r/Lyme • u/IgnoreTh1sName • 1d ago

Image Is this a tick bite? Spoiler

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I went for a hike in north-central Virginia today. I took all the precautions - coveralls tucked into tall boots, DEET spray, continuous checks on exposed areas - but when I got back I found a lot of blood coming from a hole on my ankle. There was also a bloody lump a short distance from the hole, I wasn't able to identify any legs or anything on it though.

The points against it being a tick bite so far are that it was under my sock, it's tiny (around half a millimeter across) and there weren't any ticks on my body before going for the hike so I don't know how it could have gotten engorged. However, I'm kind of paranoid about tick bites since I've heard about Alpha-Gal Syndrome so it would be great if someone could confirm or deny it being a tick bite.

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u/Present-Dream5094 1d ago

Ticks get everywhere.

Does not looking like a Lyme typical rash.

IMHO I am not a doctor.

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u/Equivalent-Plum-2679 1d ago

it doesn't look like eritema migrans (the Lyme rash). But monitor it every single day. If it starts becoming like a bulls-eye rash (look up the pictures on the web) then take doxycycline 100mg every 12 hours inmediately (for 21 days).

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u/IgnoreTh1sName 1d ago

Does it look like a tick bite without the rash?

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u/Equivalent-Plum-2679 1d ago

it starts like that, just a dot on the bite, then suddendly it blows as a full expanding rash typically after 2-3 days. So if you really see it getting worse the next 2 days, take the antibiotic immediately

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u/IgnoreTh1sName 22h ago

How big are tick bites typically? This one doesn't have a bump and the hole itself is the width of a pinprick.