This has got to be the most basic question ever - - but sometimes the most basic information is difficult to find. (I searched quite awhile with no luck on this question).
I know that a tick bite from a regular tick can itch - but my husband, who is prone to hives was bit by an american dog tick, and the next day had a hive like swelling about 2" across, that he said itched like hives.
He scratched it, it became red, raw, circular...looking much like the bullseye rashes. this was on day 2.
So do the bullseye rashes usually itch?...or can they be a rash that does not itch?
He knows what the deer ticks looks like and he said this was not a deer tick.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
I know you can get Lyme from a dog tick too.
If I pulled a tick off of me and got any kind of a rash, I would high tail it to a doctor
(preferably a Lyme Literate one) and get on antibiotics as soon as possible.
At least 300-400mg of doxycycline a day.
I've read where sometimes the bulls-eye rash itches and sometimes it doesn't.
And like my four family members, sometimes you don't get a rash at all.
Please get to a doctor and get on antibiotics as soon as possible.
A Lyme Literate Medical Doctor (LLMD) would be your best choice.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by cordor (Member # 9449) on :
Don't know if this helps, but my LLMD told me that once you have already had /have Lyme and you get bitten by a tick AGAIN.....it CAN itch. But he said that the initial first bit, does not itch. Just subsequent ones, can and sometimes do. But STILL...itching or NOT....get it checked out ASAP!!!!!!!!!!! By a Lyme doc!!!!!!!
Posted by Vermont_Lymie (Member # 9780) on :
Mine did not itch. The first one burned. The second one was just there, neither burning or itching, just a perfect bulls-eye.
Posted by mceline (Member # 9235) on :
Tha's interesting about what the LLMD said....My husband has not had lyme....but this came up and had to question it.
Posted by Leonard (Member # 10531) on :
This question cam up about a month ago.
My experience was that the initial pin-point red spot (I did not see the tick) itched. I knew I had been bitten by something but I didn't know what. I put hydrocortizone cream on it to control the itch. About 9 days later I got the bulls-eye (I thought I had ringworm) which did not itch.
Leonard
Posted by bejoy (Member # 11129) on :
For the record, ringworm always itches. Bullseye rashes may or may not.
If you have a bullseye that doesn't itch, you should strongly suspect lyme.
Since your husband had a bullseye that you know is from a tick, I'd get treated with antibiotics immediately.
How long ago did he get the bite?
Posted by susan2health (Member # 10446) on :
Mine didn't itch. I wouldn't have noticed it except it was right on my chest where I couldn't miss it.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
If you go up to the top of the page & click on the word search...
then type in the word "bulls eye rash itch" in the search box & hit search...there where 30 links.
take care Dana
Posted by Cobweb (Member # 10053) on :
Unfortunately I don't think there is anything "typical" about a lyme rash. But there is something "typical" about the doctors who look at a rash-it's anything but lyme.
So , given the circumstances, bypass the DUCKS and go straight to an LLMD. Take a picture of the rash, too, because it may fade. A "wait and see" attitude could be disastrous.
Take Care, Carol
Posted by HaplyCarlessdave (Member # 413) on :
I got Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Babesia after being "bitten" by a dog tick and several deer ticks. I had the bullseye rash around the dog tick, indicating that at least this tick carried Lyme. Thus, yes, dog ticks CAN carry Lyme. Anybody that tries to tell you otherwise is either ignorant or lying or both. As for itching, the rash did not itch as much as poison ivy or a mosquito bite, but it definitely did sometimes itch; probably this is true of any dermitological irritation.
This rash is highly diagnostic of Lyme; almost surely better than any ..'test'...for Lyme that have so far been developed.
So I would recommend taking it very seriously, and taking a course of doxycycline, at least, as soon as possiblr
DaveS
Posted by Cobweb (Member # 10053) on :
^
Posted by zing (Member # 7124) on :
mine itched and itched at that spot even after the rash was gone zing