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just pulled a tic off my bottom eyelash area!

hey people...it's that time of year.. just got bit! 1:45 AM!

. it was in my eyelashes, bottom towards the corner.
now how did it get there? i was just shutting down my computer...

i noticed my eye sore there and went down to take out my contact lenses and saw a glop of mascara/eyeliner and then, no! it's a tick.

i thought my eye was irratated from the make up/contacts.

i was not out much today. actually slept a lot.how could i not feel it crawling on me? last week i felt one crawling on my hand.. it didn't attach though but i felt it.

got it all out in one pull

anyways i cleaned it with q tips and hot water and stripped off my clothes and took a shower. then i cleaned it again and put neosporin on it..
it hurts!

i thought i had lyme last year being so sick.. 4 tests and abx

now a bite that hurts. it just happened and it is a tender area.

my doc thinks i am nuts... but i will have to call him. hope i do not get a black eye. it is sore under my eye, above my cheek bone.
wondered how you are all making out?

be well.
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Avatar universal
I truly hope you're safe!

Don't throw the tick away! Please. If it was a nymph  (one of the growth stages) it stands more of a chance of being infected than an adult. But  most ticks AREN'T infected ----- that's the good news.

"Not being on long" is not a good reason for believing a tick can't infect you, IF that tick is infected. (And we don't know if it was or not..... just saying)

I truly hope you'll continue to be infection free. IF you start to experience any symptoms---- please re-visit us and we'll try to direct you on to the next steps.

And you must have the cleanest face in the world :), but 'cleaning' the spot where a tick bite occurred does absolutely nothing to prevent infection.

I don't mean to scare you---- but it seems you're not. But please do not throw that tick away.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
hey, thanks people.
yeah i saves the tick when it happened. it is still in the freezer and guess i can throw it out now.  it was the smallest i have ever has on me.
called the doc right away.
they are not worried because it was not on for long.
no 1 dose or anything..wait and see.
waited for two weeks to see if i got a rash (yeah i know about the rash thing only happening less than 50 % ? )
last thing i wanted was a rash on my face.

no rash!

i cleaned it and cleaned it and cleaned it for the first few days.

so

whew! safe!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
The preemptive treatment guidelines were written by Wormser. They are hard to believe. The version I read also said something about how the tick had to be sufficiently engorged to suggest >= 24 hour attachment, since it takes that long to transfer the spirochetes.  I guess he thinks that all medical docs get tick-specific entomology training in med school. In real life, there's a whole lot of them out there who don't even recognize a tick when they're staring right at it on a patient's body.

I can't find any medical evidence or studies to prove the single Doxy dose successfully prevents Lyme Disease. It's just Wormser's opinion, as far as I can tell.

I personally would lobby for 30 days worth.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm sure there are some doctors that will treat preemptively. Just as they do for themselves, friends and family. :(

Wouldn't it be great if someone would post all those doctors names (using initials ONLY, of course) for all here to read? Or send them via P.M.s?
I don't know any but if others do....... that would be a wonderful service for the members.

But since the IDSA's guidelines have infected (pun intended) the U.S. I would imagine that finding those doctors will be hard. There ARE articles that approve of preemptive doses----- would they 'put their money where their mouth is', so to speak?

Dr. B, in the Appendix of his 2008 Guidelines gives his Rationale for Treating Tick Bites which  is a sort of watered down version of the IDSA's version. A bit 'toothless'.

According to guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), people bitten by deer ticks should not routinely receive antibiotics to prevent the disease.

A single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline may be given in situations that meet all of the following conditions:

The tick is still attached to the patient and is positively identified as an adult or nymphal I. scapularis (the tick that carries the Lyme disease B. burgdorferi spirochete).
Doxycycline treatment can be started within 72 hours of the tick bite.
There is proof that at least 20% of ticks in that geographic area are infected with B. burgdorferi.
It is safe for the patient to receive doxycycline (this drug should not be given to pregnant women or children younger than 8 years of age).

[Ever try to get in to see a doctor within 72 hours? And never mind the fact that the longer a tick stays attached to you, the better the chance that infection will be passed on]

[Just who is going to 'positively identify' that tick? I doubt that most doctors wouldn't know how to tell an I. scapularis from any other type of tick.]

[20% of ticks in the area???? Pul-leeze!]

[ And ----- the worst----- must meet ALL those conditions???]
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Glad to "see" you again.  Sorry to hear about yet another tick.  Gaaahhhh!  Makes you wonder how in the world it got on you. Just shows you don't have to walk through tall grass or go camping to get one.  (I got mine as a tourist at a Wild Animal Park.)

How are you feeling theses day?  Still have symptoms?  You'll definitely want antibiotics for this tick bite.  I've read that some doctors are now calling for abx for every tick bite since it's not worth waiting to get sick.  Maybe you can find one of those articles and show it to your doc to get 3-4 weeks of Doxy.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Gibsongal, I'm so sorry to hear you got bitten again!

I have read that when people get a second tick bite, they get much worse symptoms than first time around. I'd be tempted to go and get a ton of abx right away if I were you.

Also, I did read you are supposed to disinfect the bite with iodine or alcohol., I don't know if it's too late, but maybe you could try this with a Q tip?

I hope this turns out not to be a nasty one.
Sending love and best wishes.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am sure that almost every tick is infected or you should assume that it is.   If I were you I would go on a 3 week round of Doxycycline antibiotic and start immediately. If you knew how much suffering could come possibly come about later - just do this simple thing. If you start to feel symptoms then go to a lyme literate Doc.  This is something to be taken very serious.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I agree you should ID the tick.  Although I'm sure there are some who would argue, dog ticks reportedly don't carry Lyme.  I've even found reference to a wild turkey that had Lyme, but the attached dog tick didn't.  The dog tick's immune system quickly kills the spirochete.  They might however carry some of the coinfections commonly found in Lymies, and helminths.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Did you save the tick? It doesn't matter if it was all 'squished' or even dead. Put it in a  small pill bottle with a slightly moist cotton ball or leaf, seal it up really good and you have two choices.

Take  it to a local lab County lab  that does tick testing if you have one and they will tell you what type of tick it is plus test to see if it has the bacteria that passes Lyme on  to people. These are not the 'labs' where you get blood drawn like LabCorp or Quest or ?. They should be listed under state or government in phone book or on the Internet if you're good at searching that way.

Better yet---- send it off to Igenex labs and have them identify/test it for pathogens. More expensive than a local but Igenex will identify it and can test most tick borne pathogens, like Bart, Babs. (You'd have to call them, they have an 800 free number.)

The sooner you start antibiotics the better! That's my non-medical advice but a very good one. Even if the tick weren't pathogenic (able to pass Lyme on). Doctors won't tell you to do that (they have 'rules' to follow) but many people do that on their own. But perhaps your doctor will start you on an abx asap.

This is not a wait and see event. The tick may not even been infected but better safe than sorry.

A person doesn't have to walk in the woods or do gardening or sit on grass in a part to have a tick near by. Mice are the most common critters that carry ticks into our houses (walls, basements, attics) and they drop the ticks off. Or pets bring them in.

I hope that you haven't been infected again. The chances are better that you didn't----- but better safe than sorry.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Helpful - 0
1763947 tn?1334055319
Sorry about the bite and the eye area is so sensitive. If it were me, I would ask the doctor to be treated right away. No use in taking a chance.
Let us know how you do.
Helpful - 0
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