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gailcalled's avatar

Should I take an antibiotic as a prophylactic after deer tick bite?

Asked by gailcalled (54644points) May 10th, 2007
I was bitten by a deer tick last week, and was told to wait for fever, rash, flu symptoms and other nasty stuff before starting antibiotic. Since I already have some chronic issues that causes aches and pains (fibromyalgia and lower back aches), does it make sense to take the antibiotic as a precaution? I am not in the habit of overmedicating.
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4 Answers

ben's avatar
I would say no. The tick bite antibiotics are strong and will make you ill. I would only take it once symptoms appear. Plus, if you take it preventatively, you will never know if you ever contracted lyme disease.
ben (9080points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
gailcalled's avatar
What kind of illness? Lots of people who have been bitten have been suggesting starting a pre-symptom course of Doxycylic - better to err on the side of overcaution, they say. My Doc. agrees with you..watch and wait. Thanks, IAC.
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sjg102379's avatar
I awas recently told by a medical professional that taking antibiotics prophylactically is bad, because it kills good germs inside you as well as bad ones and thus actually lowers your immune system.
sjg102379 (1245points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
gailcalled's avatar
That is certainly good advice in general. The lyme disease issue is more complicated because some symptoms present subtly and can be missed; blood tests are often either false negative or positive and letting lyme wait until it is full-blown can cause years of misery. After two weeks of ambiguity, I am now on a standard 21 day course of Doxycyline and feel relief, if nothing else.
gailcalled (54644points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…

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