'Ticks' and Lyme Disease.

[debden]

Hi,Let me explain why I'm asking about Ticks/Lyme Disease: My brother-in-law drove back from Florida with my nephew a couple of weeks ago.They stopped in a friends house in North Carolina for a couple of nights and ended up walking thru the woods to his dads house for a cookout.After they got home my BIL got sick and has been sick for the last two weeks.Well when he went to the doctors he found a lump on the back of his neck that ended up being a Tick!My sister said it's legs were still kicking when the doctor removed it! He sent it away to find out what type of Tick it is and wether it's male or female.
Can someone tell me anything about ticks and lyme disease? I really know nothing because it's not that common around this area.
Thanks for any info,
Debbie

 

[tiggger1]

my neighbor's daughter had lyme disease just over a year ago. She came home from school with her school picture and her mom was teasing her about her funny face in the picture. Thats when she noticed she couldnt smile right. thats when the mom remembered she had gotten bite behind the ear 2 weeks before and they had took her to the ped and got the lyme tilter but since it came back neg and were told it was prob a spider bite. Once the mom put 2 and 2 together she checked the bite and noticed the bullseye. they took her back to the ped and this time the test came back postitive and they said that she had facial palsy. they sent her to a neurologist and thank got she only had the palsy for 2 weeks and she hasnt any other symptoms or problems

 

[Allie322]

I'm not an expert by any means but I do know that Lyme disease is transmitted from deer ticks, not the more common brown tick. The brown tick is the one you would most likely find on your dog. The deer tick is tiny, something along the lines of the head of a pin. Once bitten, typically the site of the bite looks like a bullseye. Lyme disease is diagnosed by a blood test and the sooner the diagnosis, the better. Typical treatment is a course of anitbiotics. I'm sure that if you Google Lyme disease, you'll find a ton of info.

 

[Christine]

Certain ticks--deer ticks--carry "something" that can cause Lyme Disease. Usually a person is bitten by this VERY small tick and "usually" a bulls-eye type rash appears a few weeks after the bite. This is a classic marker for Lyme Disease, although it doesn't always occur.

The main symptoms of Lyme, I believe, are fatigue and joint pain.

A woman in my office had it after she was bitten by a tick while visiting her relatives in Florida. She had no symptoms but broke out in the bulls-eye rash when she returned from her trip. They tested her for Lyme, she was positive, and they treated her with antibiotics.

The thing about Lyme is that it is important to find out right away if you have it. In the early stage, it can be fully treated. If it is not discovered until you have been having symptoms for months or years, it is often harder to fully eradicate it with antibiotics.

 

[caitycaity]

yep - make sure he goes to the doctor.

i had a tick bite and got the bulls eye rash. my dr. put me on antibiotics for a month and i haven't had any problems since. the worst part about it (for me) was having to be on antibiotics for so long.

 

[debden]

Wow.Alot of good information.Thanks to everyone!
It's good to know that it's taken care of by antibiotics.And it sounds like they caught it in time.Whew...
Thank goodness.I guess I'll find out the rest of the story when they get the results back.
Debbie

 

[Muffy]

Yes, it could be Lyme disease from the tick bite! A full course of antibiotics should take care of it if it is. Lyme disease it common here in CT and really something to avoid! Some of the symptoms are fever, joint pain and headache. I know several people that have had it including my DH!

 

[DawnCt1]

Living in Ct. we have had our share of ticks. With an imbedded tick, no rash, no bullseye but the presence of a deer tick, DH perscribes one dose of dycloxicillin for prevention.