Visual guide to bug bites

Jay ValenciaContributor - July 24, 2020

This is oversimplified but I thought it was a useful graphic if you’re spending time outside right now.

Does it seem right to you?

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Nice, first time actually seeing a side-by-side visual guide. Do I recall corretly that if a tick bite has that kind of bull’s eye ring around it, it’s a sign that the tick carried Lyme disease? If that’s the case, would that look like the pic in here?

 

I don’t know if that’s the right “bull’s eye”. This article from the Mayo Clinic has a slightly different pic https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20374651

 

Here’s the pic on their website: 

 

Altough a general image search on google shows mostly something like Jay’s initial post, where there’s a distinct red dot in the middle, then white, and then a red ring around it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lyme+disease+bullseye&newwindow=1&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS904US904&sxsrf=ALeKk00H-r923N-8c9CFNppTAh68MkfDbQ:1595629443566&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi71bTx9ubqAhWJZs0KHdlzD0AQ_AUoAXoECA0QAw&biw=1536&bih=827

 

This is very interesting. A few more might be added. Poison ivy and chiggers come to mind. I was bitten by a brown recluse spider once and it had the red and white circles. Most interesting was that I could see two tiny fang marks in the middle. The doctor did nothing, although agreeing that it was a brown recluse bite. She said to come back if the area went numb. A girl at the health food store recommended a poultice of bentonite clay, which was amazing. It drew the venom out and it healed quickly. I thought the photo of bed bug bites was chiggers. I was bitten by bedbugs once in Mexico: the father of a friend went to the pharmacy and got powdered camphor, which he said was the best thing for it. I’ll try it the next time I’m covered in chigger bites in late summer, agonizing and it lasts for weeks. Poison ivy the same, I was in agony for nearly a month, but jewel weed ointment and Rhus tox didn’t help. Tick bites are itchy, but I pull out the ticks and don’t worry about them. I don’t know how common Lyme disease is here. We’ve got a lot of aedes mosquitoes here, something new, but they could potentially transmit yellow fever and dengue. Do other people have suggestions about how to treat these conditions?

 

Reading a bit about Lyme’s, it can take many more forms than the bullseye rash. The only common point is an expanding rash at the site of the bite.

Emphasis should really be put on identifying and removing ticks as soon as possible after potential exposure.

 

You’re right about removal asap. Everything I’ve read about Lyme is terrifying since it’s so life changing for most people.