non-borrelial(?) tickbite site infection

May 26, 2005

just posted this page which has a photo (click to enlarge) of

a spotted fever " eschar. "

from the cancerweb dictionary:

" eschar <dermatology> This is a dry scab that forms on skin that has

been burned or exposed to corrosive agents. "

I had a tickbite site infection like this in June 2000, about 3 years

before I started getting sick, but after already having experienced

very mild seasonally/generally-variable dysthymia since like whenever.

I probably acquired the tick on the road somewhere between SE

Minnesota and W Montana. In days following I was on carpet and

concrete, bus-riding, furiously writing term papers, and then

bus-riding more, so I suspect the tick acquired me during the road

trip. In fact we wandered thru some virgin prarie in SE Minnesota and

some pastures in the Dakotas. It was probably on me at least 5 days,

maybe 10, and was certainly very engorged. Hell, I dont know what it

was really waiting around for.

Gross (as in ew, gross) swelling and redness began sometime after I

removed the tick from my leg - possibly before but I think not. I cant

recall how it really evolved, but before too long I had a hard,

swollen, hot red knot no less than 2 inches in radius. An

slightly-pus-exudinging ulceration of radius ~1/2-inch formed in the

center, and scabbed. As I recall, the lesion slowly resolved over many

days without treatment, leaving a 3/4-inch-diameter scar - if anything

I may have used a topical antibiotic, but no pills or injections.

I'm not really telling you all this to whet your appetite for dinner

so much as ask if anyone knows anything about the significance of this

lesion. Classical erythema migrans doesnt generate a huge knot...

there are some papers out there on non-classical EM and I will look at

them someday. But if anyone can point me to info on this lesion re

some kinda rickettsiosis or whatever, or has similar experience, I'm

all ears.

I also wonder if a skin contaminant like staph epidermis couldve

caused this, abetted by the anti-immune substances ticks inject into

their hosts. Thats what I dumbly just assumed at the time, having not

a biological thought in my head - it didnt occur to me that the

infection could have come from the tick, and the thought of systemic

consequences didnt cross my mind.

Recommended Posts