Tick Bite

[Jerry_NJ]

I recall the same, the antibodies. Still I know the vet has retested the dog, a few months back and sold some more antibiotics for him. Then again a couple of days ago when we needed to have a lump on the dog's side (dog in avatar) side, not a cancer, it seems, just a lump of fat and we're to keep a "eye" on it. Wonder if the vet has a "good thing going" with these lymn tests :zip:

 

[Dix]

The S)'s cocker spaniel pup was just diagnosed w/Lyme.

I asked about the spirochette count, but he didn't know. Natty was fine one day, and limping the next. He's just over 1 year old. He's responding well to the antibiotics. Passed his 1 week visit with flying colors.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Similar symptoms, our Golden got to where he couldn't walk at all, he had to be carried to the car.

What does "passed his 1 week.." does that mean a blood test. I recall having the Golden blood tested to see if he was free of the lymn ... I think I recall the same for my wife, leaving me to wonder about no being able to learn a state of health by blood tests once one has contracted lymn.

 

[Dix]

I asked about the "passed with flying colors". I really did. Prognosis? Continued treatment? Etc. I got "he's miracle dog".

Sometimes I look for a rope, and a chair, ya know?


Natty has to continue with his antibiotics (and yes, i asked the name, but I got "some cycling thing"... it's true, I swear )

 

[fossil]

Tetracycline? (don't ask why I remember that)

 

[gibson]

I AM NOT A DOCTOR Nor do I play one on TV. Nor have I even stayed in a Holiday Inn Express recently. I have been selling pharmaceuticals to physicians for over ten years. My guess is that, if you live in an area with a large deer population and you spend any time outdoors...golfing, fishing, splitting wood, whatever... You have been exposed to lyme disease. I think that it is one of those things. If you are genetically predisposed to getting it, you'll get it. Like the guy/gal that gets lung cancer and never smoked in their life. That being said, I regularly check myself and my kids for ticks. When you see those red circles around a bite of any kind, go to the doctor. I believe if it is caught within a week or ten days, the antibiotics (all generic) are very effective.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I pulled a deer tick off my upper arm on Friday. I don't think it had been on me for long, but it had drilled. I think I got the whole thing. Definitely not the larger size dog tick, this was a deer tick. I swabbed the area with a cotton swab ('Q-Tip') and alcohol. The area then swelled just slightly for a short while. Actually, that is a good thing. It means the body is mobilizing its defenses with an inflammatory response. I had, and have, no redness or 'bulls eye' pattern, and no symptoms.

Doxycycline is the antibiotic being used a lot against Lyme. I had none, so I asked for and got a bottle of it. Now here's an interesting item about 'prophylactic' (preventive) use of this drug. The standard course of treatment is 10 days. Pretty much clobbers Lyme if you have been exposed to it and you do this early enough. The key concept is early! Find the tick soon. Do something about it right away.

A very interesting idea- according to a study I have seen, a single dose of Doxycycline has been shown to prevent the development of Lyme disease, showing about 90 percent positive results. This study used both drug and placebos, and was administered to folks who had shown the characteristic bulls eye pattern. The dose was 200mg given one time only. Most doctors are probably going to play safe and prescribe a complete 10 day course, however.

If a deer tick is engorged with blood, that's more serious than one you find early. Mine, I found early, still tiny and flat. It also matters whether you get bitten by the nymphal or adult stage bug. And obviously, it matters the most whether the bug carries the organism- some don't.

I found myself left wrestling with the decision whether or not to take any of the Doxycycline. I decided not to for now. I think it is important to have some on hand, however. I'll watch the site on my arm for a few more days, and be very sensitive to any possible symptoms, but I have none, and I do know all 50 or so Lyme symptoms. We can't afford to live our lives always in fear, yet the Lyme bug is a serious nasty. Others have pointed out in this thread some things you can do to find deer ticks on you and to try to keep them off. I'm going to keep watching, more carefully than ever, but I'm also going to keep on rounding up firewood. I'll be out a lot this summer and fall.

 

[billb3]

Deer ticks are this big -----> . <------



There are many differing symptoms with different people. Some get the red blotch from a bite, some don't.
Best to get tested if you even are suspicious, and from what I understand tested again because the test isn't exactly 100% false positive-free.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

I have Amoxicillin 500 mg on hand for when I need dental work, I wonder if this is also effective against Lyme, I have to take 2000 mg (2 g) a couple of times a year just for a dental check up. Maybe that gives me some immunity, resistance to ..

 

[derecskey]

You all are making me want to be a hermit and a recluse. Ohio has an overabundance of deer. The population is higher than it has been at any point in the last 150 years (and yet we still have the "Save the deer, they're our friends!" nuts).

I had a tick on me when I was about 7 years old. Have barely given them a thought since then.

 

[drizler]

We used to like the deer that came to infest our back field. Not anymore, more like some sort of vermin! You are right the place is truly infested with them just like rats. Luckily for us Lyme as well as deer ticks isn't awfully common around here, still I never saw a tick of any sort up here and now we pick one off the cats occasionally. The Army since Lyme became a problem always encouraged taping your long sleeves and ankles. They also said to saturate or at least spray your collars and cuffs as they little shits don't like walking around on deet treated areas to go get where they want to go.

 

[JPapiPE]

I have only had 1 tick on me in my entire 55 years. I was about 24 years old and was still having problems with in grown hairs and some acne, This tick attached it self to my chest which was very hairy. I kept prodding it for 2 or 3 days before i realized it was a tick instead of a zit. I yanked it off and tryed to crush it. It wouldn't crush. So I finally finished it off with a hammer. I guess this was 30 years ago before Lyme disease was so prevalent. My point is that for people that have more than their share of hairy bodies...It is even harder to know you have a tick on you.

 

[gibson]

If you do have to take the doxycycline for lyme, do not go in the sun while you are on it. I learned this the hard way with a similar antibiotic.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

There are many differing symptoms with different people. Some get the red blotch from a bite, some don't.
Best to get tested if you even are suspicious, and from what I understand tested again because the test isn't exactly 100% false positive-free.

The earliest possible positive test result is at about 6 weeks after infection. You could have had it all along, but it takes the body that long to produce enough antibodies to Lyme for the test to see them. So unfortunately, the test is not going to help you in your decision whether or not to take antibiotics prophylactically (as prevention). Which is the best way- if you wait that long to start, it is a lot harder to cure the disease. That's why it is so important to see the tick and get it off quickly. And then watch for symptoms. Instead of redness and a bulls eye, you might have flu- like symptoms or achy joints as with arthritis. The thing is, if you know you pulled a small tick off, you should be paying more attention to little aches and pains, that's a good thing. Anything out of the ordinary for you, you ought to take it seriously. But the decision to do a 10 day course of Doxycyclene oftentimes has to be made based on the patient's testimony. Or based on the more obvious red bulls eye, so we ought to view that rash as our friend. Those who don't see the rash but do get the disease are the most unlucky. And it is pretty much 100 percent curable if you hammer it with antibiotics early.

BTW a friend of mine knows a person who started late fighting Lyme. They did beat it, but they had to be on intravenous antibiotics for a while. Had to drag an IV bottle around on a wheeled stand. Yikes!

 

[Cluttermagnet]

I have Amoxicillin 500 mg on hand for when I need dental work, I wonder if this is also effective against Lyme, I have to take 2000 mg (2 g) a couple of times a year just for a dental check up. Maybe that gives me some immunity, resistance to ..

I saw mention of Amoxicillin being used early on when they discovered Lyme, plus several other antibiotics. I think they were all somewhat useful, but Doxycycline has proven best. FYI it is considered a 'broad spectrum' antibiotic- works for alot of things. Remember the Anthrax scare in 2001-02? The two best antibiotics for Anthrax are Doxycycline and Cipro. Doxycycline is good for dental issues, you see it used at times for abscesses and such.

Because there is a danger of developing antibiotic- resistant germs, it would probably be best if you didn't take any more Amoxicillin than you have to. You need for that stuff to keep working for you for your dentistry.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

If you do have to take the doxycycline for lyme, do not go in the sun while you are on it. I learned this the hard way with a similar antibiotic.

That's right. Makes you more sensitive to UV. You can burn easier.

 

[cornbread]

Has anyone tried this or no anything about it?

It says on the bottle that it repels mosquito’s ticks fish flies and even Canada Geese.

(broken link removed to http://www.alexmilne.com/mosquito.html)

Talking to a farmer in the store who sprays it on his horses who said his vet said it was fine to use and he said it worked last year for him.