Lyme Disease
What is Lyme disease?
If you have a bulls-eye rash and possibly a fever, headache or muscle pain, then you may have Lyme Disease. Believe it or not, it’s caused by a mouse, but not like you would think. The mouse has Borrelia burgdorferi (boar-ELL-ee-uh burg-dorf-ERR-eye) and is bitten by a tick that then bites you. These ticks are very small and very hard to see.
The Bulls eye rash that appears around 7 to 14 days doesn’t always happen and some people can still have the flu like symptoms that can come with Lyme disease.
It is important to get medical attention and without it, the bacteria can makes its way into the entire body that could cause rashes that appear in areas never bitten by the tic. If not treated, pain, swelling and mood changes can occur months after being bitten!
Preventing Lyme Disease
- Avoid entering areas that are home to ticks in the spring and summer months.
- If you are in a tick infested area, wear clothing that is lightly colored which will help you spot ticks. Also, make sure your entire body is clothed and that skin is not exposed.
- Bug spray that contains DEET (n,n-diethyl-m-toluamide) can be applied to clothes and exposed skin.
- You can use Permethrin on cloths which kills tics dead (and fast) but make sure not to come in contact with skin.
The photo to the left is of the Ixodes Tick which is classified as a hard tick, due to the presence of a dorsal plate.
If you find a tick embedded into your skin, use teasers and pull straight out. Be sure not to twist as you pull or part of the tick’s body could end up inside your skin and cause an infection. After you have removed the tick, clean the area with antiseptic.
Ticks love foliage such as leaf piles (I know, children love to play in them, but so do ticks!). They can also be found in piles of wood, such as those we use for fire, etc.
If you discover a tic embedded in your skin, make sure to watch that area and be area of flu-like symptoms. If you think you may have Lyme disease, let your doctor know and they’ll be able to tell you for sure.
Written by Jim on June 17th, 2007 with
7 comments.
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Not sure how to reply but lots of folks seem to report the bullseye rash associated with Lyme disease. The other person with peeling inside out rash and numbness sounds like a Brown recluse bite - all of you should see a doctor asap!
Peace, and Universal Health Care for ALL,
(I am not a doctor) Univ. Health Care Singer
Hi, I went fishing with my husband a week ago. I got bit by something , But this bite itches and it hurts clean to the nerve it feels like and it looks like a linty purple color in the middle of the bite it was all red around it, the redness is going away but it stIll hurts like crap like its going to the nerve WHAT CAN IT BE?
I have this dry red patchy area on my leg and it’s about the size of a quarter and it’s kind of raised up. I have had it for over a month. then I noticed another on but smaller on my other leg. What do you think it is?
i have been diagnosed with lyme disease, however over the past week i have been getting a rash starting at the original site and spreading up my legs and my back. it is particularly around my knee caps and elbows. they itch like crazy and they look like small white bumps. can you please tell me how to get rid of this and if the medication i am taking for the lyme disease will make it go away.
Hi Madelyn,
You need antibiotics and if you were infected within the last year, perhaps a few weeks or months, but if longer than a year, you may need them for longer. The fact the rash is back and spreading means it’s disseminated (not local infection anymore) Julia.
I woke up with a perfect round red target! It lasted for 2 days! I am afraid I was bitten by spider or have lime disease… I have had headaches, and sore back muscles.. My doctor said to wait a month to check for anti bodies… If it is lime disease, is it curable?
I have been moody, tired… Can anybody show me pictures of what this might be?
Mike,
If you haven’t done this yet, you need antibiotics as soon as possible. The doctor should not have made you wait. The blood tests are almost always inaccurate. But if you had a round red target, and those symptoms you describe, that is Lyme disease.
Because it has been two months, you should see a Lyme specialist as soon as possible. Most doctors know nothing about Lyme disease so you really need to see a Lyme specialist (Lyme Literate M.D., or LLMD) for treatment.
You can find one on the Lyme Disease Association Doctor Referral page:
Good luck.