LymeNet Flash: Best prophylaxis tx/tick on child?

This is topic Best prophylaxis tx/tick on child? in forum Medical Questions at LymeNet Flash.

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Posted by janet thomas (Member # 7122) on :

If one of you found an engorged tick on your 13 yr old child, what is the best advice you could give for preventative abx. Thank you.

Posted by KrisKraft (Member # 4329) on :

If it was my kid, I'd send the tick in for testing, and I'd put him on 20-30 days of antibiotics ASAP.

Today I spoke with the head of Infectious Diseases at a major California HMO, and he said that lately he's been leaning towards "prophylaxis", i.e., treating with 20 days of doxy before symptoms occur, because recent studies have found it to effective.

In the meantime, watch carefully for flu-like symptoms. Take your child's temperature every day for the next two weeks. And take a photo of any rashes that might occur. This will save you a lot of grief later, if you visit a doubting doctor who doesn't want to treat for Lyme.

KrisKraft

[This message has been edited by KrisKraft (edited 13 April 2005).]

Posted by janet thomas (Member # 7122) on :

Thanks, kriskraft. Anyone else? Please be specific. My child is 13 yrs old and weighs 170 lbs. I will not wait for tests to come back.

Posted by riversinger (Member # 4851) on :

Dr. Jones likes Amoxicillin with Zithromax. I don't know the dosages for a child that age, but perhaps you could call Jones office and get some feedback.

Dr. Jones is one of the few doctors who has given permission to give out his name here.

Dr Charles Ray Jones
New Haven, CT
Phone: 203 - 772 - 1123
FAX: 1 - 203 - 772 - 0682

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Sonoma County Lyme Support
[email protected]

Posted by frenchbraid (Member # 4225) on :

I haven't been around in a while and thought I'd stop by and see what's been going on in Lymenet world.

When my daughter had a tick on her last summer, I immediately put tea tree oil on the tick and then removed the tick. Then I soaked the area with tea tree oil.

I started giving her Ester C 500mg, garlic, Wellness Formula and Silver Biotics. She stayed on this regimen for 10 days. She's never showed any signs of infection.

That was a huge relief after all that she had been through 2 years ago with IV's, orals, etc.

We are no longer into the abx route and have found natural alternatives to be as effective if not more effective. We feel that it is always better to support the immune system rather than attack it.

frenchbraid

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Stay positive. Smile. People care.

[This message has been edited by frenchbraid (edited 13 April 2005).]

Posted by riversinger (Member # 4851) on :

Putting Tea Tree oil on the tick is most likely a very bad idea. Any kind of aggressive action toward the tick has the possibility of making it regurgitate into the bite. NOT what you want to happen! It just increases the chance of infection.

Applying the oil to the bite site is fine. However, it is possible that Frenchbraid's daughter didn't show symptoms because the tick that bit her was not infected. It is a gamble to use the natural treatments.

Unfortunately, antibiotics are the only thing with studies proving their effectiveness. They are most likely to be effective in an early infection like this one.

Having personally tried high dose vitamin C, Wellness Formula, and silver, I would not recommend them as a first line defense. They may be helpful adjuncts.

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Sonoma County Lyme Support
[email protected]

Posted by frenchbraid (Member # 4225) on :

The reason for using tea tree oil is for its penetrating properties. When tea tree oil is applied, it is absorbed. That is a great defense if the tick "releases" any saliva. The tea tree oil is already below the skin surface when the tick is removed and will kill any bacteria that comes in contact with it.

Most topical abx remedies are just that - they are "topical" and stay on the surface of the skin. Tea tree oil however, penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the body. It is a great defense for this purpose.

frenchbraid

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Stay positive. Smile. People care.

Posted by Julie-MA (Member # 5110) on :

After going through what my five year old and I have gone through, when my 7 yr. old had a tick attached--and not at all engorged--I called Dr. Jones and had him call in one month of amox.

I will not take any chances anymore. I know there are concerns about kids and abx, but my younger son has been on and off them for over two years now; I would rather have one month that might not have been necessary than all those months and anguish. It's not worth the risk.

AND I believe all LLMDs feel it needs to be 30 days; anything less is not helpful and can even wreak more havoc.

Julie