New mama with "only a rash"..

Hi there,
I am beyond desperate for advice. I am/was nursing my 6 month old and last Wednesday (8.9.17) I am pretty sure I got a tick bite. I live in the woods where it is heavily populated with deer, and I went for a walk with my baby and 3 year old...as we do all the time... it was the middle of the day so I didn't wear any bug spray, and I got eaten up by mosquitos which I am very allergic to. I kept itching a spot on my lower belly for a couple of days, way more itchy than the other bites. I never saw a bug.. BUT I somehow, have never had a tick bite (maybe one, but I never saw the tick, just a weird itchy bite).

Then on Sunday (8.13.17) I noticed an oval rash around the bite. It was solid pink with a little, tiny bit darker pink around the border. The bite itself looked as if it were healing AND there was a bit of a void in the bite spot, which told me it was very likely a tick. It was 3 inches in diameter at the largest spot when this whole thing started and now it's 4.5 inches. It was lightened up a bit and now looks a little spotty. It's not raised at all and still has a little bit of an itch to it. I took Benadryl last night to see if there was any change, and there wasn't much...I have been seen by urgent care and have spoken to many doctors offices (which don't want to talk to me at all) and have been asked the same two questions: "Do you have a BULLSEYE rash" and "do you have a temperature". The answer is no, but I do have a rash that I've never had before or have ever seen. I can't find anything like it on Google either.

I am tired with backaches, headaches, all of the above... however what new mom in their 30s isn't??? These are not new symptoms but I don't know if I should wait until bad things really start. The urgent care took some blood to be tested but it was only 4 days after the bite, which I now know was a complete waste of time. Missouri is not really known to get a lot of Lyme so the doctors are VERY dismissive of my concerns. Has anyone seen this type of rash? Does it seem like Lyme or something else? My doctor thought Brown Recluse bite but it really doesn't have many characteristics of that.. Any help is much much appreciated.

Dang I don't know how to add an image..

I also wanted to say that a bulls-eye rash is diagnostic for lyme disease...both by the IDSA and ILADS.

If it IS a bulls eye rash, then it should be treated.

If it were me, I'd stop nursing until you see a Dr. - and prescribes you abx that are fine to take while breastfeeding - (I believe amoxicillin)

Or...you can transition to bottle feeding and not take the risk.

hopelessinmo said...
I guess I say no bullseye because the center is not irritated or inflamed to give that bullseye look. More of a ring? Which is also what urgent care said, no bullseye because of the center. Not to sound like a jerk, but good for you for not having aches and pains while hunching over a newborn and chasing a toddler, I'm envious. I have had those pains already is where I'm getting at, they are not new and dont feel like they have escalated. But the rash is really throwing me. I will add a photo as soon as I get to a computer again. I have been bottle feeding since my gut said something was wrong but ideally, this is a temporary thing. I don't know...

Okay - if you already had the aches and pains prior to the bite...then obviously it's not from the bite.

Here's a link to some photos of EM's - they vary in size, shape, etc. Maybe show this to your Dr.

/www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/rashes.html

hopelessinmo said...
It almost looks like the insect bite hypersensitivity, but does that typically grow? It also looks like an early rash, I saw a name for it on another site but can't quickly pull it up. The problem is the other symptoms were not an all the time thing that i experienced before which is why I can't say if it is our isn't related. Thanks

Does it also look similar to the 3rd and 4th photos of the EM?


There's not a clear distinction, really.

That rash plus:" I am pretty sure I got a tick bite."

I wouldn't take the chance and 'leave' it.

Chronic lyme disease is a difficult disease to treat and can cause some serious health issues.

No but I have heard of it. It seems to be more in the south and west of the U.S. I think.

I would print out the ilads.org recommendations for treatment and show your doctor. Then maybe they will give you a round of antibiotics.

Keep track of any new symptoms and don't give up trying to get help if you believe something is wrong.

My mom said they spoke about it today on the ABC morning show might be a link on their site.

It's just hard to take a harsh antibiotic for a month on a hunch...

Sorry for your dilemma! This is exactly where we are with our daughter. She was bit by a tick 2 days before birth. Not concerned so much about passing lyme in utero but now she is breastfeeding.

Such a difficult position to be in.

She knows the symptoms, as she sees me going thru treatment, but she's torn about who to believe--her doctor or me, who has been educating myself non-stop since January.

It's one thing for me to deal with it. I am sure I am making the right choices for myself, but to watch my daughter have to make decisions about this for herself & her son, my grandson, is hard. Ugh! Blankety-blank lyme!

She wasn't even out in the woods. She picked up a tick in her home that some how got in the house. This is the 2nd tick they found in the house. And they live in a development! All we can figure is that the dogs in the neighborhood drop ticks & then they end up crawling around the neighborhood until they find another host.

The bite I had was a 3 inch diameter of what looked like bruising around it. The bruise was there over 2 weeks and itched for over 2 months. In a couple weeks I was so weak and tired. Then I started getting back pain and anxiety. My doctor didn't think it was Lyme. Well guess what, she was wrong! Sorry, Just frustrated with doctors and no reliable test.

Post Edited (pjb1959) : 8/18/2017 10:47:21 AM (GMT-6)