Anonymous wrote:I think you can actually take the tick to their Sterling location for testing/identification or mail it to them. We did this about 2 years ago and got a quick response. You can also send them a picture to identify what kind of tick it is. We tried this first and they got back to us right away. I just wasn’t able to get a good enough picture so we sent it in.
https://ticksafety.com/tick-detective/

Bumping this- I used your recommendation and had a nymph deer tick tested that I pulled off of my son this weekend thru this company. I cannot say enough about this company! We live in Vienna and I was able to take the tick over yesterday, drop it in their special mailbox and I had a text early this morning with results (negative for Lyme!). Also helpful that they give you an approx number of hours it was attached (2-4 in our case).

It’s so quick to get results that I think it makes a lot of sense to have the tick tested before you do prophylactic antibiotics. I would have prob done the meds if the tick was positive even with such a short attachment time.

I tested mine by mail. BTW, the highest incidence of DS is in the fall, not now. I would not give a child prophylactic abx, they are connected to a ton of autoimmune diseases, from IBD to even breast cancer.

Anonymous wrote:How on earth is this “urgent”? My kids got ticks all the damn time. Just have the tick tested if you’re worried. One of my kids had Lyme. A few weeks of antibiotics and that was it. You need to relax, OP. Your daughter will be fine.

Finally a sane person chimes in.

Clongen laboratories in Gaithersburg will test the tick. I’ve done this twice with my kids. One was a carrier.

The protocol is moving towards prophylactic antibiotic treatment in areas with higher incidences of Lyme, but some doctors don't know that yet.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a little over the top. Most tick bites do not result in Lyme or any other disease. It’s the exception, not the norm. Overuse of antibiotics is a real issue, and you can’t have this reaction and give antibiotics every time your child encounters a tick.

Not true. Most ticks have Lyme these days.

False. Studies in 2019 and 2020 have shown that 35-46% of deer ticks carry Lyme disease. Additionally, an tick needs to be attached for 24-48 hours to transmit infection. The chance of getting Lyme from a single encounter with deer tick isn’t rare, but it’s still small.

Don’t worry about teeth, do it. Not wortH the heartache of having long term tick infections. BTDT.

Hopkins is a terrible place for treating Lyme. Do not go there. However Zhang, a researcher there, is doing good work.

Anonymous wrote:This is a little over the top. Most tick bites do not result in Lyme or any other disease. It’s the exception, not the norm. Overuse of antibiotics is a real issue, and you can’t have this reaction and give antibiotics every time your child encounters a tick.

Not true. Most ticks have Lyme these days.

This is a little over the top. Most tick bites do not result in Lyme or any other disease. It’s the exception, not the norm. Overuse of antibiotics is a real issue, and you can’t have this reaction and give antibiotics every time your child encounters a tick.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. NP did give me one dose of doxy and we will give it to child today. NP was not concerned about tooth discoloration given that child is 4 months shy of 8 and just one dose. I will also get the tick tested , probably up in gaithersburg.MD at this lab clomgen--they rec testing for Lyme and for Babesiosis, they also save the DNA of the tick for 6 months if God forbid it needs to be tested for other diseases.

We also did the prophylactic dose but found later on it’s not recommended and can lead to some level of antibiotic resistance. You need to do a full course to kill them at all the different stages.

How on earth is this “urgent”? My kids got ticks all the damn time. Just have the tick tested if you’re worried. One of my kids had Lyme. A few weeks of antibiotics and that was it. You need to relax, OP. Your daughter will be fine.

Interesting reaction - our 2 year old had a tick the other day as well. We freaked but talked to a friend who is an ER doc and also our pediatrician and they said just to watch for a rash and bullseye but other than that it was fine. We removed it quickly though - definitely there less than 24 hours.

Anonymous wrote:Was the tick engorged? Just watch the spot for redness and watch for fever, etc. Lots of deer ticks out there; you can't do antibiotics for every tick bite.

Our pediatrician and the adult doctors we see won't treat without symptoms anyway.

Same for us - both ped and adult doc won’t treat without a rash.

Op here. NP did give me one dose of doxy and we will give it to child today. NP was not concerned about tooth discoloration given that child is 4 months shy of 8 and just one dose. I will also get the tick tested , probably up in gaithersburg.MD at this lab clomgen--they rec testing for Lyme and for Babesiosis, they also save the DNA of the tick for 6 months if God forbid it needs to be tested for other diseases.

Anonymous wrote:When mine had a tick on the ear, the pediatrician said we didn't have to do antibiotics or get it tested but if we wanted to (we didn't), this was the place: https://www.tickcheck.com/

Are you sure it's a type that carries Lyme disease? Ours was a dog tick, which doesn't carry Lyme disease. We did have a better guess on length of time it had been attached than you do, though, based on where we had been.

Yeah, that's bullshit. My husband is a doctor but has no license to prescribe in this country (European MD, does research at NIH), and he insisted his doctor prescribe him antibiotics. You don't need the tick tested. You need the antibiotics ASAP!