posted
I keep thinking my daughtr is okay, but then I come here & read all of this scary stuff & wish I had insisted on more abx.
Her bite/rash was on April 29th, don't know if it was a tick, just an oval, itchy rash that never got bigger, wasn't a bull's eye & lasted less than a week.
Our doc gave her 1 dose of zithromax & that was that.
It's been 42 days, the only thing she had was a prickly heat rash on the back of her neck one day when it was REALLY hot out & she has long hair.
She's 6 & would tell me if anything felt wrong, but I've heard some people say that they felt fine for months or years.
Should I insist on treatment now? WWYD?
-------------------- ~Erin Posts: 58 | From SE PA | Registered: May 2006
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
yes, get a 2nd dose of abx for another 1 month period.
Youve go 1 choic; use it wisely so can be CURED; not like me going decades without treatment.
I'm so tired; so if it's not making sense; disregard ok.
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david1097
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3662
posted
First, its never to late to treat bacterial infections, antibiotics WILL knock down the infection.
Are you sure that your daughter was infected with Lyme, or are you just concerned about the posibility? 42 days is about the right time to produce antibodies to the infection so now would be a good time to have her tested if you are concerned. Earlier than this and the tests may not show anything at all. In early stage (it sounds like she has no symtoms so if she was infected then she would still be early stage) treatment is pretty easy, even by ILADS standards. The fact that she recieved an antibiotic promptly at time of bite may have made a huge difference. On the other hand it may also make her sero negative, but a single dose is not likely to do that (as far as I know and i am no expert on the subject).
When you read this site remember that most of the people here are late stage, diagnosed very late after the apperance of many symptoms. In late stage there is systematic infection and it is very hard to eliminate, if it can be eliminated at all.
In general, early stage is quite curable even with a short course of antibiotics. A too short of a course may not fully eliminate the organism but it will significnatly knock it down to much lower levels. It is the bacterial load that matters in terms of symptom manifestation and speed of disease progress, not the duration of infection.
(Note that this does not seem to hold true AFTER intensive treatment with antibiotics for some reason, perhaps because the bacterium assume a different form or have gone fully intracellular, nobody knows...)
So In my humble opinion, the answer to your question, is it to late to treat...
If she does in fact have Lyme then no it is not. Obviously if she does not have lyme then there is no need to treat at all.
If you want piece of mind, why not have a igenex test done but be aware that they can yeild false positives especially if the IND bands are taken to mean +. If you get a number of suspicios bands but still have no overt symptoms then I would not panic and I would retest in about 6 months.
Also keep on the look out for recurring symptoms that occur on a regular basis (usually every 4 weeks or so). Things like hair loss, headache, joint pain or facial numbness/palsy. The recurring and remitting nature of this disease is a very good tip off that the infection is active.
Obviously the best option is to consult with a LLMD if there is one in your area.
Why do i have the above opinions? (and the above is not intended to be medical advice)..... Suffice to say that I have seen this exact scenario first hand in a pediatric setting.
Good luck, and don't worry too much as much of what you read on lymenet are at best described as horror stories (which are unfortunately true) but not always applicable to early infection.
Posts: 1184 | From north america | Registered: Feb 2003
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pmerv
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1504
posted
the trouble with treating when there are no symptoms is you don't know how much treatment is enough. In this case you don't even know if the child was exposed. Usually you would treat until symptoms resolve and then treat a month more.
I would think that you are in more danger from adverse reactions to antibiotics than Lyme at this point.
I agree with david about being careful not to think everyone with Lyme is like the people on Lymenet. I know many Lyme-infected people who live normal lives.
It's never too late to treat so if you child does develop health problems, you can treat at that time. It may be she will acquire Lyme from a documented tick bite at some time in the future, and then you will know what you are dealing with.
You should gather all the information you can and seek advice from your doctor, and then make a decision you can live with.
-------------------- Phyllis Mervine LymeDisease.org Posts: 1808 | From Ukiah, California, USA | Registered: Aug 2001
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AZURE WISH
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 804
posted
It is never to late to treat... I have had lyme at least 18.5 years and I am being treated and slowly getting better. Bettyg has gone over thirty years no treatment... lymetoo over 40 and she is much better now.
The thing to realize is that the longer you have had it - it seems the longer it usually takes to recover - of course this is not a fixed rule thats why I said usually- some people who had it a long time do recover quickly.
If you decide not to treat her now... please watch her - Stress to her that even if she just feels a little sick to tell you.
I know as a kid I didnt always tell my parents if it was mild sickness. (and I have had lyme since a kid) and you want to catch this stuff when i ts mild if u can.
char
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8315
posted
My son was 6 when he got bit and his symptoms were mild at first and seemed like intermittent viruses. Neither her or my daughter, were able to report symptoms. She was 9 when bit and I am talking up til age 13. Feeling bad became the norm so how can they percieve it. Not the maturity to know what norm for their age would be.
He and my daughter had years of up and down- good periods and bad until they crashed 4 yrs later. Now they are suffering a lot, not been able to attend school for last 2 yrs. Slowly improving, thank goodness.
I vote for treatment.
No studies that long term antibiotics are harmful. This bacteria disseminates quickly. See Dr. Burasano's guidelines under Newbie in Medical here.
Best to get her to qualified lyme literate doctor asap. You can post under Seeking a Dr. to find the best near you.
lymemomtooo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5396
posted
Erin, I am not a Dr so my thoughts are just that, My thoughts..First, I do not think every bite is going to cause lyme disease but since I live the side effects with my daughter 24/7, I am sure that I would freak out over every bite.
I just did 2 weeks ago when a bulls eye appeared. You better believe, I dug out some old doxy for the weekend and got ahold of the Dr the first minute I could for a new script.
Do you know if you are in an epidemic area? That would help me to determine if you should really freak out or not. And has she had any ticks on her. HOwever, there is a remote possibility that my daughter's bite was a mosquito. The site of the bulls eye is identical to a previous bad mosquito bite.
ANd review the symptoms..My daughter started to have social issues, withdrawal from activities up to suicidal depression..Also her cognitive skills tended to take a dump..It is not always the classic symptoms that raise the red flag.
Good luck..this is hell so I pray she is not infected. lymemomtooo
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