What To Do When Lyme Disease Hits Home

11:01

July 05, 2011

Deer tick, known to cause Lyme Disease, seen under a microscope (AP)

So, you're a parent. You find an engorged tick on your child, so what do you do?

Well, first, you pull the creepy thing off. But then what? If you live in Massachusetts, or elsewhere in New England in this season, you worry about Lyme Disease. So you call your doctor, who advises watch for a fever, nausea and possibly a bulls-eye rash.

If those symptoms develop, it's probably Lyme disease, in which case the doctor will prescribe anti-biotics.

But why not prescribe antibiotics before that, as a preventative measure?

That's among the questions Carey Goldberg wrestled with when her 6-year-old son, Tully, was bitten by a tick recently.

We'll speak with Goldberg and Dr. Jonathan Edlow of Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital about what to do when Lyme Disease hits home.

Guests:

Carey Goldberg, Co-Host, CommonHealth
Dr. Jonathan Edlow, Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital; author of "Bullseye:Unraveling the Medical Mystery of Lyme Disease"

More:

CommonHealth: When You Think It Might Be Lyme Disease
Up To Date: What to do after a tick bite

This segment aired on July 5, 2011.