This is the classic bull’s eye rash, erythema migrans, that is found in many, but not all patients who have contracted Lyme Disease. It usually forms 3 to 30 days after being bit by a deer tick (found in the upper midwest and northeast US) or a western black-legged tick (along the Pacific coast). It is an expanding rash that fades in the center while the red ring expands, and is often mistaken for a fungal infection (ringworm). The tick inoculates a organism known as a spirochete, which causes the rash at the site of the bite or elsewhere on the body. The rash is often accompanied by fever, chills, fatigue, headache and joint pain. Lyme Disease is treated with up to a month of antibiotics. If left untreated, the infection may lead to heart rythmn problems, arthritis and nervous system difficulties such as meningitis, memory problems, sleep disturbance, weakness and numbness. A person that develops erythema migrans, any other kind of rash after a tick bite and/or has flu type symptoms following exposure should see his/her physician immediately for treatment…Richard R. Samuel, MD Family Practice and Urgent Care
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