Does Bullseye = Lyme?

about 9 months ago (October 2012) I noticed a small bullseye rash on my left arm, probably about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter. I will post a picture probably tomorrow, since it's on my mom's phone and she is in bed.

Immediately, I applied colloidal silver directly on the spot and began taking it orally, several times a day, for probably about 2 weeks.

I know this may go against your beliefs, but my mom and I did not visit a doctor until about 2 months ago, since we know that antibiotics can destroy your immune system, and we did not want to rush into that.

My doctor didn't really have much to say about us telling her about the bullseye (we had gone for a different reason), but she added in the lyme test to a blood test I was set to have a few days later.

It came back negative, but I have heard of the overabundance of false negatives. I am a 16 year old female, and so far I do not believe I have experienced any other symptoms, other than the rash (knock on wood). However, I recently did have 2 cysts - one on my ovary and one on my back - but after some research I figured this was probably unrelated.

Also, although I do not recall being bitten by a tick, I live in NJ, and I live around trees and spend much time outside.

So, do you think that the colloidal silver could have killed the infection?
Or could the bullseye have been something else?

Post Edited (catdog3) : 7/9/2013 9:36:29 PM (GMT-6)

Thank you PathogenKiller, I just edited it and added that I was wondering if it could have been something else. I will look into all of that now, and as I said, I will post a photo tomorrow. I've looked into ringworm, but I believe usually that doesn't have as much of a perfectly circular mark and it's more bumpy?

Also, I can't believe I forgot to mention, the bullseye faded by the next morning and was completely gone within 2 days.

My doctor said that Lyme's bullseyes never last more than a day, but I read that they typically last around 2 weeks.

nspeedracer: I apologize, to be honest I'm not even sure what test they did. All I know is that it was part of a regular blood test, which was testing for additional things.

Here is the picture: VIEW IMAGE

I case you don't think it looks like a bullseye, the contrast of colors can be seen more when the picture is smaller (so zooming out may help).

Hi Catdog,

Welcome! I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.

To me, the picture of your bull's eye screams Lyme. And your doctor is right about how the bull's eye can go away within a day. Two people I am close to developed bull's eye rashes, and the rashes were gone without a trace within a few hours.

With Lyme disease, swift action can make all the difference in the world.

We can help you interpret your Lyme test. The tests can be very unreliable, unfortunately.

If you are uncomfortable using antibiotics, there are herbal protocols to try.

Have you checked out the thread at the top of the page that says "New to Lyme? Start here!" ?

The bulls eye rash IS the skin form of Lyme, so if a person has the bulls eye rash, they have Lyme. Lyme does present with many other rashes as well, it's just that nothing else presents with the bulls eye.

Treating the bulls eye rash may have only chased the disease further into the body, so you should treat with either abx or herbs for a couple of months at least. Otherwise, once the body is under the right amount of stress, the disease will rear it's ugly head once again, only this time you will be dealing with chronic Lyme - much, much harder to treat.

Of course this is all assuming that nothing other than Lyme was passed, which really doesn't happen very often.

I understand the Lone Star tick bite can also present a rash similar to the EM bullseye. See http://www.cdc.gov/stari/symptoms/ for more info.

If it's circular with no white center, it can be other things like ringworm. Otherwise, yes, it's most likely Lyme. I would go see an LLMD.

Margaret

Lyme Disease is a Center for Disease Control (CDC) Notifiable Disease. When a doctor sees a case of LD they are required to report it.

If you go to the CDC website you can print up a copy of the standards for diagnosing Lyme disease. For some people it is not helpful, but you were lucky as far as Lyme disease goes, you got the Erythema Migrans (EM) rash.

Separate issue, out of order because that's how I found it in my notes - Reasons a test may be negative, while the infection is present-

http://anapsid.org/lyme/lymeseroneg.html  and http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/pi/nyspi/LymeDisease/research/keyarticles.html

It might be helpful to bring along a print of

"Reported cases of Lyme disease - United States, 2011" - CDC map which shows your state counts as having endemic Lyme.

CDC site - Confirmed  = A case of EM with a known exposure - defined as having been (less than or equal to 30 days before onset of EM) in wooded, brushy, or grassy areas...in a county in which Lyme is endemic. (2 or more cases). A history of tick bite is not required. (I doubt there is ANY county near you without 2 cases)

Suspected = still reportable! = EM with no known exposure and no laboratory evidence of infection.

Was your EM at least 5cm? That's one of their parameters. They do say these standards are for surveillance, not diagnosis, but they can force your doc to make a correct diagnosis. Diagnosis should be LESS strict.

There's an article on the CDC site about the bullseye not being Lyme - when it's from the Lone Star Tick - but NOT for anything else as far as the article goes.

This is the CDC case definition section -

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/NNDSS/script/casedef.aspx?CondYrid=752&D..

It would be very good to get your doc to make a correct diagnosis - every reported case makes a more accurate picture for researchers and policy makers. It is also important that your doc doesn't stay ignorant.

But when it boils down to it, your doc will probably not give you enough antibiotics (based on personal experience, and lots of testimony on many Lyme sites). It would be good to get started fast though. Your doc might prove helpful.

  The LLMD sugestion is really important. There's lots of people on this site who can help you with leads - just post a "request for an LLMD in ... " as a new thread.

 

Hard to say since other insects bites can cause a bulls-eye rash as well. So I would not jump the gun to say this is a Lyme rash.
Having said that, I would have gone right to the doctor and asked for a course of abx. I'm a Lyme Literate Naturopath and even I would not do herbals alone if I knew I was bit my a lyme tick. A course of abx along with herbs and other supplemental supports is how I would go about that.
As for colloidal silver, it is known to be a natural abx, so who can say if that helped.
But also keep in mind, not everyone who is infected with Lyme will develop Lyme. The body is designed to fight infections. If one is immuno-compromised (bad diet, emotions, existing conditions etc), then there is a highly likelihood of the body not fighting off the infection.

Also, best to get diagnosed by a MD or ND and not on line since there is not enough to go on with the pic alone.