merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12041
posted
I am posting this on behalf of Tracy9-
Hello, Need opinions and I dont' know how to post a picture on lymenet, though if anyone can help me I'd appreciate it. Blake has a bite and rash on his arm. Picture attached. He did not see what bit him, but he thinks it was either yesterday or the day before. A rash has developed tonight.
He is coincidentally complaining of very, very sore and swollen glands in his neck, however he does not have any cold symptoms. He woke up with this today, and rash came on tonight. H
e did not link the two, but I am wondering.....if it were a tick bite, what would he do? He already has Lyme, Babs and Bart....he is on minocycline and rifampin currently. What do you think? Could it be a fly bite? Swollen glands coincidental? I tried googling it and all that kept coming up was tick bite//lyme disease. Thanks, Tracy
posted
not sure which, but one of the 3, I got something like that. Also, since he already has these diseases, its possible he would react quicker then noramlly, (body knows the bug already perhaps) Swellon glands...I am thinking babsia, or bart personally. You should look up these 3 and see what fits. SUDDEN severe onset, is usually babsia. High fever totally a tip off for babs. The rash at this moment I would guess lyme. But idk. llmd might.
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posted
I had a rash *exactly* like that on my neck once (after being diagnosed for Lyme). It had sort of a "lump" in the middle at the "bite site", not really hard but easily felt.
I showed it to my LLMD at the time. I was already being treated for Lyme, so at the time, we really didn't do anything differently with the treatment.
I'm not saying that you should ignore it or not contact the doctor, but for me, I was already in treatment so we didn't do any further testing or anything.
I'd be interested to know what the LLMD thinks about what kind of rash it is if you go since we never did know what it was.
I'll try to post a picture of it when I go home from work.
Roxy
Posts: 31 | From PA | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
I always have a reaction with redness to all bites. I think its because I have gotten so many vector born diseases that whenever I get bit my body launches a full blown attack.
BUT - you probably should take him to the doctor because there is a chance that it is cellulitis or some other acute infection (lyme, babs, etc are chronic infections) and if he is being treated for chronic he might need a week or two of a stronger antibiotic for the acute infection
bug bites can give some very severe acute infections. my sister was hospitalized for one and almost lost her leg. she had a red line going up her leg from the bite.
Posts: 615 | From maryland | Registered: Oct 2007
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posted
I had this exact same rash (it had bruise-like coloring around it just this picture). After a couple of days, the darker colored areas blended together into a circle around the red area, making it look like a bulls-eye.
It then spread all over my legs and abdomen. It also kept changing color, from dark purple to red, flat, then raised and bumpy---unbearably itchy.
In my case it was not from a new bug bite. It showed up out of nowhere after I had been on minoclycline for a couple of weeks. (I am newly diagnosed chronic lyme--23 years)
My LLMD told me he hadn't seen a rash like it before and wasn't sure if it was from an allergic reaction or one of my co-infections (babs or bart).
So he added Mycobutin in hopes of treating co-infections, if that was the cause. But, unfortunately, the rash only continued to get worse.
He waited another week and finally took me off my antibiotics. The rash is still there but 95% better after one week off meds.
Still not really sure if it was allergic reaction or if meds were stirring up bugs and immune system.
Posts: 345 | From East Coast | Registered: Apr 2008
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posted
Tracy--so sorry this has happened to your little guy. I guess you can probably rule out a tick bite, but of course that doesn't help much. I would not discount a spider bite and the mayflies here have been awful so I would guess they've not been great up by you either.
I did look up West Nile virus--I found this at the CDC (I know... ) :
Milder Symptoms in Some People. Up to 20 percent of the people who become infected have symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, nausea, vomiting, and sometimes swollen lymph glands or a skin rash on the chest, stomach and back. Symptoms can last for as short as a few days, though even healthy people have become sick for several weeks.
Of course I'm not saying that's what he has but I'm just trying to offer a perspective other than a tbd. Whatever it is I hope he is feeling better soon.
Posts: 237 | From Rhode Island | Registered: Jan 2008
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Just to clarify, Blake is my husband. He is 47 years old, has been sick with Lyme, Babs and Bart for ten years, but only under treatment of LLMD for about six months.
I cannot rule out a tick, he just doesn't know what bit him.
Thanks so much to Merry Girl for posting this; I didn't know how to post a picture here.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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I guess you can probably rule out a tick bite, but of course that doesn't help much. I would not discount a spider bite and the mayflies here have been awful so I would guess they've not been great up by you either. ![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
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