though.

[littlelaurel59]

I agree with the others. Absolutely get your physician to prescribe a course of antibiotics for the recommended three weeks. The risks of Lyme greatly overshadow the consequences of an un-needed course of antibiotics.

The test for Lyme is next to worthless with many false negatives and the diagnosis or need for treatment boils down to clinical judgement.

Many health care providers and articles have incorrect information. The articles on this page and those on pages it links to are generally reliable: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/tick.htm .


The NIH document is good to read. From the section on prevention: "The risk of developing Lyme disease from a tick bite is small, even in heavily infested areas. Most health care providers prefer not to use antibiotics to treat people bitten by ticks unless they develop symptoms of Lyme disease."

There is also information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/ld_prevent.htm).

From guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America: "For prevention of Lyme disease after a recognized tick bite, routine use of antimicrobial prophylaxis or serologic testing is not recommended (E-III). A single dose of doxycycline may be offered to adult patients (200 mg dose) and to children http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ucp-entities/ges.gif8 years of age (4 mg/kg up to a maximum dose of 200 mg) (B-I) when all of the following circumstances exist: (a) the attached tick can be reliably identified as an adult or nymphal I. scapularis tick that is estimated to have been attached for http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ucp-entities/ges.gif36 h on the basis of the degree of engorgement of the tick with blood or of certainty about the time of exposure to the tick; (b) prophylaxis can be started within 72 h of the time that the tick was removed; (c) ecologic information indicates that the local rate of infection of these ticks with B. burgdorferi is http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ucp-entities/ges.gif20%; and (d) doxycycline treatment is not contraindicated."

My recommendation: Be knowledgeable about the disease, speak with a knowledgeable health care professional, but do not get upset if antibiotics are not prescribed. The prevailing opinion of Infectious Disease specialists is not to treat.

[Appalachian Tater]

Yes, this is a situation where when you look at an entire population the proper approach is to not give prophylactic antibiotics. However, if you know someone who has chronic Lyme disease, you would likely want treatment. It's similar to the idea that MRIs are not cost-effective as a diagnostic procedure for people who present in ER with a headache but if you're the one in 10,000....

I'm also coming from the viewpoint that an awful lot of hikers seemed to get Lyme this summer, with or without known tick attachment.

[rickb]

There are labs (the one I know of is in the greater Boston Area, you could google it) that will do a test on the tick itself. About $50.

Is it worth the money and effort? Not for me to say.

[drumminmom]

I was bitten on sept. 19th. On Oct. 10 I got sick as a dog. High fever, chills and diarrhea. Lasted about 5 days.

I went to a doctor in VA and he took blood, then sent out for the tests. He assured me that that was plenty of time for Lymes to be seen in the blood. Also, he said that diarrhea was not normally a symptom. The test came back negative.

I'm still worried though. It's been 2 1/2 months now with no recurrance of fever and never a rash. I've been considering getting another blood test. Do you think it would be more reliable at this time? Have I waited too long? How long before it becomes "chronic"?

any thoughts?
bob

[halftime]

I was bitten on sept. 19th. On Oct. 10 I got sick as a dog. High fever, chills and diarrhea. Lasted about 5 days.

I went to a doctor in VA and he took blood, then sent out for the tests. He assured me that that was plenty of time for Lymes to be seen in the blood. Also, he said that diarrhea was not normally a symptom. The test came back negative.

I'm still worried though. It's been 2 1/2 months now with no recurrance of fever and never a rash. I've been considering getting another blood test. Do you think it would be more reliable at this time? Have I waited too long? How long before it becomes "chronic"?

any thoughts?
bob

Urge you to read this article about a Park Ranger that contracted Lyme Disease that went undetected. The ranger suffered terrible problems that could have been avoided if treated earlier. Had bad advice from a Doctor.
http://www.backpacker.com/article/1,2646,10607,00.html

This article is one of the series of articles from Backpacker Magazine (I posted originally in post #2). Alot of really good info. Here's the master link again: http://www.backpacker.com/article/1,2646,10546,00.html

[Stonewall]

There are labs (the one I know of is in the greater Boston Area, you could google it) that will do a test on the tick itself. About $50.

Is it worth the money and effort? Not for me to say.

I actually found a Lab in NJ so later this morning I will give them a call hopefully they work weekends to find out more info and send the tick out.

IGeneX Labs, Palo Alto, CA: 800-832-3200
MDL, Mt. Laurel, NJ: 877-269-0090
NJ Labs, New Brunswick, NJ: 732-249-0148

[FurTrappers]

I'm not a doctor, but, I have suffered with Chronic Lyme for the last 10 years because I didn't take the time to go get it checked out when my now ex-wife found the tick. Not sure it would have mattered back then anyways, but today it's a different story. Go to your family doc and ask for the meds. It's a 3 week program! If he/she doesn't want to give them to you, and has given you good reasons for not doing it, and you feel comfortable with those reasons, then go home and forget about it. But, if you still think your at risk for Lyme, then by all means go see another doctor! Opinions differ from doc to doc as to weither to treat with meds., some will without question, just to be safe, others won't, no matter what you might think is nesserary.

Someone posted about the Park Ranger with Chronic Lyme, go read the story, then tell me if its not worth getting the meds! Believe me, it can turn out to be your worse nightmare, only its real!! You could easily subitute quite a few names of other people in place of his.

Treated right, Lyme Disease is nothing to get excited about, let it go though, and you'll be sorry! I know!!! So do others that deal with it day in and day out. Also, just because you get Lyme Disease, doesn't mean it's going to turn Chronic. There's been a whole lot of research into why it turns in some, and not others. For some the meds. just don't work! There's still a lot they don't know about it, just like any other disease.

And, OB, I still think that's one heck of a article you wrote for the ATC magazine some years back!! I still get it out and read it. I guess maybe we were on the cutting edge huh! Maybe you would consider updating it for the article section here on WhiteBlaze?

Fur....

[Appalachian Tater]

I actually found a Lab in NJ so later this morning I will give them a call hopefully they work weekends to find out more info and send the tick out.

IGeneX Labs, Palo Alto, CA: 800-832-3200
MDL, Mt. Laurel, NJ: 877-269-0090
NJ Labs, New Brunswick, NJ: 732-249-0148


A three-week course of doxycycline is cheaper than the test.

[Appalachian Tater]

I'm also wondering if the test detects the other, non-Lyme tick-borne diseases that the antibiotics cover.

[FurTrappers]

A three-week course of doxycycline is cheaper than the test.

Agree, why waste the money on the test if you can get the meds. from your family doctor. Knowing the tick is or isn't infected won't tell you whether your going to get Lyme Disease. It would have had to be attached long enough to feed, then discharge its stomach contents back into your blood stream in order to infect you. That's something no current test can prove. I understand that knowing if it was carrying might help your doctor decide if to treat or not, but save the money in case your doctor won't treat and you need to get the meds. on the black market! Let the doctor decide if he wants the tick checked, then maybe you can have it done through your insurance.

Fur...

[Stonewall]

I appreciate the info and advice. And now that you all got me parinoid j/k. I was concerned before conisdering i posted the info. First thing in Monday morning I will call to get the persciption.

Prolly doxycycline for 3 weeks correct?

[halftime]

I appreciate the info and advice. And now that you all got me parinoid j/k. I was concerned before conisdering i posted the info. First thing in Monday morning I will call to get the persciption.

Prolly doxycycline for 3 weeks correct?

Wise decision IMO. Better to hedge the bet now than deal with any reget later on.

[orangebug]

No, prolly doxycycline 100 mg for one day. The longer course incurrs more risk of drug resistance for other diseases.

The blood test is absolutely useless until the disease has had a chance to start an immune response - generally 3-4 weeks. Even then, the number of false positives and negatives makes it of marginal benefit.

Thanks for the compliments for my article. I'm not as much on the cutting edge but willing to research for myself and compile it in a fairly accessible format. It should not be considered on par with an authoritative review such as a national organization dedicated to infection and immunology.

[rickb]

Can I ask a dumb question?

Is prolly a typo or shorthand for probably, or is it part of the drug name?

Google didn't return anthing for prolly doxycycline.

[halftime]

Info on treatment

http://www.aldf.com/raad.shtml

[orangebug]

prolly is North Carolina for probably. Actually, Rullerfer Cowny/