Spider/Tick/LymeDisease
I woke up in the mid. of the night scratching a knot on the back of my head where my neck starts. It only itches when I lay down. Yesterday i was outside and felt something weird there but did'nt think anything about it. it is about the size of a 10y.o.'s thumbnail and is sore. it is also red. We have looked on the internet and everything, i cant find anything like this. What is It? PLEASE HELP!!
Answer:In general, a tick has to remain attached and feeding for about 24 hours before it can infect a person with Lyme disease. It's possible they can cause these symptoms without passing any infection (they may not be infected themselves). You can have your doctor take a sample of blood for an antibody test if you're concerned. Early treatment is very effective.
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/lymed...
If it's a spider bit, it'll probably resolve itself in a week or so.
If it's a bed bug sore, expect to see more.
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/bedbu...
Does it appear like a "bullseye"?
Typical erthyma migrans rashes from lyme disease often appear as a "bullseye" (e.g., red center, then clear, then red on the outside). A non bullseye appearance, however, does not rule out lyme disease as a potential culprit.
I would actually be more inclined to suspect a spider/other insect bite. Hard to say, though.
Keep an eye on your symptoms. if you spike a fever or have any other ususual symptom manifestations, you should get yourself to a doc, PRONTO.
Hope you feel better soon,
~M~
p.s. Benedryl cream often helps with itching.
If you have pets that go outside or if you've been outside alot yourself (particularly brushing up against some vegetation) then it could be a tick. It's probably buried in there and flling up on your blood.