Does this look like Lyme Disease?

The 2nd photo sure looks like a bullseye rash. Please make sure the Dr treats him long enough with Doxy. Most Dr's don't treat long enough and we end up suffering and fighting this disease for many years.

Greenemom, this absolutely looks like it could be lyme. A bulls eye rash alone is diagnostic for lyme. It is imperative that you get to a proper doctor and get the right treatment. This disease is nothing to fool around with, believe me.

While your pediatrician should start him immediately on doxy, they will not treat him longer than 2-4 weeks. I would recommend that you do alot of research about lyme and the controversy surrounding it and try and find an LLMD in your area that will treat children. It is not easy but well worth the work.

My son was 12 last year when he presented with a bullseye. He had complained earlier that week of sore throat, sore eyes, dizziness, etc.

It is great that you saw the bite and bullseye as you will be able to get immediate treatment. Please keep us informed.

Please do yourself and your son a favor and spend some time reading on Dr. Jones website - www.drjoneskids.com/. He specializes in treating children with Lyme and other tick-borne infections.

Although I too would rather have a pediatrician to treat my child, make sure that whoever you choose is well-educated about these very complex infections. Maybe you should look into getting your son in to see Dr. Jones? He's only about 4 hours from you.

I'm glad to hear your son's pediatrician is taking this seriously. Like the others have said, it really helps to do your own research, although if you start to feel overwhelmed by it, by all means take a break. There's a lot of information out there and it's hard to keep it straight sometimes!

Now would also be a great time to enhance other healthy habits for your son - the best thing to combat lyme disease is a healthy immune system - a good clean diet, enough fluids, enough sleep, etc. I'd also recommend keeping accurate notes on things like temperature fluctuations, symptoms, etc. Best of luck - keep us posted!

For information on finding a Lyme Literate Medical Doctor(LLMD) in your area, please email our long time member, Dan's Mother at:
[email protected]

If you'd like more doctor suggestions, you can email stephanie at: [email protected] You can also go to: www.turnthecorner.org/bod.htm if you want to learn a little bit more about Lyme Disease.

You can also go to The Lyme Disease Association and search for LLMD's 3 times in a month. You have to register first. Here is the link: www.lymediseaseassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=277&Itemid=74

You will want to find an ILADS (International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society) doctor. The ILADS site is a great place to read to get you started on your Lyme journey.
www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/treatment_guidelines_clearing_ilads.html

Ledum - a homeopathic remedy. Give 2 pellets under the tongue 2x/day (20 minutes apart from anything else (food, beverages, medications)) for 1 week. I've read this can kill off the infection when it is given as soon as possible after the tick bite. If symptoms appear (flu-like, fevers, joint pain, etc.), may need to continue the Ledum and possibly add other homeopathic remedies (consult a Homeopath or Naturopathic physician for guidance). Homeopathy is one of the safest forms of medicine - no side-effects and is not harmful even if the entire bottle's worth of pellets is swallowed, even by a child.

Immune System Support:

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol); need to supplement Vit. D because it is recommended to avoid being out in the sun while on Doxycycline.
Zinc
Selenium
Vitamin C
Vitamin A
Vitamin B Complex
Magnesium
Omega-3/Fish Oil
Garlic - raw, at least 1 clove daily with food, if he can handle it...

Avoid sugar (sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, processed honey, molasses, glucose, dextrose, sucrose, etc.). Ok sweeteners include stevia and xylitol (birch source, not corn!). Sugars supress the immune system.

Testing within 4-6 weeks of the bite likely will not be accurate because the body hasn't had a chance to develop antibodies to Lyme bacteria. And after that, once the Lyme bacteria establish themselves, the bacteria suppress the body's ability to generate antibodies...so again, the tests are not accurate. But he doesn't need a test - the Bull's Eye rash is proof of Lyme.

And also I'd suggest getting him in to see an ILADS-trained MD or Naturopath as soon as possible, especially if he goes on to develop other symptoms.

Since the infection is new, he has a very good chance to kick it before it can become established.

Actually, things sound like they are going well! The rash is the skin form of Lyme Disease, so the fact that it was caught so soon, you got your son into treatment right away should produce good results! Hopefully the rash will completely disappear and he won't develop any other symptoms!

Keep a watchful eye for possible symptoms for a while though. Stress can bring out a subclinical infection.

The current recommendations for a child with what is considered "Early localized" infection - a rash with no signs of any other symptoms is 6+ weeks of abx. You can see this either on Dr. Jones' site (link above in previous post in this thread) which is being quoted from Dr. Joseph Burrascano's "Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease" - which can be found in our 'New to Lyme?' thread.

If it was my child that showed a rash with no other symptoms, personally I would go after 8 weeks of abx at the proper dosage. BTW - what is the dosage of Doxy? You need to be sure the abx are being given at the proper dosage otherwise the only thing that's being done is to keep the bacteria from replicating, not actually killing them. This would allow a relapse - which of course, no one wants to see!!

The problem with Doxy and why most doc's won't prescribe it for children is that it needs to be in high doses - 400 - 600 mgs each day. The "staining" of his teeth could be permanent, just so that you know. Most knowledgeable docs will prescribe Amoxicillin at 50 mgs per each Kilogram of weight of the child divided into 3 doses a day, according to Joseph Burrascano's Advanced Topics in Lyme Disease.

If necessary, get to a LLMD -Lyme Literate Medical Doctor or a Holistic practitioner. One thing is for sure - the infection was caught early, so don't take a chance that it's not all killed off so that it will have the opportunity to come back at a later time.

Have I confused you yet? Giggle!

Please do let us know what's decided!

First off - I'm not a physician, nor am I formally educated to be one. This is only my opinion.

The person who is fighting these infections must have high blood levels of the abx, otherwise the bacteria will only be stopped from replicating, it won't kill the bacteria. This leaves the possibility of a relapse wide open, as the bacteria will just hide in what is known as biofilms inside the body until the abx is no longer in that person's system, at which point the bacteria will re-emerge. I have NO CLUE what high blood levels of Doxy would be for a child, there are only references for adults.

Since everything I can find about Doxy and children says not to give it to children under 8 yrs old because of the likelihood of permanent staining of the teeth and/or enamel hypoplasia (lack of or thin enamel on teeth), I would be asking for Ceftin. There is documentation of it being used for children with tick-borne infections.

My son had life-threatening ear infections in the first year of his life. We had no choice at that time but to put him on strong abx and although I can't remember which abx he was on. He had the staining and enamel hypoplasia, so I assume it was Doxycycline. I would not encourage anyone that had another choice of abx to go this route. Just my experiences, but please be aware of these things.

Whatever you choose to do, please do let us know how you and your son are doing.