posted
Greetings all.. hope this is nothing, but i'm looking for help urgently on this situation.
Today I went deer hunting.. first time in a decade.
I got Bambi, and processed the meat.
Then came home, fully showered, cleaned up, washed my clothes, and jumped in the sack.
10 minutes later (now 30 minutes ago), I felt a bite in my lower thigh. a HARD bite...
I thought little of it at first, but it itched a lot.
I then rolled over kicked off the sheets, and found a baby tick in my bed. eggaaaaddddss!!
I didn't kill the tick--he's peacefully crawling around in the ziplock bag beside me.
I also swabbed down my leg with hydrogen peroxide immediately.
but my leg is still itching. which is kinda weird.
Suggestions???
should I ship the tick off for testing? What can I do about my leg to prevent possibility of transmission?
Posts: 2 | From Columbia sc | Registered: Dec 2009
| IP: Logged |
julielynne4
Unregistered
posted
You should get on doxycycline immediately. Some primary care physicians will prescribe it to you as a preventative measure...although, many no longer will.
Do you have a doctor you can go to tomorrow?
IP: Logged |
I got out my camera gear and just shot some pics of the little bugger. sorry that the quality isn't better - i'm a bit of a camera whore, but my good stuff is at the office....
a preliminary googleblitz makes it look like he's the common deer tick...
2 follow up questions on this.. does the bacterium respond to specific cleaners?? ie, i dowsed in hydrogen peroxide within 3 minutes of getting bitten. Is there something else I should do?
I gotta say i'm not excited about doxycycline, as my wife is on it this week (8 week sinus infection that didn't respond to other antibiotics),a nd the side effects are killer for her.....
is there a recommended lab where I can send my pet tick for testing?
this is in SC, which DOES seem to be low in LD, but I'm just not really interested in contracting anything right now...
My forefinger, for size reference...
Posts: 2 | From Columbia sc | Registered: Dec 2009
| IP: Logged |
Hoosiers51
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15759
posted
If your wife wouldn't mind sparing you a couple days' worth of Doxy.....
That's one consideration. I'd try to get on it as soon as possible, if you are going to do it for prevention.
I would send the tick somewhere to get it tested....probably Igenex. Their # is 800-832-3200. Tell them you have a nymph tick that bit you, and you want to get it tested.
Your insurance may not reimburse you, so you can ask them the price of the test. They send the kit for free though, but you'll have to send a check when you return the kit.
Ask them also what you should preserve the tick in (refrigerator, freezer, etc).
Igenex is regarded as the best Lyme lab, so you are paying for peace of mind that there will be no false negatives, basically.
It is much easier to find Lyme in a tick sample than a blood sample, so keep that in mind. It is probably cheaper checking the tick as well than getting Igenex to test your blood. Testing your blood IgM and IgG there will run you $200 or more...so you can use that as a comparison. I can't imagine the tick would cost that much.
Not sure how many days of Doxy to tell you to take, but if you're worried, I'd at least take a few days of it ASAP. The longer you wait to take the Doxy, the longer duration (in days) I would take it, if that makes sense.
If you start to notice knee pain, headaches, etc about 5 days to a month or two from now, it's probably Lyme.
If you get fevers or feel very sick, go to the ER so they can test you for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. That is in your area, despite you being far from the Rockies. If it's not RMSF, then check for babesia or bartonella as a cause for fevers, though Lyme can cause them too.
Hopefully you'll have no symptoms. Fingers crossed!
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
Dekrator48
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 18239
posted
If you develop a flu-like illness and/or severe sore throat in the next several weeks, it may be lyme.
That's how mine started.
Untreated, it then spread to my hip and later to everywhere.
Prompt treatment with a large enough dose for a long enough time is key.
Coinfections like babesia, bartonella, RMSF and ehrlichia can be transmitted by the same tick, like Hoosiers mentioned.
Good luck to you...I really hope you were not infected.
-------------------- The fibromyalgia I've had for 32 years was an undiagnosed Lyme symptom.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". -Jeremiah 29:11 Posts: 6076 | From Pennsylvania, USA | Registered: Nov 2008
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Sorry I can't read all the previous replies right now but glancing over them it seems you're on the right road.
As others suggest: Start doxy, ASAP. Call a LLMDs office ASAP for advice. Get the tick tested but for as many tick-borne infections as possible. Lyme is just one of those.
And, in your part of the country, there is another spirochetal infection carried by ticks: STARI (or Master's disease).
There are also many other tick-borne infections and they are treated differently. Lyme also has many stages and forms, each treated differently.
So, remember, the reason you need advice from a LLMD, an ILADS-educated LLMD is that there are many different diseases any one tick can carry. Doxy will not work for all those.
You don't want to become alarmed, of course, and it may turn out okay, but this early window is the absolute most important time to have EXPERT advice. Hopefully, you can at least talk to the office manager at a good LLMDs office today.
In the meantime, I'd also get on a very good garlic extract and olive leaf extract. Many LLMDs incorporate one or both.
The best garlic extract is ALLICIN from www.hepapro.com - but I'd get some from your local nutrition store today. Take in the middle of meal, not on an empty stomach. Olive Leaf Extract is also excellent to help cover some bases. It can be taken on a empty stomach, in my experience. These will help but, if infected, you will need the stronger antibiotic for the hard push.
Milk Thistle, too, can help your liver if you do have a toxic infection brewing. you'll read more about this to help the liver in the Burrascano guidelines that someone above posted for you.
As for the tick, I'd put it in a glass or very strong plastic container with a strong lid -and the tape all around it. Someone recently described out a tick they had put in a baggie actually bit through it and got onto another person.
Put the vial in the fridge. After you talk to the LLMD's office, they may instruct you to freeze it until you get it shipped to the right lab for testing.
As for if this is a deer tick, it may be another kind. But all ticks can carry the same diseases, it's just that most doctors don't know that and you'll be up for more of a battle to get treated.
In the last photo, I think I see a faint round white marking on the upper part of his back. If so, that may indicate a young lone star tick. They are more aggressive so if this is one of those a baggie may not contain it so that it can be sent for testing.
Put a few blades of grass in for food but I'm not sure if, in a vacuum, it will live. But I'd sure not want to take the chance of it crawling through any air holes.
As for testing the tick, I would sure do it at a specialty lab. If it comes back positive you've got a clear answer but, just like for people, a negative test is not certain as testing is still not perfect.
the great news is that you are acting fast and -perhaps (slight chance) that tick is a healthy one. Not all carry disease but, of course, you have to be proactive and it's good to protect your future. The fact that your body reacted to the bite tells you action is needed.
Good luck.
============
See slide #4 here - you can pull the link photo right up along side your own photos to compare:
Then, go to their home page, left hand menu, scroll down for rash photos, etc.
=================
I know you said you had some itching. Try NOT to scratch it. Avoid any kind of steroid creams, pills or shots. I would get a colloidal silver from a nutrition store and put that on the bite site. Source Naturals is a safe brand of that.
If you show any kind of rash, anywhere, Get photos from different angles with a clean coin or ruler for dimension reference.
You would do well to put a newspaper - date clearly read - next to your body to document the time line. Believe, many doctors will not believe you a year or two from now if you say you had a rash. But, hopefully, if there is an infection, you can get treated ASAP so year from now you'll not struggling.
You also need to get your face and the rash in at least one photo - together - to prove this is your body. Really, some doctors may not believe you if the rash fades but you become ill. But, then, those are not the doctors you'd want, anyway.
Most doctors are very uneducated about any tick-borne disease. Most ID (Infectious Disease) doctors, too. A few understand but most have no clue. That is where your local support group can help guide you.
Oh, in case I forgot: did I mention just how very important it is to consult with a LLMD - ASAP! This could be the most important thing you do regarding your future. Seriously, every day matters, even every hour.
CONTROVERSY CONTINUES TO FUEL THE "LYME WAR" -(author's details at link)
As two medical societies battle over its diagnosis and treatment, Lyme disease remains a frequently missed illness. Here is how to spot and treat it.
Excerpts:
Meet the players
The opponents in the battle over the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease are the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the largest national organization of general infectious disease specialists, (and)
and the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), an organization made up of physicians from many specialties. ( www.ilads.org )
ILADS, by contrast, asserts that the illness is much more common than reported, underdiagnosed, easier to contract than previously believed, difficult to diagnose through commercial blood tests, and difficult to treat, (especially)
especially when treatment is delayed because of commonly encountered diagnostic difficulties ( http://www.ilads.org/guidelines.html - Accessed April 6, 2007).
. . .
" . . .To treat Lyme disease for a comparable number of life cycles, treatment would need to last 30 weeks. . . ."
`` . . .Patients with Lyme disease almost always have negative results on standard blood screening tests and have no remarkable findings on physical exam, so they are frequently referred to mental-health professionals for evaluation.
"...If all cases were detected and treated in the early stages of Lyme disease, the debate over the diagnosis and treatment of late-stage disease would not be an issue, and devastating rheumatologic, neurologic, and cardiac complications could be avoided..."
. . . * Clinicians do not realize that the CDC has gone on record as saying the commercial Lyme tests are designed for epidemiologic rather than diagnostic purposes, and a diagnosis should be based on clinical presentation rather than serologic results.
- Full article at link above, containing MUCH more detailed information.
----------
Co-infections (other tick-borne infections or TBD - tick-borne disease) are not discussed in this article due to space limits. Still, any LLMD you would see would know how to assess/treat if others are present.
==========================
Find your local SUPPORT GROUP for help in finding a doctor, etc.
[ 12-28-2009, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
Just to add, if you begin doxy, you need 200 mg, twice daily. Take with food to avoid stomach distress. Also, you will need to avoid the sun and use sunscreen when outside. Many burn quickly when on it.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
| IP: Logged |
merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12041
posted
this doesnt look likea deer tick to me, but it doesnt matter. Why wait to see if you get sick?
Get on doxy at least 300mg a day for 4-6 weeks. Dont mess around.
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
| IP: Logged |
MADDOG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18
posted
That looks like a brown doggy tick.
I don't think they usually carry lyme. however they do carry rockey mnt. spotted fever.
Still the doxy seems like a very good thing to me.
MADDOG
Posts: 4083 | From Ohio | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
sixgoofykids
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11141
posted
Any tick can carry Lyme, I got it from a dog type tick.
I am wondering, are you sure the tick was what bit you? Tick bites don't hurt. I am thinking maybe another bug bit you, then you happened to find a tick. A tick would have been attached if it bit you, it sounds like you didn't find this one attached.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
| IP: Logged |
Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- " . . . felt a bite . . ." can be interpreted two ways:
A) feeling the actual biting action - or
B) when first finding & feeling pain at the bite (site) after the fact.
--------
" . . . a HARD bite . . . " can also be interpreted two ways:
A) pain from the action of the bite at the time it happened with the biting action itself having been a sudden or hard grasp - or
B) the texture of skin/tissue at the bite site was found to be hard ---------
Not sure, but I read it both as the "B" situation - after the fact.
Dave, can you clarify that?
Goofy is right, the actual action of the tick biting is usually not felt due to a numbing chemical they first inject into their host as they attach.
Still, you also have to ask just to be sure: any other insects or spiders around? I assume none to capture your attention but it's worth mentioning just in case.
It could have been attached for hours if the tick found you early in your excursion.
However, as we see sometimes with ticks and infections, there can be exceptions but it's good to think through all possibilities in such cases. The fact that you have a captured tick near your bite site certainly is a glaring clue.
It may be that different kinds of ticks could hurt more than others or that if you felt the action of the bite, something may be different.
Usually, a tick will not release until its good and ready but maybe he'd had enough.
He may have been attached for a while, the numbing chemical may have worn off, and his backing out - or maybe it being pushed off by the mattress or your turning over - caused pain. Maybe you scratched it inadvertently and that action triggered the pain surge after the fact. -
[ 12-28-2009, 07:24 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
MADDOG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 18
posted
Hi,The tick doesen't look full of blood so maybe you found it real quick enuf,before it could release the germs.
MADDOG
Posts: 4083 | From Ohio | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks for coming here so many support groups now with very informative responses. If i had this opportunity in 1999 when i got bit i would of jumped all over it. (education is key)
Good luck and don't take no chances because of me my Primary care Doc learned to catch it early is key so he gives them doxy right a way even before test results.
Posts: 128 | From web | Registered: Dec 2008
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic