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Does A Bullseye Rash Always Mean Lyme Disease?

Posted on Sat, 21 May 2016

Question: Hello. Does a bullseye rash automatically mean I have Lyme Disease?

Answered by Dr. Ivo Ditah (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Have you been in the woods/mountains?

Detailed Answer:
Hi and thank you so much for this query.

I am so sorry to hear about this bull's eye rash. I have reviewed the information as well as the attached image. It is not synonymous to Lyme's disease. However, I will suggest that you get further testing to rule out this possibility. If that is not possible, treatment is simple with doxycycline and I will rather want to take on that than allow nothing to be done and more so if you have been in the woods or forests lately.

I hope this helps. I wish you well. Feel free to ask for more information and clarifications if need be. Above all, thanks for using our services.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Ivo Ditah (45 minutes later)

I suppose I should have gone into greater detail. Hi. I had a tick on my back last summer. I have no idea how long it was there before my boyfriend noticed it. About a week later, I noticed I had a huge red mark at the spot where the tick was. Then a couple of days later, it was, what I think, a bullseye. Unfortunately, I didn't think too much about it at the time. I don't think I even knew humans could get Lyme Diseases at that time. But something told me to take photos of it. Now, I am extremely tired all the time. I wake up about 20 minutes before I have to leave for work -- I just can't get out of bed early anymore, which I used to enjoy waking up a couple of hours before work. My elbows always "twitch". I have been diagnosed with pink eye 3 times recently and my vision is hard to focus and kind of fuzzy when I wake up. I've talked to my doctor about thinking I have Lyme Disease, but he does't seem to take my concern seriously. I have always really like my doctor, but he just doesn't seem concerned. I gained 35 pounds last year. He checked my thyroid and a couple of other things; all of which are fine.

Today I made an appointment with a doctor who knows a lot/specializes in Lyme Disease and he's actually very close to me. However, he does not accept insurance and the office visits are very expensive. Do you think I should pressure my primary doctor more about getting something done or should see the specialist? I truly feel like I have Lyme Disease but I'm afraid to jump the gun and pay a small fortune to the specialist.

Thanks!

Answered by Dr. Ivo Ditah (32 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Ask you doctor to prescribe testing for Lyme's disease, first!

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

I will say ask your doctor for this test. Besides, you have the right to ask a laboratory to run a test investigating Lyme's disease. This way, you will have more compelling information to press on your primary care doctor or spend fortunes on the specialist knowing it is actually worth it.

Let me know what you choose on doing!

Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar