On the other hand, if Lyme becomes chronic, it has devastating consequences. Teenage acne is far from life threatening, yet we take risks in prescribing antibiotics to treat it. To put this in context, physicians regularly use antibiotics to treat teenage acne for months to years with minimal negative effects. This risk of harm for not treating is greater than the risk of taking a short course of an antibiotic as I describe in the treatment recommendation section below. Even when antibiotics are given for acute Lyme disease where someone has symptoms or positive testing, there is a treatment failure rate of 15 to 20 percent. The earliest intervention after a tick bite results in the best outcomes. The risk of not treating a tick bite is the development of Lyme disease which can result in chronic health problems. If the tick is identified as a wood tick, dog tick, or a Lone star tick, I do not support prophylactic antibiotics.Īny decision to treat a tick bite must weigh risks and benefits. I also recommend this approach if someone is unable to tell if the tick was a black legged deer tick or another type of tick. My recommendation is similar to the position of The International Lyme and Associated Disease Society (ILADS). The problems created by chronic Lyme disease far outweigh any risk of using preventive antibiotics. My Recommendation Asymptomatic Tick Bite Lyme Disease Preventionīecause chronic Lyme can cause severe life-long problems for a person, anyone who has a black legged tick bite of any length of attachment in any area of the country should receive antibiotic prophylaxis. In addition, these other infections are treated effectively with antibiotics when symptoms develop. Dog and wood ticks can transmit other types of tick borne infections like anaplasma, ehrlichia, or rocky mountain spotted fever, but there is no evidence that preventing these infections with antibiotics after an asymptomatic bite works. Lyme is not transmitted by Lone star ticks, dog ticks or wood ticks. Lyme is transmitted by black legged deer ticks. Decide if The Tick Can Carry LymeĪll families of ticks do not carry Lyme (see CDC.gov). The reason to use antibiotics for a tick bite is to prevent acute or chronic Lyme disease from the bite of a black legged deer tick. Decide if You Should Take Antibiotics for a Tick Bite
Other methods, like burning a tick off, increase the chances of Lyme disease transmission from an infected tick. This method limits the chances that an attached tick will vomit Lyme germs into the tick bite area. The best way to remove a tick is to grab the tick at the head using tweezers.
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