# Tick bite won't go away



## 4horses

A few weeks ago i got a tick bite under my left knee. I'm notoriously sensitive to bug bites and it just will not go away. It looks like a little volcano with an crater on top. It still itches and that is probably part of the problem. Plus I think there is a bacterial component by this point. I'm putting Neosporin on it. Not sure that will help much. Any suggestions?

I've been tested for lyme before but haven't been tested recently.

Normally it takes a month for a tick bite to heal. I think I'm slightly allergic.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians

4horses said:


> A few weeks ago i got a tick bite under my left knee. I'm notoriously sensitive to bug bites and it just will not go away. It looks like a little volcano with an crater on top. It still itches and that is probably part of the problem. Plus i think there is a bacterial component by this point. I'm putting Neosporin on it. Not sure that will help much. Any suggestions?
> 
> I've been tested for lyme before but haven't been tested recently.
> 
> Normally it takes a month for a tick bite to heal. I think I'm slightly allergic.


Take some meat tenderizer and make a paste and put it over the bite. It'll help draw out any impurities and it helps to kill the itch.


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## waresbear

If it was me, I'd be taking myself to the doctor!


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## tinyliny

Is it like there is pus inside? could you do some hot soaks, with a very hot , wet towel on it. ? I put a damp towel in the microwave for just about 10 seconds, then put it on as hot as possible, Ten minutes. then maybe the meat tenderizer? that is a new one to me, but I never use meat tenderizer for cooking, either.


also, are you sure all parts of the tick came out when you removed it?


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## Foxhunter

I agree you should have it checked out by a Dr. You could try rubbing some Neem Oil on it. This is a natural antiseptic and does relieve itching.


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## SueC

I think the point @tinyliny is making about bits of the tick having perhaps been left behind should be checked out by a doctor. It is quite common for ticks' heads, or parts of their heads, to be left behind when they are inexpertly removed by force. These will not come out on their own unless an abscess forms and then erupts. I would get it seen to ASAP. Good luck and get well soon.


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## LoriF

@4horses I had a lump left behind a tick bite once and it stayed for quite a while. It eventually went away. If you are nervous about it, you can have it looked at. The meat tenderizer and hot compresses are both good ideas as well. 
If I find a tick on me that has gotten under the skin already, I will dab hot sauce on it's butt and it will loosen up it's grip before I pull it out.

Being out in the woods quite often would warrant a lyme's disease test often.


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## SueC

A little PS from my husband. When I asked him about his tick bite experience, he said that as a teenager he ended up with a granuloma on his hand because of a tick head left accidentally in the wound, and this had to be surgically removed later. If the body can't get it out with an abscess, it will try to wall it off etc.


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## LoriF

I HATE ticks! I would rather have a spider on me all day than a tick, as long as it wasn't going to kill me anyway.


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## SueC

Well, this little piece of theatre is especially for you, LoriF!  It's all about spiders and what they can do to you in your sleep. ;-)









I also highly recommend the Shelob scene in _Lord of the Rings_! ;-)


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## walkinthewalk

4horses said:


> A few weeks ago i got a tick bite under my left knee. I'm notoriously sensitive to bug bites and it just will not go away. It looks like a little volcano with an crater on top. It still itches and that is probably part of the problem. Plus i think there is a bacterial component by this point. I'm putting Neosporin on it. Not sure that will help much. Any suggestions?
> 
> I've been tested for lyme before but haven't been tested recently.
> 
> Normally it takes a month for a tick bite to heal. I think I'm slightly allergic.


It's had enough time to heal on its own.

*Get Thee to a doctor now!* for two reasons:

1. Get re-tested for Lymes.

2. Make sure the developing infection has not morphed into that gawd-awful Group G Strep that is drug resistant -- then You've got real problems developing that, over time, could include your heart.

Tell the doctor when he does the Lymes you also want tested for the Group G Strep just to be safe.

I am all for the great self-healing tips but it might be time to set them aside and "go for the medical throat", so-to-speak


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## jaydee

If you didn't see or identify the tick then get to the GP ASAP. Even if the bite heals you could still have Lyme disease and the longer you take to get treatment the deeper rooted the disease gets and the higher risk of permanent damage. You don't always get that bulls eye rash.
Ticks carry all sorts of nasty diseases, not just Lyme so it isn't worth ignoring if the site still looks infected. Its also a puncture wound - the favourite site of tetanus


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## 4horses

I think it was infected. I took the scab off with tweezers and it was oozing smelly stuff. I flushed it with nolvasan and slathered it in triple antibiotic ointment. It feels better already. I was debating on using a poultice but will see how it looks tomorrow. I'm hoping I don't need to go to the doctor this week. I cannot take oral antibiotics anyways, not unless it is something really serious.


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