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We're in the middle of a road trip from OKC to Denver, smack in the middle of Kansas. We have stopped for a play break for the kids. As I was nursing Hyrum, I pulled a spot of something off him and as I was flicking it away I realized it was a tick! It was about the size of a pencil led and still flat. It definitely was gray too, not brown. The ticks to be concerned about are brown, yes?

 

My knowledge about this is fairly low. Also, should I be concerned since he's such a little baby? He'll be 7 weeks on Tuesday.

 

ETA: it definitely was attached and left a pinpoint red spot on his arm. I cleaned and sanitized the area.

Edited by blondeviolin
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Note the date and watch for signs of illness in 10-14 days - slight fever, over sleepy. It may be hard to tell in such a little baby. The spot will probably be red for a while. When my 4yo ds had a tick borne illness last month, he complained of headache and was very fatigued. I also noticed the lymph nodes near the bite were pretty swollen. It responded well to antibiotics and now he's fine. Hope it's nothing. Most of them are.

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Note the date and watch for signs of illness in 10-14 days - slight fever, over sleepy. It may be hard to tell in such a little baby. The spot will probably be red for a while. When my 4yo ds had a tick borne illness last month, he complained of headache and was very fatigued. I also noticed the lymph nodes near the bite were pretty swollen. It responded well to antibiotics and now he's fine. Hope it's nothing. Most of them are.

 

 

As someone with lyme and 3 other tick borne diseases, it is important to keep an eye out for the next 2 weeks or so--fever, fussiness, etc... If for some reason the area got a "bulls eye" rash that is a definitely indication to take him right in even with no other symptoms. Or if he has symptoms and no rash, same thing.

In the future, you should keep the tick in a ziploc in the freezer so that if symptoms do develop they can test the tick. If it had just gotten on him and you took it off so quickly, it really should be fine. The longer they are on, the more likely they are to impart diseas.

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