Tick Bite And No Health Insurance ...
 

I just got back from a camping trip, and have a nice red tick bite on my leg. I also don't have health insurance. I know a lot of 20-somethings are running around without health insurance (like me) so maybe someone has some advice on my situation?

edit: anything anyone posts here I will not take as professional advice

Yes. Go see a doctor.

Seriously, now. Insurance or no, your health comes first.

Aren't there free clinics you can go to or something?

In my completely unprofessional opinion which if you have half a brain you won't even pay attention to let alone listen to - I've gotten a dozen or so tick bites in my life. 3 of them fully engorged. Not all ticks carry disease, the important thing is to pay attention to how you feel otherwise. I mean, you don't go get checked for malaria just because you have a mosquito bite right? If the bite starts to look strange or you start to feel strange then, go to a doctor.

The weird thing about this is my fiancee was just bitten by a tick, her first and it didn't even engorge. She got lyme disease - she is on the antibiotics now. The cost of the antibiotics? $6 at wal-mart for 14 days. Most antibiotics are dirt cheap (in my experience) and a doctor's office visit just for a check up isn't so bad on the wallet.


Another thing you can do is go to more reputable sites, which there are plenty of that have good info on lyme disease (which I'm guessing is your primary concern).

Lyme disease - MayoClinic.com
Lyme Disease Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment on WebMD.com
DVBID: Home Page | CDC Lyme Disease

Where do you live?
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/images/riskmap_ld.gif
From DVBID: Risk Map | CDC Lyme Disease
If it were me, I wouldn't go to the doctor unless the tick had been attached for more than a day, or if there were signs of infection.

Call your ER and ask questions.

Visits to the ER are free for me as I'm uninsured and according to them, unemployed. I just need to fill out some paperwork and then I'm done. I had my gallbladder removed for free as well as 10-20 visits for some abdominal pain. I was just there Sunday.

But I do get billed for the doctor's fees.

If you have a red mark, and especially if it looks vaguely like a bullseye pattern, I'd have it checked. I had Lyme disease five or six years ago. I ended up with symptoms of fatigue and a fever that would disappear and come back. I had it checked and my doctor noticed a faint bullseye pattern. I had a blood test and it was positive so I took doxycycline for a month and was done.

I know three other people where it wasn't caught early and they had serious problems. One was out of work for nearly a year. Another has had health problems since.

It's a lot cheaper and more pleasant to get it treated now rather than later.

Agreed.

Have you heard of the Lymes disease documentary "Under Our Skin"? Link

One of my best friends has lymes disease. Her physician refused to treat her with the appropriate antibiotics early even though the tick tested positive for Lymes because (1) there weren't any previous reported cases for Lymes in our county (2) she had no concrete proof that she had a rash. The disease is not pleasant. It has caused permanent nerve damage. She has a perpetual underlying level of pain that somehow she works around most days.

Lymes is a disease that is treatable. Allowing it to go untreated will severely alter your life.

Please be careful. If you see anything that could be considered a bulls-eye pattern around the bite, photograph it then see your doctor immediately.

better to be safe than sorry.. Lyme disease isn't something to fuck around with..

i've had a few tick bites. i once woke up and found one on my back, he must have been there at least a full day. nothing happened. just cause you got bit does not mean you are gonna die. i would still go to a free clinic or something just to make sure though.

Wow, thank you all so much for the responses. I'm surprised to see how many people have been personally affected or know someone who has been affected by lyme disease (it really must be pretty common).

I just got off the phone with a free clinic and the whole process was surprisingly painless. I always imagined free healthcare would be riddled with paper work, run arounds, and plain old BS. Just a 10 minute phone call and I have an appointment tomorrow. :)

Aw crap. >< boo for the northeast and ticks!

Good show. Personally, I'd pay good money to not get Lyme disease.

Ha, B_G, I pay good money to ensure that when I do get Lyme disease, I'll go at least a couple of days of it untreated due to bureaucracy and much paperwork only to get a co-pay that I find I cannot afford because I paid the cab driver and forgot my wallet at home.

Good luck soma.

Thanks for the map inBOIL - I have been in the woods a lot lately and seem to attract ticks. Had a break out of itchy scalp but went to the doctor just to be on the safe side, still waiting for the results of the blood test. Lyme disease is nothing to overlook.

just a quick update,
I went to the doctors the other day and got a prescription for a dose of antibiotics.
also got a blood test, haven't heard back about it yet, but the doc seemed very skeptical of there being a problem.

All seems to be well now. Thanks again all for the helpful posts :thumbsup:

Good to hear that you're getting a blood test even though the doctor is skeptical.
Yay!

I'm glad to hear it's probably nothing. I'm also glad to hear that you had it looked at.

Lyme disease should not be fucked with.

Not to second guess your doctor, but my fiancee's doctor was pretty insistent that accurate blood tests could not be done for 4-6 after inoculation. She's not due to go for about another month. I would keep that in the back of your head in case you have unexplained symptoms after you go off the antibiotics.