Slavakion

It's tick season already! I found a little one on my leg last night. It wasn't a deer tick (after frantic GISing, I determined that deer ticks are much smaller than what I pulled off), and it hadn't gorged yet. What are the chances that it could've had lyme disease? There's no bulls-eye, just a small red mark where he dug in.

RallyEX

The chances that it could've had Lyme disease are slim, but judging by your location (Mass. I assume?), the chance is probably greater as that state is commonly a higher risk area.

Do you have any idea how long the tick may have been there? If it wasn't a deer tick, most other species need an average of 2+ days of feeding before transmitting the disease.

The best possible thing you could do is to get tested if you are that concerned about it, however not having been engorged there is probably little to be concerned about.

I'm no doctor, but I love the outdoors and HATE ticks, so I've done quite a bit of reading on them so that I can know what to do when I encounter them. I'm also very cautious about them having three outdoors loving dogs who tend to bring them into the house occasionally.

Slavakion

It couldn't have been on me for longer than ~5 hours. Since it wasn't engorged, it probably hadn't been biting me for long.

I wouldn't have really been concerned if it wasn't such a small non-deer tick. My dog gets ticks all the time, unfortunately, and I've gotten a few. But they're usually the non-deadly large ones. Thanks for reassuring me.

VitaminH

If you're that worried, call up the doc and tell him what happened. I've found with suspect ticks in the past my doc will just call in a prescription for preventitve meds to my pharmacy. The meds are cheap and it'll put your mind at ease if you are truely concerned about it.

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raeanna74

One big thing that you can do is save the tick. A DNR ranger (who has since passed away from Lymes) told us that he encouraged everyone who got ticks to tape them. Just use some scotch tape. Have it handy before you pull the thing off and fold it into the tape. Save it in a safe place in case you develop any symptoms. He had gotten Lymes early on before they knew much about it and how to diagnose it.

My mother got the typical target rash about a week after the bite. Her rash was not even where she'd been bitten. She went through almost two years of medication to get rid of the disease. Since they'd caught it early on she was able to get rid of it.

I would suggest for your own peace of mind that you get tested. Most Dr's won't even think twice if you ask. Especially if you've been bitten by a particularly small tick. From what I know the ONLY tick that carries the Lymes Virus is the deer tick. The much larger common ticks are wood ticks. They have a distinct black hat behind the head.

Some of the first symptoms are intense fatigue. My mother described it as feeling like she was swimming through jello when she walked. She also felt like she was always dragging her feet. All her joints ached. Apparently one major symptom of the second stage is an arthritic condition. Unfortunately they cannot conclusively test for lymes within the first stage. Sometimes you won't test positive until the second stage. If they suspect it at all though the tendency is to begin a medication regimin right away. Better safe than sorry. Though the medication given can have a lot of unpleasant side effects depending on the person.

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