so about two weeks ago i got some bites on my legs that wouldn't go away

Well, today i noticed one of them has spread and now has the original bite surrounded by a light red area that's about half-dollar sized. This spreading has to has happened in the last day or so, i'd have noticed it otherwise.

other than the itching ramping back up, it doesn't bother me

what demon bug bit me? worth seeing a doctor? why'd it take two weeks to trigger? am i going to have to amputate?

my thought is i scratched at it in my sleep and got it infected, but figured i'd ask just in case it's something serious

5/26/2009 6:47:49 PM

Quote :

"The classic sign of early local infection is a circular, outwardly expanding rash called erythema chronicum migrans (also erythema migrans or EM), which occurs at the site of the tick bite 3 to 32 days after being bitten.[15] The rash is red, and may be warm, but is generally painless. Classically, the innermost portion remains dark red and becomes indurated; the outer edge remains red; and the portion in between clears – giving the appearance of a bullseye. However, the partial clearing is uncommon, and thus a true bullseye occurs in as few as 9% of cases.[16]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease

5/26/2009 6:57:12 PM

oh

fantastic

fuck me

5/26/2009 7:09:04 PM

you're gonna die

5/26/2009 7:15:55 PM

guess i'll see if i can get in with my doctor tomorrow

wonder if these headaches i've had the last two days are related?

anyways, thanks

5/26/2009 7:22:24 PM

5/26/2009 7:23:02 PM

first fucking time i mow the lawn in 10+ years and i get fucking lyme disease

fml

5/26/2009 7:26:43 PM

It does sound similar to the tick bite I had about two months ago. I found the sucker attached to my femoral artery but removed him before he did too much damage. I had what felt like the mosquito bite from hell for about 2 weeks. I don't even think the chicken pox I had as a child itched that much. Good luck though. I got lucky but from what I read lime disease is no joke.

5/26/2009 7:39:23 PM

yeah, it's probably nothing but i don't want to really chance it

5/26/2009 8:00:26 PM

Quote :

"lime disease "

5/26/2009 8:33:28 PM

dude keep us posted, i want to know what it turns out to be. i hope its not lyme disease...but it kind of sounds like it. Id definitely go to the doctor

[Edited on May 26, 2009 at 9:38 PM. Reason : .]

5/26/2009 9:26:19 PM

Just don't let it turn into an abscess or something...

5/26/2009 10:58:07 PM

i might be in the same boat. got symptoms including swollen lymph nodes. going to teh doctor tomorrow.

5/27/2009 12:55:11 AM

I had a tick bite recently and the discoloration didn't go away. The PCP did a biopsy and it came back negative. It wasn't a big ordeal or anything and took about a wk or two to get the results.

Good Luck!

5/27/2009 1:01:44 AM

You just scratched a basic bug bite and now it is infected. I have one on my forearm right now from scratching a mosquito bite while working in the yard for 6-7 hours. Keep it clean, put some neosporin on it, and don't squeeze/scratch it.

5/27/2009 1:46:16 AM

Quote :

"You just scratched a basic bug bite and now it is infected. I have one on my forearm right now from scratching a mosquito bite while working in the yard for 6-7 hours. Keep it clean, put some neosporin on it, and don't squeeze/scratch it."

This is probably the case but I'd have it looked at anyway.

5/27/2009 10:35:03 AM

Yea, I agree you should at least get it checked out and possibly some blood work done. My aunt had Lyme's last summer and it took 3 trips to the Dr. before they figured out what was wrong with her. She had large red bulls eye's on her arms, legs and back. Classic sign, but these only show up in maybe 50-60% of cases with Lyme's. She was also really nauseous, feverish and achy. A simple round of antibiotics cleared her up pretty quickly. My understanding is that it's pretty easy to treat if you catch it early. It sounds like the it can eventually infiltrate your kidneys and cause pretty significant renal damage if it goes on for too long.

5/27/2009 11:24:18 AM

they weren't sure, but they gave me a prescription of antibiotics just in case

5/27/2009 1:46:34 PM

^ It sounds like you have cellulitis...

Also, if it was a tick bite I think it takes longer than 2 weeks to produce any outwardly symptoms... At least mine did. : \

[Edited on May 27, 2009 at 7:04 PM. Reason : stupid ticks.]

5/27/2009 7:02:52 PM

Just because its a red bullseye doesn't mean that its lyme disease. I had something similar, although I have no idea on the time table. I had the bullseye and everything, and then the redness got bigger, then just went away.

^That seems a lot like it, actually.



Its a little washed out from the flash I think, but you can see the bite in the middle, the white ring, and then the redness.

5/27/2009 7:16:05 PM

kind of looks like the pics i have seen of lyme disease dude

5/27/2009 7:22:14 PM

Well I've had a red ring before, from a tick bite. Doesn't have to be Lyme's disease to get a ring... I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever..

I also had a red ring from cellulitis caused by a cat bite

[Edited on May 27, 2009 at 7:33 PM. Reason : .]

5/27/2009 7:32:52 PM

^^When I went to the doc, they said it wasn't Lyme Disease and gave me some anti-itch ointment. Granted, this was the Cherry Point Hospifail, but it went away and I don't have any troubles that I know of. It was last summer.

What does lyme disease do anyway? I'm reading the wiki but all it talks about are ticks and symptoms that would be difficult to tell apart from normal oddities.

5/27/2009 7:40:30 PM

It makes you very sick. Lowers your immune system like crazy, can give you mad headaches, lots of different stuff. One of the women that volunteered at CPT while I was an intern had it for 3+ years. She had to take antibiotics constantly then eventually had to go on this yeast detox diet bc of all the antibiotics she had taken. She also couldn't get pregnant because the disease would make her child sick.

Honestly, a lot of the symptoms that come along with Lyme's overlap with other tick diseases. Also, the symptoms vary from person to person - I don't think it's set everytime. She told me they're trying to basically lump all the diseases into one since there's no clear cut answer to what constitues each disease.

5/27/2009 7:44:31 PM

yeah, they just gave me some general stuff and told me to come back if it doesn't clear up

we'll see what happens

5/27/2009 8:41:52 PM