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Maryan
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 8:37am | IP Logged
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My Michael was bit by a deer tick on Thursday. I'm not sure how long it was there... and I'm not sure if we got the head. It was SO small and very hard to see. We put neosporin on the site, but again -- I don't know how long it was there.
So... there's been no bullseye rash, but he's complaining about feeling achy. I put a call in to my ped to ask for advice, but wondering if any of you ladies have any advice.
I know many people who got disease from deer tick without any apparent rash.
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Maryan
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guitarnan
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 8:45am | IP Logged
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I heard a radio show about Lyme disease yesterday (Diane Rehm on NPR). The rash is not always present in initial stages. I would pursue this with your doctor right away. Chronic Lyme Disease is just awful.
You're in my prayers...
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 9:46am | IP Logged
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I think if my child were complaining about achyness, I would definitely pursue things with the doctor.
Also, you can hold a pinlight up to the wound and illuminate the skin. If it is all "pink" with no shadows, there aren't any bug fragments left behind.
Did you save the tick? You can send it to an independent lab and have it tested.
Also, the test that most docs use isn't the most accurate. You might contact a Lyme specialist to see about having the more accurate test done (I think there is a lab in New Jersey that does it).
I am really squeamish about anitbiotics and such in general, but with Lyme, early and long is the most effective.
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Mary G
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 10:01am | IP Logged
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No help here (I was raised in a big city and ticks weren't an issue!) but LOTS of prayers, dear ....
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Elizabeth
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 10:03am | IP Logged
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Maryan,
I found this post helpful last summer, particularly since Barbara is local.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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JennGM
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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Oh dear, Maryan. No personal experience (I'm a city girl, too), but I would take him right away. Don't wait for Lyme. Remind me to tell you about my first tick bite. 
If your mother's intuition is up, don't delay.
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 10:25am | IP Logged
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Well ped called back and earliest they could take Michael is 2:50. He has a fever. It could be coincidence or a result of the bite. The doctors said they would see which course of action seemed most necessary and did mention that they might do a round of antibiotics as precautionary depending on what they saw in Michael.
Thanks for help and prayers. I wish we saved the tick, but he got lost in the shuffle and we couldn't find him. He was that small. 
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Maryan
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LisaR
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all the ticks we've had attached to kids have been HUGE and also filled with blood.
we brought one in to the Dr- he said it looked like it had been attached to ds's head for at least 2 days  .
boy, did I feel like a bad mom!
praying for him!
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Mackfam
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We deal with ticks here a lot, Maryan...and they still ook me out!
If the tick was tiny, chances are he hadn't been there long. I'm thinking the fever is a coincidence, but if my mommy radar was going off, and it would be with the closeness of the bite and the fever, I would be seeking the doctor's input!
In the future for anyone who reads here...
...The key to tick removal is to lift the body gently with your fingernail so that you can see the head embedded in the skin and the body of the tick is perpendicular to the arm/leg/skin area. Then, with your thumb and forefinger, firmly grab the tick - make sure the tips of your finger are right up against the skin so that you have as much of the tick as possible between your fingers. Pinch right where the head meets the skin - don't pinch the entire tick. Pull back quickly. This part is gross...I'm sorry for the graphic description...inspect the tick, you should see a tiny bit of white flesh left in the tick's mouth. If you do, you can be sure you got the head.
We keep a small baby food jar filled with a little rubbing alcohol in the bathroom. Drowning the tick in rubbing alcohol is a sure way to kill 'em. And, if a rash or something suspect develops, you have the tick.
Gross  , I know...but those darn things are just a fact of life down here in the outdoors of the south. I intensely dislike them. We make a habit of inspecting all the places on the kid's bodies they like to visit every evening during pj time.
I'm so sorry little Michael is going through this, Maryan...and for once, I'm praying it's just a passing virus!
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crusermom
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I am so sorry for your son. Three of my children have had Lyme. Only one had a rash. We were not country folk at the time, but my mother lives in upstate NY. Only one had the characteristic rash. The good thing is that it is treatable. Early treatment is so important as my oldest still has trouble with her knee due to Lyme even several years later. Thank you for the tick removal tutorial above! We will be visiting NY this summer.
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JodieLyn
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One of the few times we took a child in for an unknown cause.. was a fever and a 3 yr old who would say his leg hurt (which never did make sense.. it moved around and who knows  ) he'd had a tick on him 3 days prior and.. he had a mild ear infection.. no clue how that made his leg hurt.. but we treated it (decongestant and garlic oil for his ear) and he was fine by that evening.
But definately worth it to get it checked out.. just saying that we had a scare and it was something else entirely.
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folklaur
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Oh, gosh, no advice, but praying for your son!
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KC in TX
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JennGM wrote:
Oh dear, Maryan. No personal experience (I'm a city girl, too), but I would take him right away. Don't wait for Lyme. Remind me to tell you about my first tick bite.
If your mother's intuition is up, don't delay.
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City girl here too. Take him in to the ped. The earlier the better.
PS Jenn, I think we'd all like to her about our first tick bite. 
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JennGM
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KC in TX wrote:
| PS Jenn, I think we'd all like to her about our first tick bite. |
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It's not very interesting, but more of a story of what NOT to do.
Thank God Lyme wasn't rampant back then. I was 11, we were visiting our country cousins in the Ozarks in Arkansas, staying in cabins in Petit Jean Mountain.
After hiking and getting stuck on a mountain all day, Mom and Dad did their first tick check. I had one on my head, and it was a big one. They were a little squeamish about it because it didn't come out easily and afraid of leaving the head in. They were trying everything...and I mean everything. Dad took his lit cigar and put it on the tick. Made the tick red hot, but also my scalp.
They did get him out, head and all. I think with drowning in alcohol and burning his insides, he needed to come up for air. But it took forever; we city slickers were definite greenhorns at this!
Wish the Great Outdoors didn't come with all those bugs. Yuck.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Ohhh... Jenn. I'm rubbing my scalp. Ouch.
So the verdict: the ped looked at the site, saw no head, and without the tick was not inclined to do a blood test, or anything. There was a bump at the site, but no clear rash yet. Blah, blah. She just doesn't like to give out antibiotics without a definite reason.(which I agree with too... I was just nervous about the scenario).
And now... Michael's fever disappeared and he was talking.up.a.storm. She clearly thought he was a hoot and not inclined to give this talkative child medicine.
She thinks he has a virus and is clearly getting better right before our eyes. But while he's there, she checks ears (good), checks throat (a little red but definitely doesn't look like strep). Mom, you have a virus, she says.
Hmmm... I say. Well,...
She sees that I'm really not a satisfied customer, so she says, "I can swab for strep if you'd like?"
I say yes please. While she's gone, I pray, "Lord, if Michael has strep, I think it would be the same treatment for early Lyme prevention. So if it be your will... and whisper a quick prayer to Michael's Papa who I'm sure had his share of ticks."
And 8 minutes later, she comes back shocked: "Well, Farmer Michael: You have strep."
It's the only time that I'm happy to say that my child has strep!! I'm almost positive that it's the same prescription that they give a child for early Lyme.
So thanks for the prayers ladies!! We'll still keep an eye out, but hopefully this will be the end. Pretty please.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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guitarnan
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FWIW, I think your ped should have given prophylactic antibiotics since you could not bring her the tick for testing.
I am glad your son's guardian angel was on duty today!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Elizabeth
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I'm glad his "Papa" was on duty. Maryan, you really do have treasure in heaven.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 21 2009 at 4:32pm | IP Logged
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I agree! And Jennifer Mackfam I'm printing off your suggestions for our bulletin board for the next time... because like you, there is always a next tick bite.
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Maryan
Mom to 6 boys & 1 girl: JP('01), B ('03), M('05), L('06), Ph ('08), M ('10), James born 5/1/12
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teachingmyown
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I wish I had read this thread about half an hour ago. I just pulled two ticks off of my sleeping five year old. Fortunately, her sister lying next to her noticed a spot on the inside of her ear lobe. That tick was not really attached yet and came off pretty easily. It was one of the bigger ones and I suspect it came in with a dog. 
Then the girls were all feeling itchy and worried so I checked them over only to find a little tick pretty well embedded in the same child's back.  I was able to get the whole thing off, head and all, though I didn't have the technique down that Jennifer posted. I didn't save it either. I like the idea of the baby food jar waiting for the ticks. I usually drown them in soap and flush them.
For what it is worth, my tick-ridden child was my red head and she seems to get way more ticks than the other kids combined. I have to wonder if the red hair attracts them! 
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Jenn Sal
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May I add one more suggestion to keeping the tick? I read this last year, when I had to quickly become an "expert" on ticks.
Wet two cotton balls with alcohol and place the tick between them. Then put it in a ziplock and mark the date and child it was on. Remember to clean the tweezers with alcohol afterwards.
This helps to keep the guessing work out of it if more than one has a bite and if anything shows up later.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Tick bite help
