Posted 7/21/2010 10:27 PM (GMT -5)
While on vacation in Virginia, my 6 year old daughter was bitten by a tick. We estimated it had been on her head for at least a week and was engorged. Having had lyme for 6 years now, I kind of new many of the steps we needed to take. I had her doctor remove the tick and we took the tick home and sent it off to IGenex to be tested. We also identified the tick as being a lone star. For the first week, while the tick was on her (obviously not knowing it was there), she had a fever, headaches and swollen nodes. All of her symptoms are gone, 5 weeks later, except the nodes closest to the tick bite behind her ear and on her neck are still quite large and the tick bite site is a good sized lump on her head. The tick was tested for lyme, ehrlichiosis, rickettsia, and babesiosis. All were negative. The infectious disease specialist we saw last week tested her for tularemia and rickettsia. He wasn't "impressed" with her symptoms and said it could just be from the tick bite itself and not something the tick transmitted to her. All her bloodwork tularemia, rickettsia, CBC and CRP came back normal. Also, she was on Zithromax for about 18 days then switched to Augmentin for one week. I just don't feel comfortable letting it go. Knowing all I do about lyme I want to make sure she doesn't have to suffer like I have, I think you all can relate. I really don't know much about other tick-borne diseases. Does anyone have any advice that might help us? Thanks for taking the time to read this!