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My sister just called from the ER.. Her son (7 years old) has a tick in his back, they think since yesterday.. They live in Pittsburgh, PA.. They are at the ER and they are getting it removed but they said there is nothing to worry about as they caught it early? and are getting it removed..
I told her I'd post here to ask some of the knowledgeable folk what she should do.. I didn't know if maybe she should take him to an LLMD or get some type of tests done that the standard medical doctors wouldn't do.
Please let me know and thanks for any advice!
Hey Tom,
Sorry to hear that.
Here is a Q & A from lymenet on what to do, and like everything Lyme, it depends on who you ask. Personally, I'd want some abx on board for insurance.
http://www.lymenet.org/help.shtml#1
Take care…..kim
Please check this out.
The tick was embeded in myself or I would never ever believe it.
I was treated by ID Doc but it wasn't enough, I ended up with R/A.
If it was a family member of mine I would say don't walk run to a LLMD.
Check this out!
http://vodpod.com/stevensjess11/stevensjess11
Hugs, Roz
Tom–
It looks like it is infected. I'd encourage treatment.
Now, having said that, my son had a tick imbedded for who knows how long–it wasn't engorged so maybe not too long. He went to the urgent care to have it removed–it was also on his back. The doctor there said if he doesn't get any symptoms, he should do nothing. I asked my LLMD and he agreed with the doctor–that response totally surprised me.
When I was bit, it looked infected so there was no question but to treat–they just didn't treat long enough :(.
Take care,
Trudi
Lyme/RA; AP 4/2008 off and on to 3/2010; past use of quinolones may be the cause of my current problems, (including wheelchair use); all supplements (which can aggravate the condition) were discontinued on 10/14/2012. Am now treating for the homozygous MTHFR 1298 mutation. Off of all pain meds since Spring '14 (was on them for years--doctor is amazed--me too). Back on pain med 1/2017. Reinfected? Frozen shoulder?
Tom, first of all…well done to whoever took that photo! There is your documented evidence of the engorged tick and the expanding rash around the bite. 🙂 It's not a close-up, so can't tell if the tick is a deer tick or not, but that really doesn't matter…there are a number of different ticks that are passing all kinds of stuff.
Not worth taking risks with this…if the docs won't prescribe at least a month of doxy, would be wise to get him to an LLMD. Standard ELISA and western blot likely won't show positivity for a while yet, if it shows up at all. It's way too early for enough antibody to have been produced. I had this discussion with a pediatric infectious disease doctor when my daughter was bitten last year between the toes and couldn't put her foot down, the pain was so bad. He refused treatment and said we had to wait until she produced symptoms and the only thing he would do was write 4 scripts for an ELISA test to be run every 2 weeks for 8 weeks…which sort of tells you how bad they know these tests are. My LLMD actually gave my daughter 2 months of doxy to be on the safe side…one month continuous treatment and then 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off in two pulses to try to elicit herxing. She was fine and didn't need further treatment after that…but I still watch her like a hawk. Knowing how I reacted to a tick bite, I'm not taking any chances with my daughter.
Tom, is your sis also in Ohio?
Peace, Maz
PS My LLMD says that even a few hours is long enough for an embedded tick to potentially pass infection. The 24 or 48 hour thing for transmission is rubbish. One only needs to see that expanding rash around the bite to see that the body is reacting to something.
Thanks for the replies..
Maz, she lives in Pittsburgh, PA.. Either the ER doc or her family physician also said no need to worry as Lyme is non existent in Pittsburgh.
[user=851]tbird2340[/user] wrote:
Thanks for the replies..
Maz, she lives in Pittsburgh, PA.. Either the ER doc or her family physician also said no need to worry as Lyme is non existent in Pittsburgh.
Tim,
If you could read “Jessica's Story” posted by Roz yesterday, you would be mortified.
This is what I read.
[align=left][/align]
[align=left]Undertreated infections will inevitably resurface, usually as chronic Lyme, with its tremendous problems of morbidity and difficulty with diagnosis and treatment and high cost in every sense of the word. So, while the bulk of this document focuses of the more problematic chronic patient, strong emphasis is also placed on earlier stages of this illness where closest attention and care must be made.” [/align]
[align=left]http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/drbguide200509.pdf[/align]
[align=left]If he were my son, I would do everything to get him three weeks of antibotics regardless he would have symptoms or not. We never know the impact until it is too late. [/align]
[align=left]P.S. Love your two beautiful kids. The little guy is growing up like weed. So adorable. [/align][/size]They give prophylactic antibiotics for alot of things. Considering the horrible effect Lyme could have on someone, a few weeks of antibiotics would be a much better course than waiting for symptoms and for it to become chronic and harder to treat.
[user=851]tbird2340[/user] wrote:
Maz, she lives in Pittsburgh, PA.. Either the ER doc or her family physician also said no need to worry as Lyme is non existent in Pittsburgh.
Tom, that's a bit of luck…they're only about an hour from Hermitage!
Btw, think these guys in PA might disagree with the ER and GP…PA is endemic for Lyme and these docs are misinformed:
One thing your sister can do is save the tick, put it in a sealed baggie with a dampened cotton wool pad and send it to IgeneX where they do tick testing for Lyme and coinfections. It might be a good way to see if there is any possibility your nephew was infected:
Go to http://www.igenex.com and click on “forms and sample requirements.” Then, click on “Test request forms.” You just download the “tick test request form.” No physician script is needed for this form, so your sis could just fill out the form and mail the tick to them. I don't think it's overly expensive for this test, but will be out of pocket.
Peace, Maz
Hi, tbird2340:
they said there is nothing to worry about as they caught it early?
FAMOUS LAST WORDS!
NO! They DID NOT catch it in time. It takes about six hours for the Ixodes to become engorged enough for the bacterium to get passed back to the host [2000 Colorado Springs entomology symposium].
If the tick is identified as Ixodes, I would not hesitate getting a course of antibiotics; it would be a safe measure early on that could avoid many greater problems later.
Good Luck with him,
John
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