posted
Hello everybody, I have a question about a rash I got last evening. It was very itchy and the whole area red and a little raised. Around one inch in diameter. In the middle it looked like two bites close to each other, very hard. I just put a little shea butter on it to help with itchiness (which it did). This morning I woke up with a bull's eye. Three days ago I was strolling through a park with high grasses and weeds growing along the pathway, touching the people walking by, myself included. There were some mosquitos, I didn't wear any mosquito repellent. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Tommy Thompson Park) The rash is fading, slowly. Can it be Lyme, please, it anyone knows? Thanks [IMG][/IMG]
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Posts: 3 | From Canada | Registered: Aug 2017
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Absolutely. Sorry.
By the way, mosquitoes can carry lyme, too, though most doctors are not aware of this. It could have been a tick you did not see, though, and regardless of the vector there are other infections to also consider.
Good news is that early identification - and you do not need any lyme test now or even later on - too early for one to be done, anyway and the classic bullseye that you have IS the best proof.
with early attention & also assessment of other tick-borne infections, you should have a better road ahead than if this went unnoticed.
I hope you can find a proper doctor soon.
Avoid steroids, alcohol and aerobic exercise for they can all make this worse. Do keep up with reasonable movement, of course, as you feel it works FOR you.
Now, you may not develop symptoms. You might get lucky. Still, it is vital that you get proper assessment and advice from an true lyme literate doctor (LLMD or LL ND).
That might take a while, though, so I hope your GP / PCP is somewhat aware and assertive in action not just regarding lyme but also other infections that usually go along with it.
Early attention can make a world of difference but it needs to be adequate, not just a stab at it.
Best of luck to you. Take excellent care of yourself, okay? -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- First and foremost, contact ASAP to find a doctor & connect with a support group to help answer questions, etc. Start here:
Global Lyme Alliance -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- When considering herbal / nutritional / adjunct methods, because lyme is so very complex & unique, as are possible coinfections:
if at all possible - because each person & each case is different - it's best to consult with an ILADS-educated LL ND (lyme literate naturopathic doctor) (or similar) who has completed four years of post-graduate medical education in the field of herbal and nutritional medicine -
- and someone who is current with ILADS' research & presentations, past and present, and has completed the ILADS Physician Training Program (see: www.ilads.org )
so they really know all they can about the science of lyme . . . how lyme (& other TBD) act and what we can do about that in various ways. Proper ASSESSMENT of not just lyme but coinfectoins is vital. Someone trained by ILADS is best to assess.
Many LL NDs incorporate antibiotics (depending upon the licensing laws in their state). Some LLMDs and LL NDs have good working relationships.
When possible, it's great to have both a LLMD and LL ND and even better when they have a long-standing professional relationship.
For those considering complementary support methods / or other avenues entirely, see below.
For Canada, you might inquire through the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, still links below are still informative.
Herbal Safety considerations & reference books; etc.
BOOKS - Links to many articles and books by holistic-minded LL doctors of various degrees who all have this basic approach in common:
knowing which methods offer assertive & direct impact, which are only support and which are both. And when to use what, how to combine, & when to step back.
You can compare and contrast many approaches with links to articles, books, methods . . .
BODY WORK methods / links (and why anyone who works on your spine MUST be LL to the degree they at least know to never suddenly twist neck or spine. Never. Ever - not if there is inflammation in the spine with active infection. And that we should never be advised to do neck / head / shoulder stands.)
Links here to two major sources: Buhner, & Zhang. Be sure to get their books.
RIFE Machine - Reference LINKS -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Shea Butter on the rash can be helpful. To help lessen the itch, you might also try a very tiny bit of Tea Tree Oil. This is all about comfort, though mixed in with the shea butter, and helping the actual skin tissue heal. It will do nothing for the systemic nature of the infection. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Important to know, avoid even any kind of steroid topical ointments, too.
Topic: what do STEROIDS actually do to those with lyme? Risks, long term damage discussed. Links. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Welcome to Lymenet! PM sent for LLMDs in the USA.
The rash looks like a bulls-eye, which is definitive for Lyme. My son contracted Lyme disease from mosquito bites many years ago.
I don't know of any LLMDs in Canada, as I was told the climate there is very bad for Lyme treatment.
You need to be evaluated and treated by a Lyme-literate doctor (LLMD). Non LLMDs have no clue about this horrible disease or its complex treatment! LLMDs are far and few between, so you need to go where they are.
A LLMD is one who has treated Lyme disease and the co-infections which come with it for many years and has gotten patients well. A good one will follow Dr. B's Guidelines, the "gold standard" for Lyme treatment.
When calling for an appointment, ask if they have any cancellations or a waiting list (call every day if you have to!). Patients have been able to get in sooner by doing this.
Here is some more info for Canada you should have:
*Note: Dr. Murakami was the top LLMD in Canada before he retired.
Some additional resources for you to study:
Read the following books:
"Why Can't I Get Better?" and the new one, "How Can I Get Better?" written by Dr.H, the top Lyme-literate doctor. They are an excellent source of information.
"Cure Unknown" by Pamela Weintraub. Check your local library or buy it used on Amazon.
"Ending Denial (Updated in 2013): The Lyme Disease Epidemic - a Canadian Public Health Disaster" by Helkie Ferrie.
The description written about this book on Amazon is as follows:
"This book includes tips and tricks for getting treatment and testing if you live in Canada. Lyme is becoming a public health crisis in Canada. An estimated 20,000 Canadians become sick with Lyme every year, but patients are not allowed access to internationally recognized tests and are denied successful treatments.
The disease is readily treatable with conventional antibiotics, even in its chronic form. A call for action from patients, doctors, researchers, and politicians, this book contains life-saving resources with over 450 pages. It also includes access information to reliable tests for Lyme Disease not available in Canada, as well as effective treatment guidelines."
Btw - I know you are new to Lymenet, but please break up your posts into 2-3 sentence paragraphs, as there are people on Lymenet who cannot read large blocks of text due to neurological problems from Lyme. Thanks.
Posts: 8981 | From Illinois | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Thank you everybody for your replies. I went today to the walk-in-clinic and the doctor immediately recognized the rash and prescribed me Doxicycline, one dose. He said to wait and watch for any further symptoms, like the rash expanding, fever, or other flu-like symptoms. He said blood work wouldn't show anything that early. The pharmacist asked 'What's for?' and when I showed her my arm she only said 'Aha' and proceeded immediately to fill my prescription. Is it scary or reassuring that they knew immediately what they saw... It looks like it becomes more common. People should be more aware of it, then. I am going to read the links that you guys posted. Thank you again
Posts: 3 | From Canada | Registered: Aug 2017
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Yes, it's good they recognized it but one dose of doxycycline is questionable. Be sure to connect with the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation first thing in the morning. You will need to find a doctor who is much more attune to proper treatment.
Your current doctor apparently goes by the IDSA guidelines. You need one who is well educated in ILADS' work. Very different approaches.
Still, there are many variables and you may do just fine. But a real LLMD is so important to guide you. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brussels
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13480
posted
One day doxy??? Does that exist as therapy?
I don't think it will even help. I thought the doctors gave at least 2 weeks doxy?!
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Brussels: One day doxy??? Does that exist as therapy?
I don't think it will even help. I thought the doctors gave at least 2 weeks doxy?!
I had been taking a stroll through/near high vegetation just 2 days before the rash appeared.
Next day I went to the dr's (third day after bite).
The dr said he cannot tell for sure what it is, to just keep on eye for any further symptoms (fever, flu-like symptoms)for the next 2 weeks, as it is possible that it's nothing.
The rash has in the middle two raised spots, so I was bitten in two spots, not only one. Also, there is no wound whatsoever, not even a visible dot.
I didn't see any bug whatsoever. The rash is on my forearm, visible at all times. I took a shower 6 - 10 hours after the bite. It's not possible that a tick could stay in place and gorge with blood for any amount of time, let alone 36 hrs.
Looks like mosquitos bite. As hopingandpraying said that it happened to their son.
Posts: 3 | From Canada | Registered: Aug 2017
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
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posted
- "The dr said he cannot tell for sure what it is . . . " (end quote)
This is definitely a bullseye rash, it is lyme. There is absolutely no doubt about that. None. Zero.
There is a very clear outer ring to this. It's not bright with a magic marker pointing to it but it is there, most assuredly.
Oh, and it's a terrible myth that a tick must be attached 24-36 hours. If a tick has ever had any blood meal previously . . . [or a mosquito or other vector is the culprit]
The instant the vector's mouth parts breaks skin and gets any blood, that very instant it is possible to transmit, not just lyme but also over a dozen other infections.
Within 12 hours, lyme can infiltrate the nervous system.
Coinfections can be quite serious, too. These must be assessed and their potential taken very seriously.
I'm sorry to highlight the reality of this. Really. Still, although there is zero doubt that this rash is the classic bulls eye and only lyme does that - individuals can respond in a range of ways.
But, what is very clear from the thousands who have chronic lyme is that you are in a very vital window of opportunity right now. Early attention to this - now -- not wait and see as that often allows the infections to take hold for a very long time, then.
Please find a true LL doctor to advise you from this point. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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posted
- A good template, for starters. Other links in previous posts will take you from here but this is very important to keep in mind:
Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease (Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines for Lyme and Other Tick Borne Illnesses
Dr. Burrascano's Treatment Guidelines (2008) - 37 pages
Page 27 - SUPPORTIVE THERAPY & CERTAIN ABSOLUTE RULES for self-care
Page 32 - in the Physical Therapy section, #2 . . . DO NOT use ice or electrical stim unless specifically ordered by our office. . . . -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
looks like mine. it had an oily top and had blisters.
best to get igenex and get on abx fast.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Indeed, Igenex is the best lab. However, your rash is too recent for you to be tested by typical methods. And, the bulls eye rash is distinctive for lyme. Your rash IS the test, positive.
Not everyone has the rash develop so lyme can exit without there ever having been a rash. Yet, in those who do have a distinctive rash like you have, it is very clearly lyme - regardless of the vector that transmitted it.
Let's Not Be Rash About Erythema Migrans - May 24, 2012
In comment section:
Pam Weintraub - May 26, 2012
If you are doing a rash wrap-up, do not forget Ben Luft's finding that only four of 20 strains cause disseminated disease;
the other 16 are rash-only For various reasons --imo on both sides, political-- no one brings this up.
It means that fewer cases of Lyme actually disseminate (reasons why activists may not mention) but it also means that of those cases that DO disseminate, much more of early Lyme is actually a treatment failure (reason IDSA types may not mention.)
It is a fact that helps no one win their political fight, but it is so important for patients to understand this.
Pam Weintraub, Cure Unknown -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
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For patients with tick-borne diseases, the path to health can be confounding. Combining integrative and conventional approaches may be the best way forward.
. . . What’s more, many of these hard-to-treat patients, like Makris, turn out to have co-infections transmitted by the same black-legged ticks that gave them Lyme — infections that don’t always respond to treatments for Lyme disease itself.
The blood parasite Babesia, for example, must be treated with antimalarial medications. And, the co-infections Anaplasma and Ehrlichia do not respond to amoxicillin, a first-line antibiotic often used for Lyme.
Even if these and other co-infections are addressed, [Dr. H] says patients can stay sick for many reasons beyond simple infection itself. . . .
Pamela Weintraub links -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Brussels
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13480
posted
you may not develop symptoms, I agree, if it's a fresh bite.
But if it's not a fresh bite, it means Borrelia is surfacing on the skin, and you are probably fighting an older infection.
If you don't feel any other lyme symptoms, your body is probably taking charge of the infection.
But if you feel any other lyme symptoms, I would treat with herbs and other natural solutions, but NOT leave the infection grow.
Posts: 6199 | From Brussels | Registered: Oct 2007
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