posted
Ok, My father , who lives in NY, was bit by an insect last Monday. He now has a rather largish rash on his left thigh. It is red with a black center, and appears to be infected. Initially, he put cortisone cream on the rash and it became more painful and grew. So he went to see the doctor and was given a ten day course of Duricef (cefadroxil).
He has no other symptoms such as fatigue, fevers, joint pain. So most likely this is just a run of the mill localized skin infection.
I am worried, of course, about Lyme. Perhaps irrational. My father refuses to get tested for lyme or ask for a course of Doxy. His doctor is very good and would be willing to test or give him an empiric trial if I spoke to him. He has seen the losses in my life due to lyme.
We had a rather heated exchange, there were many undercurrents. My father still believes that Lyme is a figment of my imagination created so I could escape and take a extended vacation. I am frustrated that does not attend to his health.
A few years ago he was admitted to the hospital for what appeared to be a heart attack. He signed out of the hospital against medical advice because when the nurse explained he would have to use a urinal. I called his cardiologist the next day and an emergency catherization was done. Many stories like this. In the past I have assumed the responsibilty of making sure he gets the care he needs even when he refuses.
Any rational advice on how I should approach this situation would be much appreciated.
[ 10. September 2006, 01:01 AM: Message edited by: serendipity ]
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Yep, an insect bite can be just that. Not every critter out there is carrying something. And hey, not everyone who gets bitten by a critter that is carrying something will be susceptible to whatever the critter was carrying.
My niece (w/Lyme) got whalloped by a bald-faced hornet. Pain like being shot with a .22 and swelling. Hurt for days. But in the end, just a hornet bite.
The deer flies around here got on rampages (with the weather?) and are occasionally out for blood. They bite HARD and sometimes through your clothing! Painful, but that's it.
If your dad is convinced that it's just a bite that got infected and won't pursue anything else, then you have to accept that. Yes, we'd all like those we love to take care of themselves, but we cannot "make" them do it. Trying to convince someone who will not be convinced is a waste of energy and only creates negativity, ime.
Let it go. For your own sake. Tell him you love him and let it go.
But keep an eye on the bite if you can - some spider bites can get nasty (if it might have been a spider).
Posts: 369 | From Ohio | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Hi, Thanks for the persepctive. I spoke to my father and he is taking care of this infection seriously, he had further questions and needed to be heard not lectured too.
My questions: Does he need a lyme test now (Elisa or Western Blot). The tick bite was six days ago Should he be on doxy based on the above story.
If no to the above, what should I watch out for?
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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robi
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5547
posted
Where in NY? city? rural? Was it a tick bite or som other bug? Do you have the tick f it was a tick?
robi
-------------------- Now, since I put reality on the back burner, my days are jam-packed and fun-filled. ..........lily tomlin as 'trudy' Posts: 2503 | From here | Registered: Apr 2004
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Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
It is my understanding that no Lyme tests - including the good ones such as the Igenex WBs - will show positive for a few weeks.
If you don't know what the bug was that bit your father, and if the "black" center of the bite is growing or appears to be atrophying, I would suspect possibly a Brown Recluse Spider bite. The bite of those spiders causes the tissue to die, and the tissue death continues to spread! These spiders are in more places than people think. I have a friend here who was bitten by one.
Whether it is a tick bite or a spider bite, if it has not improved a lot, I think your dad should see a doctor. The sooner, the better.
I don't have any links, but there are lots of photos of these spider bites on the net. You might see if any look like what your father has.
Good luck! You are in a tough situation.
Tracy
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Out in East Long Island - suburbs (on the rural side, very open area with large backyards and woods close by). He walks a lot, but in a little town not the woods.
He didn't describe the insect, he felt something for a few days, hit his leg (squashed the bug?) later saw blood coming from the bite.
Don't have the bug.
His immmune system is generally down recently. Very fatigued and suspectible to frequents infections in the last 10 months.
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
Do you think he could have been bitten by a brown recluse spider? They have a nasty bite that can cause serious problems.
As for Lyme disease testing - It takes the body about 4 to 6 weeks after the bite to produce enough antibodies to have a positive test result.
Unless a person already had Lyme but didn't realize it. Some people can have LD & their immune system keeps it under control enough that symptoms are not obvious for some time.
I'm sure you know that if the dr decides to test for Lyme, he should use IGeneX Lab in Calif or Med Diag Lab in NJ. Skip the ELISA & run the Western Blot. Read about testing in "Basic Info" at www.ilads.org
Let us know how he's doing. We care.
Posts: 4638 | From South Carolina | Registered: Mar 2001
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My father did his doctor when the rash initially became worse (when the center turned black). His doctor have him the Duricef, he's taken it for three days and the rash is healing.
Cbb, Since the bite was a week ago, and even if my father was ready and willing to take a test, it would be too early. I just wanted to treat with doxy 400 mg for 30 days, empiricaly. Perhaps
Unfortunatley, I do know that only few labs are usueful, Igenex in particular. I was going to call his doctor (which I have to admit I have done in the past) and request a test from Igenex in a few weeks. My father was understandbly upset at the thought of my calling his doctor.
I have wondered if my father (and the rest of my family) also have lyme which has been kept asymptomatic, or at least in some control. Stastically, if I was bit they were.
My father has had some vague symptoms in the past, numbness in legs making it difficult for him to drive. This resolved after a few years but was scary. Now, before this bite, he was experiencing short term memory loss. Hard to differentiate his personality of an absent minded professor from grief/depression from a possible infection. Thanks for listening to my rambling thoughts.
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
It's worth getting a test through a "regular" lab in an earlier stage. One of the reasons the tests are so bad is the antibodies are less in people with chronic lyme. Also, as long as the doctor recognizes that a negative isn't conclusive.
Have you asked at all about the brown recluse spider bite? This is very, very serious. The venom of the bite destroys the flesh. The longer without treatment, the worse the damge.
posted
Healing of the rash could occur with the abx, but doesn't mean infection did not go into circulation. If you don't know what the bug was, erring to caution, especially in NY - seems the best thing to do.
Ugh.
It's hard with Dad's. Mine has been bitten multiple times, is, according to him - "OK" - but has sleep apnea and chronic neck and back pain.
We have had the similar blowing off of LD from him, I just feed him info, bit by bit by bit. (pun intended)
Mo
Posts: 8337 | From the other shore | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Aniek, thank you for the photos. I told my father to keep a watch. It is healing, but if it gets worse he will go to the doctors immediately. Appartently it was so painful on Thursday that he could not walk and had an urgent care visit on Friday. Now he tells me that.
Mo, That is my concern. That the localized infection is healing as a result of the antibiotic or spontaneously. However, we do not know what went into cirucualtion.
Today he told me has other painful rashes in the past. Great.
Thanks, there is only so much I can do in terms of getting him to consider lyme and take action. At least I can pray.
Posts: 628 | From the south | Registered: Dec 2005
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