A family affair

The whole family came with me to treatment today.  It was mostly a timing issue, because Jackson and I had to be there at 7:45 this morning for his appointment.  It was easier for us all to go, and I wanted to have Sean with me to hear whatever the doctor had to say about Jackson's tick bite.

The good news is that we caught and removed the tick before it had been attached long enough to cause Lyme disease.  According to the specialist, a tick needs to be attached for about 24 hours in order to transmit Lyme.  The infection comes from the tick's saliva, which isn't produced and injected into the host until after the tick has ingested the host's blood.  The saliva is produced from a reaction of the blood in the stomach.  Also, since we brought the tick with us, the doc was able to confirm that Sean did a good job at removing it.  He got the whole thing, including the mouth barb which is the part that hooks on and makes it difficult to remove.  Doc also let us know that it was a rather large, female, pregnant deer tick.  He could see 2 eggs.  Good - 3 less deer ticks in the world now!

What we don't know is if the tick was even carrying Lyme, or if it did have enough time to inject any "co-infections."  Lyme frequently is transmitted along with some other similar diseases.  Unfortunately, the tick does NOT need to be attached for as long to transmit these other infections.  As a side note, I tested positive for a co-infection called mycoplasma pneumoniae.  But the treatment is no different so it really makes no difference for me.  In Jackson's case, the doctor gave us an antibiotic just to be safe - 10 days of amoxicillan.  If we notice any symptoms, the doctor will extend the prescription.

I think the kids enjoyed being at the treatment center with me.  They got to sit in the big recliners and hang out.  Megan found a babydoll in the kids room to sit with and then cuddled up with it under a blanket.  They also got to have egg sandwiches from Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.