Fairmount Pediatrics
and Adolescent Medicine

Ticks

Hi. I’m sorry you found a tick on your child! Please put Neosporin on the cut.

Of course, now you are worried about Lyme. There are a number of choices:
  • The CDC recommendation for a child over 8 is to give a single dose of Doxycycline and then watch for any signs of Lyme disease, such as fever or the bullseye rash. THIS MUST BE GIVEN WITHIN 72 HOURS OF REMOVING THE TICK.
  • The CDC recommendation for a child under 8 is to just watch for signs of Lyme. They can appear up to 3 months later.
Why no single dose of Doxy for the child under 8?
What about testing the tick?
What about testing the child?
What about treating for Lyme disease without knowing the child has Lyme?
What about prevention?

With this information, please let me know how you would like to proceed.