Question:
I was bitten by a tick sometime over 8 hours ago,(On Dartmoor for those in
the UK) the tick was small (in the range of 1mm) and came out cleanly after
being yanked with a pair of pliers!. Are preventative measure for lymes
disease recommended? If 'yes', what should they be? When should they be
given?
Answer:
-When you must crosspost, please do it separately.
If the tick was not deep, and only a few hours attached, and it came out
really easy, I would do nothing.
Otherwise I would do anything I could to get myself 6 weeks of highly dosed
antibiotics.
I would beg, steal or borrow to get my hands on those antibiotics. (You
ain't gonna get it from a doctor)
-There will probably not be a problem, but if you get reddening
(especially tracking up your leg) or any kind of flu-like illness in the
next 3-4 weeks go to your doctor ASAP and explain what happened.
This is the advice I was given after getting a tick bite in Scotland,
from the nurse at the local GPs - I went to make sure it was all out as
it's very hard to get your eyes right up to the front of your ankle....
-May i ask why you say 'no'? I have also been advised to demand a couple of
weeks 200 mg doxycycline as a precaution. What would be the disadvantage of
this?
I must say that i am suspicoious of the NHS taking the cheap way out. Its
probably cheaper to deal with the 1 or 2% that develop Lymes rather than
give everyone precautionary antibiotics.
-If you kept the tick,you may want to have it tested. If you become
symptomatic, definitely seek treatment ASAP. I would personally advise
prophylactic treatment because of the horror my family has had with this
disease but most doctors including most LLMDs do not endorse widespread
prophylactic treatment of tick bites. Some doctors treat prophylactically with
a few days of Doxy, some even with a few pills (which to me I am very skeptical
about, the only study that was done int hat regard had massive flaws in it).
Anyway, I hope you are not infected. Personally, I advise prophylactic
treatment, but I am not a doctor, not a nurse.
-Removing A Tick
It is best NOT to yank the tick out, because its head & part of its
body can break-off & remain.
It is best NOT to use with pliers or tweezers, to remove the tick.
This can crush the tick, and force its bodily fluids into your body.
Do Not use a lighted match.
Do Not cover the tick with vaseline, or anything else like that.
There is a lot of Bad Advice, about how to remove ticks.
------
It is best to pull the tick out slowly & firmly with your fingers.
Try to grasp as close as you can to its head (which is partly buried
in your body), & then pull the tick out gently.
Place the tick in a jar, & cover with a lid.
If the bite-area of your skin starts to look infected/etc., then take
the tick-in-jar with you, when you go to see the doctor.
There will probably be a little redness & swelling anyway (at the
bite-site), which should go away in a few days.
This will look similar to a mosquito bite.
