Nathaniel's Tick

 Bugs that bite seem to like Nathaniel more than the rest of us. It is a rare sight to see him bite free, regardless of the season.
The spring and summer months are torture for him. Well, torture for his skin.
Well at some point, my best guess would be last Sunday as we were in the country, a tick decided that Nathaniel would make a great host.
I checked him for ticks a bunch of times when we got back home. He had been playing around water and in long grass. I checked, and re checked and re checked.
On Thursday morning, when I was checking a bunch of old bites that had gotten infected and blistered I noticed the beast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Tick

I immediately called Adam at work and he came home. We sent Alex to school and went straight to the COPC. The amount of flack I took for "over reacting" astounds me. Last time I checked, tick bites can be fatal (assuming the tick is a Lyme carrier)
We got right in, almost no wait time (less than 5 minutes) and the Dr removed the tick. She let him hold it in a plastic cup. He kept shaking the cup and we totally encouraged it. They cleaned the bite and made sure all the bits were removed.
They told us that they do not do blood testing for a tick bite but they will send the tick to the health unit and have it tested there. The Dr wrote us a script for a super heavy dose of amoxicillin that he is to take three times a day for the next 14 days.
Nathaniel was given a popcycle (green of course!) and we were sent on our way.
Nathaniel is fine, no fever or headaches or other signs of Lyme Disease. He says the bite feels fine. All is great news.

One dose

(I have since learned that the normal treatment for tick bites is a heavy dose of antibiotics for 30 days, not 14. I will be seeing if I can get a follow up appointment for this week with our family doctor. Aimed with more information. Hopefully we can get another script)