I got bit by a tick..?!
Question: I got bit by a tick!.!.!?
on Friday and I caught it before it swelled up with blood but now I have a red lump, like a mosquito bite, that itches!. I know that the bullseye only forms in about 20% of patients with lyme disease, but is the itch normal of ANY tick bite, regardless of what kind of tick it was!? It was a pretty tiny tick, and no, the head was not left burrowed in my skin, we got it out!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
The itch is an allergic reaction to the bite!.!.!.specifically, the saliva!. It is fairly normal!. However, you need to monitor the site and discuss with a dr the signs and symptoms of Lyme you need to be on the look out for!. It is a horrible disease that has fully incapacitated waaay too many people!.
Here is some info, just FYI from my own personal experiences!.
If you do develop a rash, take pictures, and be sure your time/date stamp are working on the camera to prove when the pic was taken, in case you can not get into a drs office right away!. The rash is only reported in a very low percentage, because the rash is not always seen, or it is not found, or it just never occurs in the first place!. The big problem with Lyme, is that is is considered auto immune disease and the problem with ALL auto immune diseases is that there is no 100% definitive test to say "this" is lyme, or "this" is lupus or "this" is Multiple Sclerosis!.!.!.the tests are horrible inadequate and just test for a generalized inflammatory response and pretty much the tests are all the same, regardless of disease!. So, the dr will have to look at your symptoms, which, also unfortunately, with all auto immune diseases, symptoms are all very similar which further leads to even greater confusion!. Add to this that both Lyme and Lupus can and do mimic each other as well as other auto immune diseases and you are left with mega guess work on the part of any doctor attempting a diagnosis!. Which leaves you open to horribly inadequate mis-diagnosis'!. The rash will help the doctor, since if you have other symptoms, along with the rash !.!.!.then chances are, its lyme!. There are numerous false negatives with these tests and a huge problem I have had personally, is the blood test results will change, and go back and forth, I may have 3 blood tests in a row!.!.!. all my ANA's (inflammatory test) will be positive, but other tests may be positive, or may be negative!.!.!.!.and if they were negative last time, they may be positive this time and vica versa!.!.!.!.!.it depends on if Im in what the doctors term a "flare up" or not and who knows what other factors!.
Bottom line, keep on top of this, so you dont have to suffer thru 9 years of hellish medical conditions that continually stump every doctor youve ever been to, which is what I went thru before begin diagnosed with Lupus (which caused Deafness, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis and carpal tunnel) several years ago, (Im only 36) !. Now the hellish medical conditions persist, but at least there is a name!.!.!. a cause for them!.
Hope this helps,
EDIT: Lyme disease indeed CAN be fatal!.!.!.it depends on which organs it affects!.!.!.!.since it is a systemic auto immune disease, if it, say chose to settle in your skin and just cause rashes and other weirdness!.!.!.!.this time, it wouldnt be fatal, however, prolonger untreated Lyme can cause severe depression, poly-arthralgias, even organ failure!. This not something that happens overnite tho, certainly not in 2 days!. But it can, and has happened!. It will come and go, having flare ups and remission, almost like a cancer!. One time it might affect your skin, another tijme, it might attack an organ, another it might be entirely mental!.!.!.!.the disease process is such that it can immitate ANY other disease process known to man and as such, if left untreated, it can become a serious and potentially fatal condition!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Here is some info, just FYI from my own personal experiences!.
If you do develop a rash, take pictures, and be sure your time/date stamp are working on the camera to prove when the pic was taken, in case you can not get into a drs office right away!. The rash is only reported in a very low percentage, because the rash is not always seen, or it is not found, or it just never occurs in the first place!. The big problem with Lyme, is that is is considered auto immune disease and the problem with ALL auto immune diseases is that there is no 100% definitive test to say "this" is lyme, or "this" is lupus or "this" is Multiple Sclerosis!.!.!.the tests are horrible inadequate and just test for a generalized inflammatory response and pretty much the tests are all the same, regardless of disease!. So, the dr will have to look at your symptoms, which, also unfortunately, with all auto immune diseases, symptoms are all very similar which further leads to even greater confusion!. Add to this that both Lyme and Lupus can and do mimic each other as well as other auto immune diseases and you are left with mega guess work on the part of any doctor attempting a diagnosis!. Which leaves you open to horribly inadequate mis-diagnosis'!. The rash will help the doctor, since if you have other symptoms, along with the rash !.!.!.then chances are, its lyme!. There are numerous false negatives with these tests and a huge problem I have had personally, is the blood test results will change, and go back and forth, I may have 3 blood tests in a row!.!.!. all my ANA's (inflammatory test) will be positive, but other tests may be positive, or may be negative!.!.!.!.and if they were negative last time, they may be positive this time and vica versa!.!.!.!.!.it depends on if Im in what the doctors term a "flare up" or not and who knows what other factors!.
Bottom line, keep on top of this, so you dont have to suffer thru 9 years of hellish medical conditions that continually stump every doctor youve ever been to, which is what I went thru before begin diagnosed with Lupus (which caused Deafness, osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis and carpal tunnel) several years ago, (Im only 36) !. Now the hellish medical conditions persist, but at least there is a name!.!.!. a cause for them!.
Hope this helps,
EDIT: Lyme disease indeed CAN be fatal!.!.!.it depends on which organs it affects!.!.!.!.since it is a systemic auto immune disease, if it, say chose to settle in your skin and just cause rashes and other weirdness!.!.!.!.this time, it wouldnt be fatal, however, prolonger untreated Lyme can cause severe depression, poly-arthralgias, even organ failure!. This not something that happens overnite tho, certainly not in 2 days!. But it can, and has happened!. It will come and go, having flare ups and remission, almost like a cancer!. One time it might affect your skin, another tijme, it might attack an organ, another it might be entirely mental!.!.!.!.the disease process is such that it can immitate ANY other disease process known to man and as such, if left untreated, it can become a serious and potentially fatal condition!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
OMG!. A TICKBITE!?
holy **** you might die of lyme disease!. you need to get admitted into the ER right now like you should not be on the computer!. get to a hospital! you only have a little more time until it becomes fatal!. usually the first signs of any type of itching means your at the last stage and you have only a few days before the disease gets to your heart and brain!. and your stats were wrong!. its 80% develop it not 20%!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
holy **** you might die of lyme disease!. you need to get admitted into the ER right now like you should not be on the computer!. get to a hospital! you only have a little more time until it becomes fatal!. usually the first signs of any type of itching means your at the last stage and you have only a few days before the disease gets to your heart and brain!. and your stats were wrong!. its 80% develop it not 20%!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
I would just go to the doctor to get it looked at, in case something serious happens!.Www@Answer-Health@Com