Once you both know which diseases you have, your treatment will attack each one. This will help them determine which blood tests to do. Watch for symptoms and report any symptoms to your Lyme-literate provider. A few days isn't enough if you're infected with one or more of the bacteria that cause Lyme and these other co-infections. (If the tick test comes back negative, just stop taking the antibiotic, but it's better to be safe.) Ideally, you should get a prescription for 100 to 200 mg of Doxycycline for 30 days. The sooner you knock the bacteria out, the better. So, you should start on a course of antibiotics right away. The chances are at least 60% that you have been infected with at least 1 tick-borne disease, and probably 2 or 3. Don't wait for the lab results from the tick to go to the doctor. They should go in to your medical record.Ĥ. You will receive the results via email in 3 days from either Lab. For either tick testing service, fill in the online form and your credit card info and then mail the tick by regular mail in a regular envelope to the address they give you. Their prices range from $50 to $200, depending on how comprehensive you want it to be. They will also test for Powassan Virus, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and other tick-borne diseases. The University of Massachusetts' Tick Report is more comprehensive. They will test the tick for the diseases that are most prevalent in Maine: Lyme, Babesiosis and Ehrlichiosis/Anaplasmosis. The University of Maine Tick Lab is the least expensive option. University of Massachusetts/Amherst Tick Report service: Go on the Internet to either of these two labs: University of Maine Tick Lab: That way you will know what disease(s) your tick was carrying. It will be pulverized anyway during the testing phase.ģ.Send the tick to be tested. Put it in a plastic bag or in scotch tape. A tick can infect you within minutes.Ģ.Save the tick. Don't wait for symptoms, like a rash, to develop. If you didn't save the tick, jump to Step 4 (and remember to save it next time). We will remove it for you and save it for testing. If you can't remove the tick, come to the Boothbay Region Health Center. Disinfect the tick spoon, key or tweezers. Apply an anti-bacterial ointment, like Bacitracin.
Make sure you get all the parts of the tick out. So, if you find a tick on you or on someone else, here's what you should do (based on the advice provided by Paula Jackson Jones during her three Tick Talks on the peninsula on June 14th:ġ.
#Jackson lab tick borne disease doxy how to#
Unfortunately, there are many physicians in Maine (even in emergency departments) who are not up-to-date on how to diagnose and treat the many diseases that can be carried by a single tick. He listened to her concerns, and treated her daughter. So she called us and then drove 90 minutes each way to come meet with Dr. Recently the mother of a 5-year-old who lived in central Maine called the Boothbay Region Health Center because her daughter had an embedded tick and her pediatrician removed it, but refused to treat her, saying "kids don't get Lyme disease." The mom was justifiably upset. And we're already becoming a magnet for treatment. The other good news is that there is now a Boothbay Harbor resource for dealing with ticks. So don't stay inside, but wear repellent, treat your clothes, and do tick checks daily. Not just Lyme disease, but also Babesiosis, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis/Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and the Powassan virus are all carried by our local tick population. The bad news is that the Boothbay area has become an epicenter of tick-borne disease. The good news is that these beautiful summer days are perfect for being outdoors.
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