Originally Posted by
IslandPete
I have a daughter with Lyme. In my opinion, the question between taking antibiotics for a day or two after a tick bite, which may not have had Lyme, and which antibiotics may not address, vs possibly getting Lyme that you may have prevented, is a no brainer. Lyme is so bad compared to taking an antibiotic you may not need that it’s not worth talking about. Studies I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot, suggest that if you get bitten, a day or two of antibiotics while the bacteria is in your bloodstream is effective. I took doxy with me on our hike. I got bit and took two days. I didn’t get Lyme, which proves nothing, but I’ve seen Lyme affect a person, and would do anything that might possibly help prevent it. And toward prevention, everything my wife and I wore was treated with permethrin. I wore, as did my wife, compression type underwear, which we treated. Finding a tick on your ams or legs is pretty easy. Finding one on your back or torso with a friend is also doable. Finding one up in your junk or butt crack, on the trail, in the dark, when you may not have showered in 4 or 5 days is harder. A tick that has to squeeze between permethrin treated tight underwear wont make it. My $.02...