Think i've been bitten by a tick!
Discussion
Think i've been bitten by a tick sometime last week. i now have an angry 3" rash on my leg, circular in design with a darker edge to it. Went to the local walk in centre on tuesday who said it was just bruising caused by itching it (i haven't been) and it should go away in a week or so, but i wasn't really convinced, so made an appt at the doctors. He said he didn't know what it was and just gave me some cream for it! I'm still not convinced and after some googling (probably not wise!) i have self diagnosed myself with Lyme Disease! I have now noticed two other growing rashes on my other leg and my joints are quite painful too. Should i go back and see my doctor or should i just go straight to hospital, as the doctors receptionist told me they didn't have any appts till middle of next week!!!
Mods feel free to move this to health matters, just i thought it would get more views in the lounge at this ungodly hour of the morn!
Mods feel free to move this to health matters, just i thought it would get more views in the lounge at this ungodly hour of the morn!
ds.
You can go A&E but it could take hours to get seen. Most places have emergency doctors which would also be classed as out of hours. I believe you can use these for when you need to see a doctor urgently and can not get an appointment normally.
I have found that these doctors seem a little better than the ones at my doctors surgery but then that probably says more about the surgery then the out of hours place.
I have found that these doctors seem a little better than the ones at my doctors surgery but then that probably says more about the surgery then the out of hours place.
My dad got bitten by a tick while on holiday in Scotland about 10 years back.
He didn't notice (thought it was a midge bite), and the top of his sock smashed the head off of it at some point, probably one of the reasons he didn't realise.
Two days later, he's in a crap state, running a fever, almost entirely out of it and his leg has swollen up to twice its size, with a lovely track running along the vein in his leg right up to his groin. Quick trip to A&E later, much expression of awe by the doctors, and some really really really mungo antibiotics...still took him a month to recover fully.
I saw the leg after two weeks; his calf was still 50% bigger than the other, and really dark purple and just...nasty.
10 years on and it's gone, but I can remember it still being noticable after a few years.
Don't screw around, get it looked at.
He didn't notice (thought it was a midge bite), and the top of his sock smashed the head off of it at some point, probably one of the reasons he didn't realise.
Two days later, he's in a crap state, running a fever, almost entirely out of it and his leg has swollen up to twice its size, with a lovely track running along the vein in his leg right up to his groin. Quick trip to A&E later, much expression of awe by the doctors, and some really really really mungo antibiotics...still took him a month to recover fully.
I saw the leg after two weeks; his calf was still 50% bigger than the other, and really dark purple and just...nasty.
10 years on and it's gone, but I can remember it still being noticable after a few years.
Don't screw around, get it looked at.
sideways dan said:
Think i've been bitten by a tick sometime last week. i now have an angry 3" rash on my leg, circular in design with a darker edge to it. Went to the local walk in centre on tuesday who said it was just bruising caused by itching it (i haven't been) and it should go away in a week or so, but i wasn't really convinced, so made an appt at the doctors. He said he didn't know what it was and just gave me some cream for it! I'm still not convinced and after some googling (probably not wise!) i have self diagnosed myself with Lyme Disease! I have now noticed two other growing rashes on my other leg and my joints are quite painful too. Should i go back and see my doctor or should i just go straight to hospital, as the doctors receptionist told me they didn't have any appts till middle of next week!!!
Mods feel free to move this to health matters, just i thought it would get more views in the lounge at this ungodly hour of the morn!
go straight to the hospital Mods feel free to move this to health matters, just i thought it would get more views in the lounge at this ungodly hour of the morn!
my mother got Lymes disease in the UK through a tick bite , pretty horrible ,
we have it worse here in Russia
working in Siberia ( forests ) you need 3 injections against Encephalitis , there are at least 5,000 regional deaths attributed to tick borne Encephalitis yearly ....noe thats a horrible way to die !!
not trying to scare you
jimmyjimjim said:
My dad got bitten by a tick while on holiday in Scotland about 10 years back.
He didn't notice (thought it was a midge bite), and the top of his sock smashed the head off of it at some point, probably one of the reasons he didn't realise.
Two days later, he's in a crap state, running a fever, almost entirely out of it and his leg has swollen up to twice its size, with a lovely track running along the vein in his leg right up to his groin. Quick trip to A&E later, much expression of awe by the doctors, and some really really really mungo antibiotics...still took him a month to recover fully.
I saw the leg after two weeks; his calf was still 50% bigger than the other, and really dark purple and just...nasty.
10 years on and it's gone, but I can remember it still being noticable after a few years.
Don't screw around, get it looked at.
Acute Lymphangitis, if I remember rightly. Happened to me in Athens during the Olympics, although no idea what bit me. Cue a mad trip to hospital in an ambulance (perhaps a tad overkill, but that's the olympic organisers for you) and a day and a half stay on an intravenous drip. He didn't notice (thought it was a midge bite), and the top of his sock smashed the head off of it at some point, probably one of the reasons he didn't realise.
Two days later, he's in a crap state, running a fever, almost entirely out of it and his leg has swollen up to twice its size, with a lovely track running along the vein in his leg right up to his groin. Quick trip to A&E later, much expression of awe by the doctors, and some really really really mungo antibiotics...still took him a month to recover fully.
I saw the leg after two weeks; his calf was still 50% bigger than the other, and really dark purple and just...nasty.
10 years on and it's gone, but I can remember it still being noticable after a few years.
Don't screw around, get it looked at.
Apparently, once the track reaches your lymph nodes (groin, armpits), the toxins can attack your major organs, which can be lethal in some cases.
Don't let that worry you though.
Tick bites are very common up here. Lyme's disease isn't but it can be very nasty.
I only know one deer stalker who "had it bad". It took three blood tests to find it and because of the delay, Lyme's took hold.Diagnosis can be very difficult.
It took a year for him to recover,following two 28 day intra-venous antibiotic treatments.
He has lost the use of his right thumb and his left elbow is pretty poor.
I also know a GP in a small isolated area of the West coast of Scotland. 7% of their patients have Lyme's!
Early diagnosis is very important and some GPs might not have ever come across it before. It's only in the last 5 years that awareness has increased.
Get it seen to quickly, just in case.
I get about 20 tick bites a year. A deer stalker would get that in a week.
I only know one deer stalker who "had it bad". It took three blood tests to find it and because of the delay, Lyme's took hold.Diagnosis can be very difficult.
It took a year for him to recover,following two 28 day intra-venous antibiotic treatments.
He has lost the use of his right thumb and his left elbow is pretty poor.
I also know a GP in a small isolated area of the West coast of Scotland. 7% of their patients have Lyme's!
Early diagnosis is very important and some GPs might not have ever come across it before. It's only in the last 5 years that awareness has increased.
Get it seen to quickly, just in case.
I get about 20 tick bites a year. A deer stalker would get that in a week.
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