Lone Star Tick

We just found a male lone star tick on my daughter. They went hiking in Warrenton, VA. I've been researching online and it seems a male lone star tick is not as dangerous as a female one. Also, it does not carry lyme disease - though it carries other diseases.

I'm not sure if I pulled everything out. Should we see a doctor tomorrow? or just observe for now?

 

If the tick was attached and you are not sure for how long, I would suggest to go to the doctor. I had lyme disease myself and suffered for years. The best thing to do from what I learned is to get on antibiotics as quickly as possible.

This is from my personal experience.

Best of luck.

 

The hiking was between 11am-noon, so she had the tick for 10-11 hours. The tick was not "fat". so I guess it did not feed that much....

 

I found one of those ticks buried in my leg a few years ago. I would go to the doctor and get a course of antibiotics. Some will recommend waiting to see if you get symptoms. I disagree.....depending on which tick-borne illness you get, symptoms may not show up for quite a while. Then it is much more difficult to treat.
Better safe than sorry.

 

While trying to get an appointment with the doctor, I was transferred to the nurse. The nurse said they won't give antibiotics unless it's been there for over 24 hours and patient is showing symptoms. We found it within 10-11 hours from the "hiking time". She is also showing no symptoms. I don't think I can insist on the antibiotics.

 

I've heard the Lone Star is linked to erhlichiosis but not Lyme Disease.

The doctor probably wanted you to wait to see if your daughter exibited any flu symptoms or rash; neither one being a common predictor of a bacterial infection but would certainly indicate an acute infection of some sort.

How long did the nurse suggest that you wait?

 

The nurse did not mention any time frame - she just mentioned having symptoms - I googled the disease you mentioned, and it states that a rash is uncommon, so symptoms would be headache, muscle aches, and fatigue.

 

OK naive question since we have only lived on East for about 5 years...how did you know for sure that is was "a male lone star tick"???

 

You can google tick images and it was very distinct.

 

We found a lone star tick on my son last spring in his scalp. It was not there too long...I'm guessing a few hours. Like your experience, they didn't do anything for him unless symptoms started to show. For weeks, he had a hard bump where the bite was on his head and apparently that's normal, but you should keep an eye on it. It eventually went away. No other symptoms since though. Hope your daughter is okay.

 

After a day of worrying, I am starting to feel better. My daughter seems fine. I stared at the tick (which I kept in a glass bottle) and the head seems to be there - and it looks so thin, I don't think it fed much.

They have another hike coming up, so I'll just buy a tick repellant - can anybody recommend a spray? or maybe the bracelet thing? Thanks.

 

I would find another doctor. I was told the same thing. I told them bs. I want antibiotics. They gave them to me.
Once symptoms show, and sometimes you won't get any for months, it is much more difficult to treat.
And thee are MANY different diseases spread by ticks besides Lyme. Some are much worse.

 

Repel Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent Pump