Help DD bitten by Tick

[craziedaisy]

Yesterday morning I discovered a tiny tick on my 2 year old dd's upper thigh. We had been playing the previous afternoon on common land. I took her down to oh doctors and the doctor removed with a tick remover. He didn't want to give antibiotics as she is so little but wanted me to make sure she doesn't get any symptoms of Lymes disease. I am now panicking - I know what to look for but anyone got experience of this. I can't believe I didn't notice it the night before at bath time but the doctor said he was sure it hadn't been there long as it wasn't engorged with blood.

Please help me panicking.

Okay I can't remember what symptoms of lymes are but my DS had two or three tics last year (hazard of where we live, we don't even bother the GP with it) and is fine. You need to keep and eye on it but it's not likely that the tic will transmit Lymes.

We got some last year and were fine, though ever time a child was a little grumpy we looked at each other and wondered if they were getting Lyme's Disease.

The main thing is making sure there are no bits left behind when you took it out, but if the GP did it for you you probably don't need to worry about that.

I second what Tunip said.

Making sure the 'head' of the tick has not been left in the skin is first priority. Our dogs used to get them and we would burn the tick with a hot match (blown out) to make it withdraw its fangs before pulling it away form the skin.

If you just pull at them with tweezers the head can detach and then it becomes septic.

You might want to get a tic remover from your local vets. Don't panic, just be aware and if your DS gets sick go back to the doctors.
I've been bitten by tics and never had lymes. Similarly my kids have all been kayaking and have never had Weil's. It's just good to be careful and aware.

I have had several clients (farmers) who have had lyme disease with hindsight they all had the rash around where the tick was attached, but did nothing about it. We now all know through their experience that if you have a rash round where the tick was you get the antibiotics. Despite having advanced Lyme disease they did all recover and are fine.

Please try not to worry too much. Last summer my 3 children were constantly coming home with ticks as they spent most of their time outside playing in long grass etc. I bought tick remover from the vet (for our dog, cat and children!) and gave them a good inspection at bath time every evening. Ticks and deer are very prevalent in this area and so I do worry a bit about lyme disease, however I think that you just need to be aware of looking out for symptoms and get antibiotics if necessary, it is not at all common to give antibiotics 'just in case' when you get a tick. My best friend had lymes last year, not much fun, but equally not the end of the world, she was totally fine within a week.

Just keep watching her for any signs of lyme disease but please try not to worry too much- not every tick will carry lyme disease (is there lymes in your area?) and not every bite even from an infected tick will transmit it, which pushes the odds up (or is it down??) a bit.

Presumably your GP gave you a leaflet about Lymes and what to watch out for? If you have any concerns of that kind over the coming months then take her back to the gp and get them to test. ime of lymes (3 people inc one 6yo have had it in our tiny hamlet) the symptoms can me mistaken for many other things and frequently are and unless you keep requesting testing for lymes they can go undiagnosed for a while. Not every person who gets lymes disease will get the bullring rash. Chances are, she'll be fine. DD1 got a huge tick in a known lyme disease area in California when she was just 2 (large amount of hair and the bugger was in her hair so went undetected for the best part of a week several days) and DD2 also got a huge one behind her ear in France although we found it faster. Both were fine. I swear by tea tree oil for ticks and tick bites.