Any way to tell if a tick but is fresh?
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Anonymous
| Removed a tick from DS today. Having trouble figuring out how long it might have been there. The tick was still moving its legs. Does that suggest it was fairly recent? Thanks |
Anonymous
| By how engorged it is. You can also send it in for tick testing. Keep checking his body for rashes for 30 days. It’s not always a bulls eye and on kids it’s not always at site of bite. Also keep an eye out for symptoms like fever, joint pain, neck pain. |
Anonymous
| Thank you. Is it possible if the tick bit occurred a week ago that the animal would still be moving? |
Anonymous
The ticks fall off when they are fully engorged. My son had one attached for 48-72 hours. It was a deer tick nymph. The area around the tick was red. I removed it, cleaned the area with alcohol and applied antibiotic ointment. I sent the tick for testing and it had no diseases, thankfully. Look out for signs of illness over the next 30 days. Symptoms typically appear within a week, but can take 30 days. |
Anonymous
|
Thanks for replying. I am kicking myself for disposing of the tick. The ped is saying it’s up to me whether I want to do prophylactic antibiotics but I have no idea how long it’s been there… outside a certain window the antibiotics are pointless. DS8 changes clothes and showers on his own for the most part so I could have missed it until today.
The red area around it when I removed it was smaller pea sized and has not changed since the morning. |
Anonymous
I would do the prophylactic antibiotics just for peace of mind. |
Anonymous
| FYI. - pediatrician said to put tick in ziplock, then container in the freezer. You have it if you ever have the need to test. |
Anonymous
| My kid pulled a tick off herself the other day, we took it to urgent care and they said don’t bother with testing, assume it has Lyme and gave her a big dose of doxycycline. |
Anonymous
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Is that true that after a certain window the antibiotics are pointless? I have t heard that. I don’t imagine you missed the window, if you just pulled the tick off.
I do t know, this is a tough one. I would probably do the antibiotics. |
Anonymous
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My Lyme-suspected tick bite started as a pea-sized lump and turned into a 1.5-inch circular rash. A few similarly sized rashes formed nearby and others have come & gone on my torso. No bullseye. I’m on week 3 of antibiotics, but I still feel horrible on & off with odd symptoms. Still have the lump but rash has faded. They can’t do reliable Lyme testing until week 6, so this is the recommended route of treatment if Lyme is suspected.
I have had at least 5 other known ticks over the years, but they all healed right up, didn’t swell, weren’t painful, didn’t rash, and didn’t leave any bump which was the first sign something was off for me. I’d just get the antibiotics, OP. Make sure your kid eats well to avoid stomach or yeast issues. |
Anonymous
| had to read 3 times |
Anonymous
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How big was the tick when you pulled it off? Ticks don't die when they bite, so it would stay alive and moving until it was fully fed and dropped off. You can get a general sense of how long it was on based on how engorged it looked.
You should do prophylactic antibiotics within 72 hours of tick removal. It's not too late for that, so can't hurt to call the doctor back and get a prescription. You can also monitor at home for symptoms, but I've gotten cellulitis from tick bites, so early antibiotics may be good prevention for that as well. https://blogs.cornell.edu/nysipm/files/2019/10/blacklegged-growth-chart-1024x379.png https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/resources/FS-Guidance-for-Clinicians-Patients-after-TickBite-508.pdf |
Anonymous
| take the antibiotics. Its a no-regrets move. |