Re:15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test
by poszlem on Monday June 22, 2026 @05:45PM
(#48636655)
Again, I don't think you should be given antibiotics for a tick bite, unless you start showing symptoms, namely the infamous erythema migrans? Most ticks don't carry lyme.
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Re:15-minute at-home Lyme disease tick test
by cogman10 on Monday June 22, 2026 @06:34PM
(#48637303)
It's region dependent and most people aren't commonly getting ticks in the first place.
The reason to bias towards earlier treatment is because lyme disease can potentially result in nerve damage. For something that's already uncommon (a tick bite) throwing antibiotics at it isn't a terrible thing. Especially because that's also the general treatment for a number of tick born illnesses which don't have the obvious "bullseye".
I get the "we shouldn't needlessly take antibiotics" wisdom. But that's more about common ailments and situations where they aren't needed and don't help. Like, if you have a sore throat you shouldn't immediately get antibiotics.