If I pulled the tick out (head and all) and it was not engorged yet, do I still have to worry about lyme disease?
no worries from lyme... the crap that gives you lyme disease is in the bug's digestive system. after it starts feeding, yes, be worried. you have the better part of 24 hours before they get their little digestive juices flowing.
are you in one of the bad areas? I'm in socal and have had three ticks in the past 2 years from a bunch of mountain biking. When I went in one time to get one taken out that I couldn't get to (middle of back), rare meant zero in the last bunch of years. No lyme disease here, so no problem.
I was looking at it as more of a sure sign he should see a doc if one does appear. Went through it in the mid-90's; the meds sucked. Six weeks with no appetite and dry-heaving. Not fun.
That sucks. Untreated it can be detrimental. Ticks scare the crap out of me - deer ticks especially since they are small and easy to miss. I tried to make Darren put the bug stuff on the dog but he refuses, Good thing it is too cold for the little fuckers up here now.
Go to the Dr, got one on my ass a few yrs ago from Nelson, that crap screwed me up for and entire year.
Got bitten a couple weeks ago. Called my Dr and she said she'd call in a 'scrip to cover the next 4-6 weeks....didn't even question anything. 4-6 weeks of medicine without even being sure whether or not I had or have Lyme disease. Don't mess around. Watch the documentary "Under Our Skin" if you wanna learn more. BTW; I'm also in 603. Those little fkers are still out in numbers.
So you have a big dose of antibiotics and you may not need it.... Then people wonder why they get resistant. Doesn't sound so smart to me. I live in the high risk area and have had several wood and deer ticks. If you get them off right away you should be fine. Just check yourself over really good everyday before hopping in the shower to be sure you didn't miss any.
I've had Lyme twice, last time (last November) I had the rash, first time I didn't see one. The symptom I noticed was feeling very arthritic, especially in upper-body joints. The tests are expensive and not conclusive, so pay attention to symptoms. Treatment is just antibiotics, minimum of 21 days. Lyme is really common in southern NH. It can cause neurological problems if not promptly treated, it's not to be taken lightly.
...and it's the deer ticks that give you lyme. not dog ticks, brown ticks, etc. or whatever. doesn't mean those others can't carry something else. btw, yellow sack spiders are now carriers of lyme. they're the yellow-assed ones you'll find runnin' around your woodpile.