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Lyme questions


PeterPan
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If someone has a ring rash with central clearing, are there other explanations BESIDES Lyme? And if one is large and there are more small ones around the body, what would be the path of care? Go to Urgent Care immediately? Find a special doctor?

and of course feel free to share how you had circular rashes that's weren't Lyme because obviously I don't like that as an explanation.

thanks

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Lyme usually presents as a single ring rash. My son had multiple ring rashes  within the last year. I can’t remember what it was called but his pediatrician knew what it was immediately. She said she hadn’t seen it in 20 years and then had two cases in a week. It cleared up pretty quickly. 

I did have a Lyme rash last summer, antibiotics cleared it up and I haven’t had any additional issues. 

I think if you live in an area where Lyme is common, you could wait to go to your doctor on Monday.   

Here is what my son had: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pityriasis-rosea/symptoms-causes/syc-20376405

I initially thought he had ringworm. It started as a single round rash and then he started getting smaller ones too. 

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Rashes with central clearing can be caused by more than just Lyme. It's my understanding that a Lyme rash will last longer than a couple of hours. Definitely take pics just in case. Go to urgent care if it lasts. Keep a timeline of events and how it looks if you think urgent care is going to blow you off and then find a different doctor.

I have had a rash with central clearing from a mosquito bite. They usually become normal looking within an hour or two. When I was a kid, I was very sensitive to mosquito bites (and flea bites). If I had multiples, then they usually swelled up, and I had what I now know is a histamine response--feeling super tired and kind of funny like I do when I have a big histamine release now.

The fact that there are multiples around the body makes me think that it's more likely to be a bunch of mosquito bites or something like that.

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Kbutton I'm going to see if he'll take Zyrtec to try the reaction to bug explanation. Yes this has been days and it's growing and there are more on other parts though not as big. I like the bug reaction explanation. Lots of mosquitoes when fishing do very possible. 

If that doesn't help then into the doctor. Would a pharmacist recognize it?

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If the rash has been there for days and is growing, I would go see a doctor ASAP. If it is Lyme, you want to jump on it quickly, and if it's ringworm it's contagious and can spread to other family members. Ringworm can also get out of hand quickly; my son had it when he was 4 and it totally covered his back and was reaching around his sides before we got it under control, because the usual anti-fungal treatments didn't work. He has also had Lyme's and spent 18 months on antibiotics, so personally I would not mess around if I spotted any kind of ring rash on one of my kids.

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20 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

If the rash has been there for days and is growing, I would go see a doctor ASAP. If it is Lyme, you want to jump on it quickly, and if it's ringworm it's contagious and can spread to other family members. Ringworm can also get out of hand quickly; my son had it when he was 4 and it totally covered his back and was reaching around his sides before we got it under control, because the usual anti-fungal treatments didn't work. He has also had Lyme's and spent 18 months on antibiotics, so personally I would not mess around if I spotted any kind of ring rash on one of my kids.

My sentiments exactly. 

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You absolutely CAN have multiple lyme rashes. If you got multiple ticks that were infected on you at the same time, you can have multiple rings.  When I had it I thought I had chiggers until I saw the rash. I was working outside in the backyard and saw some chiggers on something I'd been leaning over after I stood back up. Later I saw one rash in between multiple itchy chigger bites. I went to the urgent care clinic. The doctor saw 3 more faint ones that weren't as clear yet. They became more clear over the next 12 hours. The doctor said it was a common way for lyme to show up in the area.

ETA: Lyme isn't something to mess around with, or to rely on a pharmacist for. Go to the urgent care clinic. Untreated lyme can lead to a long, miserable, debilitating death. Treating it late can still leave someone disabled or struggling with immune issues for the rest of their lives.

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