Re: Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What does a tick bite look like?

July 22, 2007

Please don't mess around. The pediatrican should know it if he sees it.

If not you have the only pediatric dermatologist I could find in NJ, Dr.

Wanda , in Princeton, right near you.

L

bigcheech91 wrote:

>This board is totally in sync with my family these days! I was just

>going to post a question about Lyme disease. My (typical) son,

>Spencer, 2-1/2, has an enormous bug bite on his leg. I am concerned

>that it might be from a tick, but (a.) didn't see a tick and (b.)

>it's mid-calf, so higher than our grass. We do back up on what NJ

>calls " open space " -- a small patch of preserved land -- and there

>are deer out there sometimes. What does a tick bite look like? If

>it is a tick bite, is there anything we can do or test for right now?

>

> in NJ

>

>>I am posting again and hoping some of you have some suggestions for

>>

>me. I recently posted regarding my daughters huge regression in

>speech, motor, play etc. (What is wrong with my daughter?). As it

>turns out she tested + for Lyme disease. I am not sure when she was

>bite, we never saw a tick, bulls eye or a rash. She is a tough

>cookie, always on the move and is difficult to change/bathe so it's

>possible we missed it. .

>

>>

>> I have found some research on the Internet with children/adults

>>

>that have had similar regression as a result to Lyme disease (lyme

>disease can affect people differently depending on the area of the

>bite-that is my understanding). Anyway we have started treatment with

>antibiotics (4th day ) but would very much like to find a doctor that

>has experience and/or specializes in Lyme disease. I am having

>difficulty finding someone.

>

>> We live in NJ.

>>

>>---------------------------------

>>Get the toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're

>>

>surfing.

>

>>

July 22, 2007

We pulled a tick off my son Tyler a couple of months ago. The actual spot the

tick was in was a tiny little red spot. I called the pediatrician and they told

me to wait and see if any signs of lyme developed because from the way I

described the tick there was only a very small chance that it was a carrier of

lyme disease. He thought it was an adult deer tick and they have a low

probability of carrying the disease.

Well of course three weeks later Tyler had a circle rash on his body. We did a

course of antibiotics and hopefully that is enough and he won't be bothered with

it in the future. At least our pediatrician believes that is the case.

There is a blood test they can do, but it can only detect lyme disease a month

after the bite so most doctors don't want to wait that long to begin treatment.

I'm sure the bite can look other ways, but in my experience the actual bite was

tiny.

Ellen

[ ] Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What does a tick bite

look like?

This board is totally in sync with my family these days! I was just

going to post a question about Lyme disease. My (typical) son,

Spencer, 2-1/2, has an enormous bug bite on his leg. I am concerned

that it might be from a tick, but (a.) didn't see a tick and (b.)

it's mid-calf, so higher than our grass. We do back up on what NJ

calls " open space " -- a small patch of preserved land -- and there

are deer out there sometimes. What does a tick bite look like? If

it is a tick bite, is there anything we can do or test for right now?

in NJ

>

> I am posting again and hoping some of you have some suggestions for

me. I recently posted regarding my daughters huge regression in

speech, motor, play etc. (What is wrong with my daughter?). As it

turns out she tested + for Lyme disease. I am not sure when she was

bite, we never saw a tick, bulls eye or a rash. She is a tough

cookie, always on the move and is difficult to change/bathe so it's

possible we missed it. .

>

> I have found some research on the Internet with children/adults

that have had similar regression as a result to Lyme disease (lyme

disease can affect people differently depending on the area of the

bite-that is my understanding). Anyway we have started treatment with

antibiotics (4th day ) but would very much like to find a doctor that

has experience and/or specializes in Lyme disease. I am having

difficulty finding someone.

> We live in NJ.

>

> ---------------------------------

> Get the toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're

surfing.

>

July 22, 2007

I don't think you're supposed to wait like that and I'm not sure how

long the course of antibiotics was but most of the time the

pediatrician's don't order them for a long enough period of time.

Also, Lyme doesn't always result in a bulls eye rash which is another

common misconception. The tick may be as small as a period on this

message so a lot of times you never see it.

At the time of my son's illness, he had an indentation in his groin

with a rashy area (not a bull's eye rash) and a greatly enlarged

lymph node. Our pediatrician thought it was Cat's Scratch Fever. I

carried around pictures of my son doing lots of things (playing on a

slide on a sandy beach in Florida and sitting on my shoulders at a

parade) for years. These pictures were taken within weeks of his

illness and all showed things that he would not do afterwards (slide

down a big slide or sit on someone's shoulders (because of

gravitational insecurity). It still took 5 years to get him

diagnosed.

Also, I have talked to some environmental/functional med doctors who

believe that the tick is not the only blood sucking vector that can

cause Lyme. Our son did actually get a rash one time that more

closely resembled a Lyme's Bulls Eye after a mosquito bite!

Vicki

Mason's Story: http://www.lymeinducedautism.com

>

> We pulled a tick off my son Tyler a couple of months ago. The

actual spot the tick was in was a tiny little red spot. I called the

pediatrician and they told me to wait and see if any signs of lyme

developed because from the way I described the tick there was only a

very small chance that it was a carrier of lyme disease. He thought

it was an adult deer tick and they have a low probability of carrying

the disease.

>

> Well of course three weeks later Tyler had a circle rash on his

body. We did a course of antibiotics and hopefully that is enough

and he won't be bothered with it in the future. At least our

pediatrician believes that is the case.

>

> There is a blood test they can do, but it can only detect lyme

disease a month after the bite so most doctors don't want to wait

that long to begin treatment.

>

> I'm sure the bite can look other ways, but in my experience the

actual bite was tiny.

>

> Ellen

>

> [ ] Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What does a

tick bite look like?

>

> This board is totally in sync with my family these days! I was

just

> going to post a question about Lyme disease. My (typical) son,

> Spencer, 2-1/2, has an enormous bug bite on his leg. I am

concerned

> that it might be from a tick, but (a.) didn't see a tick and (b.)

> it's mid-calf, so higher than our grass. We do back up on what NJ

> calls " open space " -- a small patch of preserved land -- and

there

> are deer out there sometimes. What does a tick bite look like? If

> it is a tick bite, is there anything we can do or test for right

now?

>

> in NJ

>

July 22, 2007

I have read about Lymes having sources besides a tic as well.

fridgudare2003 wrote:

>I don't think you're supposed to wait like that and I'm not sure how

>long the course of antibiotics was but most of the time the

>pediatrician's don't order them for a long enough period of time.

>

>Also, Lyme doesn't always result in a bulls eye rash which is another

>common misconception. The tick may be as small as a period on this

>message so a lot of times you never see it.

>

>At the time of my son's illness, he had an indentation in his groin

>with a rashy area (not a bull's eye rash) and a greatly enlarged

>lymph node. Our pediatrician thought it was Cat's Scratch Fever. I

>carried around pictures of my son doing lots of things (playing on a

>slide on a sandy beach in Florida and sitting on my shoulders at a

>parade) for years. These pictures were taken within weeks of his

>illness and all showed things that he would not do afterwards (slide

>down a big slide or sit on someone's shoulders (because of

>gravitational insecurity). It still took 5 years to get him

>diagnosed.

>

>Also, I have talked to some environmental/functional med doctors who

>believe that the tick is not the only blood sucking vector that can

>cause Lyme. Our son did actually get a rash one time that more

>closely resembled a Lyme's Bulls Eye after a mosquito bite!

>

>Vicki

>

>Mason's Story: http://www.lymeinducedautism.com

>

>>We pulled a tick off my son Tyler a couple of months ago. The

>>

>actual spot the tick was in was a tiny little red spot. I called the

>pediatrician and they told me to wait and see if any signs of lyme

>developed because from the way I described the tick there was only a

>very small chance that it was a carrier of lyme disease. He thought

>it was an adult deer tick and they have a low probability of carrying

>the disease.

>

>>Well of course three weeks later Tyler had a circle rash on his

>>

>body. We did a course of antibiotics and hopefully that is enough

>and he won't be bothered with it in the future. At least our

>pediatrician believes that is the case.

>

>>There is a blood test they can do, but it can only detect lyme

>>

>disease a month after the bite so most doctors don't want to wait

>that long to begin treatment.

>

>>I'm sure the bite can look other ways, but in my experience the

>>

>actual bite was tiny.

>

>>Ellen

>>

>> [ ] Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What does a

>>

>tick bite look like?

>

>> This board is totally in sync with my family these days! I was

>>

>just

>

>> going to post a question about Lyme disease. My (typical) son,

>> Spencer, 2-1/2, has an enormous bug bite on his leg. I am

>>

>concerned

>

>> that it might be from a tick, but (a.) didn't see a tick and (b.)

>> it's mid-calf, so higher than our grass. We do back up on what NJ

>> calls " open space " -- a small patch of preserved land -- and

>>

>there

>

>> are deer out there sometimes. What does a tick bite look like? If

>> it is a tick bite, is there anything we can do or test for right

>>

>now?

>

>> in NJ

>>

>

July 23, 2007

Actually my pharmacist also told me that the pediatricians don't treat for long

enough, we had originally been given two weeks of antibiotic and then got him to

extend it to a third week.

I had lyme disease about 7 years ago, never saw the tick, just had the rash on

my hand and was treated for three weeks and have been fine, so hopefully it's

enough for my son as well too.

From what I understand, once you have it it will always show in your blood work

so you can't really tell if it's been treated properly or not. Is that correct?

Thanks,

Ellen

[ ] Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What does a

tick bite look like?

>

> This board is totally in sync with my family these days! I was

just

> going to post a question about Lyme disease. My (typical) son,

> Spencer, 2-1/2, has an enormous bug bite on his leg. I am

concerned

> that it might be from a tick, but (a.) didn't see a tick and (b.)

> it's mid-calf, so higher than our grass. We do back up on what NJ

> calls " open space " -- a small patch of preserved land -- and

there

> are deer out there sometimes. What does a tick bite look like? If

> it is a tick bite, is there anything we can do or test for right

now?

>

> in NJ

>

July 23, 2007

You should read the lyme story on http://www.wildcondor.com.

We actually caught this story on a Discovery Health program back in

the winter when the whole family was home with the flu. My husband

was channel surfing (you know how men are with a remote) and I asked

him to go back to this program because I sort of instinctively knew

it was going to end up being a Lyme's Disease story.

This girl really went through a lot in trying to get a diagnosis. It

wasn't until she got bitten by a tick and got infected AGAIN with

Lyme's disease that she finally got diagnosed.

Vicki

>

> Actually my pharmacist also told me that the pediatricians don't

treat for long enough, we had originally been given two weeks of

antibiotic and then got him to extend it to a third week.

>

> I had lyme disease about 7 years ago, never saw the tick, just had

the rash on my hand and was treated for three weeks and have been

fine, so hopefully it's enough for my son as well too.

>

> From what I understand, once you have it it will always show in

your blood work so you can't really tell if it's been treated

properly or not. Is that correct?

>

> Thanks,

> Ellen

> [ ] Re: Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What

does a tick bite look like?

>

> I don't think you're supposed to wait like that and I'm not sure

how

> long the course of antibiotics was but most of the time the

> pediatrician's don't order them for a long enough period of time.

>

> Also, Lyme doesn't always result in a bulls eye rash which is

another

> common misconception. The tick may be as small as a period on

this

> message so a lot of times you never see it.

>

> At the time of my son's illness, he had an indentation in his

groin

> with a rashy area (not a bull's eye rash) and a greatly enlarged

> lymph node. Our pediatrician thought it was Cat's Scratch Fever.

I

> carried around pictures of my son doing lots of things (playing

on a

> slide on a sandy beach in Florida and sitting on my shoulders at

a

> parade) for years. These pictures were taken within weeks of his

> illness and all showed things that he would not do afterwards

(slide

> down a big slide or sit on someone's shoulders (because of

> gravitational insecurity). It still took 5 years to get him

> diagnosed.

>

> Also, I have talked to some environmental/functional med doctors

who

> believe that the tick is not the only blood sucking vector that

can

> cause Lyme. Our son did actually get a rash one time that more

> closely resembled a Lyme's Bulls Eye after a mosquito bite!

>

> Vicki

>

> Mason's Story: http://www.lymeinducedautism.com

July 23, 2007

Here is some more information on Lyme disease.

First about ticks.

Tick removal

How should a tick be removed?

Grasp the mouthparts with tweezers as close as possible to the

attachment (skin) site. Be careful not to squeeze, crush or puncture

the body of the tick, which may contain infectious fluids. After

removing the tick, thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash hands.

See or call a doctor if there are concerns about incomplete tick

removal. Do not attempt to remove ticks by using petroleum jelly, lit

cigarettes or other home remedies because these may actually increase

the chance of contracting a tick-borne disease.

(excerpted from a university educational site.)

Second, about diagnosis. The most common blood tests done are first

the ELISA (should do both IgM(acute or early antibodies) and IgG

(late antibody response)). If either of these is positive, the same

blood is often sent by the lab to do a Western blot test to confirm

the diagnosis. The IgM antibodies can turn positive within a week of

the tick bite, but may take a few weeks to turn positive. If you are

treated early (because you clearly have Lyme(rash,symptoms, tick

bite, and you live in an endemic area), your blood tests may never

turn positive. Most IgM and IgG levels do return to normal some time

after treatment (a couple of months), but occasionally do not go back

to normal during this time - it may take a while longer. You can get

lyme disease again, just like you can get strep throat again.

Third, about treatment: Ten days of antibiotics is considered

adequate if you just have the erythema migrans rash. However, our

office generally treated for 3 weeks (I think because we didn't want

to take any chance of anyone ending up with chronic lyme disease,

even if it was small)Doxycyline is often used because it also treats

Ehrlichiosis, which is less common than Lyme, but tends to present in

similar regions and is a tick borne disease. For complicated lyme,

that includes nerve or brain involvement, arthritis or heart

involvement treatment is more involved and usually lasts 28 days.

These are pretty standard recommendations. If you talk to a 'lyme

specialist' you will probably get different answers. At the most

recent lyme conference, there was distinct conflict over what are

appropriate treatments for lyme, especially chronic. Even

between 'lyme specialists' there isn't enough study information to

generate good guidelines. Gretchen

>

> Actually my pharmacist also told me that the pediatricians don't

treat for long enough, we had originally been given two weeks of

antibiotic and then got him to extend it to a third week.

>

> I had lyme disease about 7 years ago, never saw the tick, just had

the rash on my hand and was treated for three weeks and have been

fine, so hopefully it's enough for my son as well too.

>

> From what I understand, once you have it it will always show in

your blood work so you can't really tell if it's been treated

properly or not. Is that correct?

>

> Thanks,

> Ellen

July 24, 2007

Thank you Gretchen - that puts my mind at ease.

Ellen

[ ] Re: Was: PLEASE READ/ NOW: What does a tick

bite look like?