To be so worried after this bite?!

[Reppa]

We are staying in an area that has had an increase in ticks with Lyme disease in the last year or so.

I was bitten two days ago on my ankle, I saw a black mark on my ankle around midday as we were walking and I thought it was a small bit of sand/gravel and ignored it, thinking I would wash it off later. In the evening I had a shower and it didn’t brush off so I tried to pull it off and it really tugged. It was then that I noticed it looked like a spider and that in actual fact it was a tick.

I know I probably sound ridiculous but I am a single parent and frantically worrying about what I will do if I get Lyme disease. I took all precautions and even sprayed with repellent etc so I’ve been unlucky.

Feeling a bit disheartened as was enjoying the trip until now!

Lyme's infected ticks usually leave a red ring that radiates outwards like a bullseye. If you don't get the rash it's unlikely it was infected. I even did get the rash but didn't get Lyme's. If you do get the rash just get it looked at. Antibiotics early on is the best advice.

Oh and cover up with socks and trousers.

I'm from a Lyme endemic area.
If you lived there, you'd go to the dr today and given the fact there is Lyme in your area and the tick was actually attached to you, you'd get a 2 week course of antibiotics right now.
My kids have had bites and anti b's more than once.
My husband has had Lyme that wasn't caught for a while and it wasn't pretty.

There isn't always a rash.

Get the antibiotics asap.

Please seek medical advice. Better safe than sorry. Not everybody has the bullseye rash.

I hope I can help. I have been bitten twice by ticks and now carry two tick kits. I have an intense phobia of them and that led to meticulous research.
So from my research I found that if the tick has been attached for less than 24 hours it is very unlikely that any disease has transmitted. They can stay attached for up to three days.
I had my second tick removed at A&E (wouldn’t now but I panicked and had no experience removing them) and the dr was googling what to do and relying on American advice.
If you go to the Drs they will probably give you antibiotics but there is guidance online to say this is not necessary unless you develop symptoms of Lyme disease.
I would advise that do some UK based research and you monitor the bite area and if you become concerned by it or other symptoms over the next month or so then see your doctor.
There is a lot of wrong advice online of how to remove ticks - the safest way is with a tick removal tool - getting them drunk with vodka or smothered in vasaline only upsets them and then they are likely to transfer disease faster.
Finally the only way to kill a live tick is to boil it in water. In cold water they play dead and they can survive being frozen and crushing etc might be dangerous. They can only survive so long without a host and unlike spiders they cannot cling to smooth surfaces.

If you go to the Drs they will probably give you antibiotics but there is guidance online to say this is not necessary unless you develop symptoms of Lyme disease.

OP I'd urge you to not take this advice. You may or may not have encountered a tick with Lyme, but the symptoms of Acute Lyme disease can be anything or equally, they can be nothing you'd notice. Maybe feel a bit tired in a few weeks? Maybe a mild temperature in a week? But then you may end up with worse symptoms in a year, which will then require A LOT more antibiotics.

Of course usually prophylactic antibiotics is usually a bad idea but in this case I really think better safe than sorry. No side effects in our family from them.

Finally the only way to kill a live tick is to boil it in water.

A workmate found a tick on his dog and he cremated it to kill it (wrapped it in a tissue and set it alight). I assume that worked!

Best go to the doctor OP, to be on the safe side.

Please see a doctor OP. I was one of those nice people who, "Didn't want to cause any bother" and now I have late stage Lyme's and an advanced anaplasmosis infection as well. Ticks don't just carry Lyme's. There's other horrible things that they harbour as well.

As well as this, the bullseye rash may present slightly differently, depending on your skin tone. A course of doxycycline doesn't cost at all much to the NHS and can save you from a whole world of misery.

Sorry for quoting myself but practically all of the tick borne diseases respond very well to antibiotics in the early stages. By respond, I mean get killed off.

@dairydebris I agree with everything you say

Really? You'd get antibiotics just for having had a tick bite? Here it's only if there's a rash, there's a lot of Lymes disease here but if everyone was getting antibiotics for tick bites we would never be off them

https://www.healthiertogether.nhs.uk/child-under-5-years/tick-bites

NHS guidance for kids but the same applies: "Antibiotics are not used for prevention of Lyme disease following simple tick bites."

Yes, if the tick was found attached and in an area where there is known to be Lyme. Antibiotics same day.

My son has had them 3 times. He actually hasn't had antibiotics for anything else, never seems to get ill.

Of course I could day to Dr no thankyou, we'll come back if he shows symptoms. But I don't fancy that risk.

My son didn’t get a rash, but he did start feeling poorly after about a week. Hospital wouldn’t put him on antibiotics as there was no rash (it was a weekend and 101 told us to go to hospital rather than wait for gp).
GP put him on antibiotics and sent him for blood tests ( can’t test for 6 weeks) and he did have Lyme disease.
You’re not being unreasonable to go to the doctor, get yourself checked.

My husband gets one or more ticks on a weekly basis while playing golf. We always remove them with a special tick removal tool. My kids have had several ticks over the years. We have never had antibiotics for them. My husband would be on them permanently!
It is a worry about Lyme Disease (we live in an area where it’s high) but most doctors won’t give them out unless there is a bullseye mark.
I dread seeing a tick on any of them.
I usually put them on a tissue and use the tick removal tool to squish them.

Just to reassure you maybe…I have had a number of ticks every year over the last 7 years since walking the dog. I’ve always removed them with a tick remover asap and washed the area well.

I regularly find ticks on both myself and my DH after going for runs or walks in the summer. We just remove them and think no more about it. Hopefully that is reassuring to you.

I live in an area in Italy with absolutely loads. One day we came back from a walk and we each found three on us. Once you carefully pull them out, it's usually fine. Keep an eye on the area and if you see a red ring starting to develop then go into the doctor immediately and get antibiotics. It's normal to see a small mark for a while, and in fact they often leave a little scar. I've had loads and I just pull them off.

My partner got a tick bite in April (neither of us realised as the tick didn’t stay attached and we thought he had a midge bite) - three weeks later it had developed into a bullseye rash and went to the doc’s (we still had no idea it was a tick bite!) and he got put on a 3-week course of antibiotics immediately; it thankfully cleared up within days. He had no other symptoms so we didn’t think he had Lyme disease, but certainly the rash was terrible. I’d urge you to go to doctor as a pre-emptive move!

I’ve had Lyme disease from a tick bite. Took a 6 week course of antibiotics and was totally fine. Don’t worry x