Test Tick For Lyme Disease

How It Is Done

The health professional taking a sample of your blood will:

• Wrap an elastic band around your upper arm to stop the flow of blood. This makes the veins below the band larger so it is easier to put a needle into the vein.
• Clean the needle site with alcohol.
• Put the needle into the vein. More than one needle stick may be needed.
• Attach a tube to the needle to fill it with blood.
• Remove the band from your arm when enough blood is collected.
• Put a gauze pad or cotton ball over the needle site as the needle is removed.
• Put pressure on the site and then put on a bandage.

Stage : Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

Late disseminated Lyme disease occurs when the infection hasnt been treated in stages 1 and 2. Stage 3 can occur months or years after the tick bite.

This stage is characterized by:

• arthritis of one or more large joints
• brain disorders, such as encephalopathy, which can cause short-term memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mental fogginess, problems with following conversations and sleep disturbance
• numbness in the arms, legs, hands, or feet

What Can I Do To Protect Myself

• Use insect repellent:
• DEET:

• Safe when used in correct concentrations, depending on the users age.

• 6 months to 2 years: up to 10%, dont apply more than once a day.

• 2 to 12 years: up to 10% can reapply up to three times daily.

• 12+ years: up to 30%.

  NOTE:Less than 6 months: dont use DEET products.Less than 12 years: dont use DEET daily for more than a month.

Icaridin:

Should not be used on children younger than 6 months old.

Avoid walking in tall grass and stay on the centre of paths.

Cover up. Wear long- sleeved shirts and pants.

Wear light coloured clothing to spot ticks easily.

Tuck your pants into your socks and wear closed toed shoes.

Do a full body check on yourself, children and pets after being outdoors.

Shower within 2 hours of being outdoors.

Put your clothes into a dryer on high heat to kill any possible ticks

Put a tick collar on your pets.

Keep grass in your yard short.

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Five Star Customer Reviews

We found a super tiny Tick on my four year old. while I’m in panic mode, the directions are clear and easy to follow on how to get it shipped. Once Ticknology received it they sent an email confirming they got it, along with a picture and the type of tick. It was so small and i was very impressed they could identify it that quickly. Once we received the results they were very easy to read and understand. They are priced better than any tick company, answered all of my questions in a timely manner and were very polite. I love that they are an independent company, and we will be using them in the future if this happens again and also recommending to others. Charlie S. 08/21/18

Ticknology was prompt and SO responsive to my questions! It gave me a great deal of peace of mind when my samples came back negative. GREAT COMPANY! Jeanette B. 05/08/18

Fantastic turnaround time with descriptive results! I would definitely use Ticknology again! Meghan C. 05/11/18

Completion Of Lyme Disease Test Request Form

Diagnostic samples must be submitted with a completed RIPLLyme disease test request form . Please use a single request form for each patient even when sending several samples.

Please provide details of the sample type, patients symptoms and onset date, tick bite or exposure history and, if relevant, travel and treatment history. Symptom onset date is particularly important for interpretation of laboratory results.

When sending CSF, please provide the cell count and total albumin, IgG and IgM levels for the CSF and serum pair, if available.

Ideally the clinician who sees the patient should print out and complete the appropriate request form . Send the request to the local laboratory with the clinical sample along with a local laboratory request form, whether this is paper or electronic.

The local laboratory should complete the senders information on the request form and then forward the completed form and sample to RIPL. Before sending samples, clinicians are advised to liaise with their local laboratory because local arrangements may vary.

If only immunoblot confirmation is required because the local laboratory has already obtained a positive Lyme screening test result on the serum sample being submitted, tick the Line blot confirmation only box and write the positive screening test result below.

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Are There Any Risks To Lyme Disease Tests

There is very little risk to having a blood test or a lumbar puncture. If you had a blood test, you may have slight pain or bruising at the spot where the needle was put in, but most symptoms go away quickly. If you had a lumbar puncture, you may have pain or tenderness in your back where the needle was inserted. You may also get a headache after the procedure.

The Blood Tests Can Have False Positives

The blood tests can trigger false positives, suggesting that you have the disease when you really dont. This can happen in up to one out of four tests.

This can lead to unnecessary treatment with antibiotics. These drugs are usually safe, but they sometimes cause side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and increased sensitivity of the skin to sunlight. In rare cases, they can even cause dangerous allergic reactions.

Using too many antibiotics can also lead to the growth of drug-resistant bacteria. This means that bacteria in your body may get stronger and more difficult to treat with antibiotics in the future.

A false positive can also lead to more unneeded blood tests, urine tests, X-rays, and doctor visits.

If you have a false positive, you may not get treated for the real cause of your pain. For example, rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that causes joint pain. It can lead to permanent and severe joint damage if you do not start taking the right medicines as early as possible.

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Traditional Lyme Disease Tests Are Not Specific Enough

Lyme disease is caused by the spiral-shaped bacteria Borrelia. There are multiple species and strains of Lyme borreliae . Therefore, tests must be targeted to these multiple species and strains in order to be able to detect them. If a patient is infected with a species or strain of Lyme borreliae that their test cant detect, they will get a false-negative test result and thus risk missing their diagnosis. This can be costly and dangerous.

Many ELISA and Western blot Lyme disease tests are only equipped to detect one strain of one species of Borrelia: Borrelia burgdorferi B31 . This means that those tests are missing infections caused by other strains and/or species of Lyme borreliae.

In one internal study designed to test the validity of the IGeneX ImmunoBlot against traditional Western blot tests, a total of 132 patients were tested by both Lyme Western blots and Lyme IB. 43 patients were seropositive on the ImmunoBlot, and 14 were positive on standard Western blots prepared from a mixture of two species for Bb ss B31 and 297. Thus 29 of the 43 patients tested negative on Western blots i.e., the Western blot totally missed their infections with strains other than Bb ss B31 and 297.

With such limited tests, patients infected with non-B31 species and strains e.g., B. mayonii, B. californiensis, or European species are at risk of receiving false negatives and missing the chance to treat their diseases.

Cdc Supports The Development Of New Tests

New tests may be developed as alternatives to one or both steps of the two-step process. Before CDC will recommend new tests, they must be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration . For more details, see: Recommendations for Test Performance and Interpretation from the Second National Conference on Serologic Diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

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Should You Get A Test For Lyme Disease

If Lyme disease is treated soon after a tick bite, the outlook is great. Most cases of Lyme disease respond to a 2- to 4-week round of antibiotics.

If Lyme disease goes untreated, it can be more difficult to eliminate. For some, it can lead to inflammation of the joints, heart, and nervous system. Progression of the disease, and its severity, can vary from person to person.

Lyme disease is staged in categories: acute, early disseminated, and late disseminated. Later stages of Lyme disease may involve multiple systems in the body.

The most common sign of Lyme disease is an erythema migrans, or bulls-eye rash. The rash often appears after a delay of 3 to 30 days after the tick bite, according to the

Research from 2014 suggests that the bulls-eye rash may last for 3 to 4 weeks. About 80 percent of people with Lyme disease have a single erythema migrans rash. But the bacteria can spread and lead to multiple rashes, indicating disseminated Lyme disease.

While a rash is the most common symptom of Lyme disease, it isnt the only one.

With disseminated Lyme disease, symptoms can also include neurologic conditions, such as cranial nerve palsy and meningitis that mimics aseptic meningitis. Heart inflammation can also be a sign of Lyme disease.

If youre experiencing any of these signs or symptoms, an at-home test may help you identify Lyme disease. With the click of a button, a test can be shipped to your front door.

To select the best tests, we look at studies and user reviews.

Stage : Early Disseminated Lyme Disease

Early disseminated Lyme disease occurs several weeks to months after the tick bite.

Youll have a general feeling of being unwell, and a rash may appear in areas other than the tick bite.

This stage of the disease is primarily characterized by evidence of systemic infection, which means infection has spread throughout the body, including to other organs.

Symptoms can include:

• disturbances in heart rhythm, which can be caused by Lyme carditis
• neurologic conditions, such as numbness, tingling, facial and cranial nerve palsies, and meningitis

The symptoms of stages 1 and 2 can overlap.

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Positive C6 Elisa On Serum

RIPL will automatically proceed to do IgM and IgG immunoblot tests after a positive or indeterminate ELISA test and will provide an overall interpretation of the ELISA and immunoblot in the light of the clinical details provided on the request form.

Please provide clinical details to allow the interpretation of serological results. These are needed for interpretation because antibody levels from a protective humoral immune response to Borrelia species may persist indefinitely in patients who have had Lyme disease in the past. After successful treatment of Lyme disease antibody concentrations may slowly fall over time.

Borrelia species are notifiable organisms. The numbers of positive results from laboratory confirmed cases in RIPL are reported to PHE and analysed for inclusion in PHE Health Protection Reports as part of Lyme disease epidemiology and surveillance.

Investigation Of Suspected Lyme Disease

Erythema migrans is a clinical diagnosis and does not require confirmation by laboratory testing. Lyme disease is not a notifiable disease so there is no statutory requirement to notify clinically suspected cases to the local Health Protection Team.

The 2018 NICE Lyme disease guideline provides detailed advice about when a diagnosis of Lyme disease should be suspected and about which tests to use and when.

The NICE Lyme disease guideline also contains a useful summary diagram of the routine serological testing recommendations for Lyme disease.

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If The C6 Test Is Positive What Is The Next Step

A positive C6 test means antibodies to C6 were found. The next step is to do a QC6 test, which determines if the levels of antibody are high enough to justify treatment. If the value of the QC6 is higher than 30 IU/mL and signs of illness are present, then antibiotic treatment should be considered. If the QC6 is less than 30 IU/mL and there are no signs of illness, then treatment may not be necessary.

In addition to doing the QC6 test, your veterinarian may want to take samples of blood and urine to assess kidney function and to look for protein in the urine. A positive test for protein in the urine could signal serious underlying kidney disease.

Best For Dna Test: Selfdecode

Self Decode

• Tests for chronic conditions related to Lyme disease like PTLDS

• Results in 6-8 weeks

SelfDecode searches for more than Lyme disease. When you take an at-home test through this company, you’ll receive an entire mock-up of your DNA. You will know if you ever had Lyme disease in the past, as well as if you are susceptible to PTLDS, a chronic condition triggered by Lyme Disease.

The test involves taking a simple cheek swab, after which the test is mailed back to the company’s lab. After six to eight weeks, you will receive your results via email, and you will be contacted by a medical professional to see what the next steps are.

This is a subscription service that costs just under roughly $100 a year, so you will be able to check yourself for Lyme disease regularly when the test is shipped out. This service is great for those who enjoy the outdoors and are exposed to ticks a lot.

SelfDecode’s test is not covered by insurance, but most primary care physicians will accept these results.

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Types Of Lyme Disease Tests

Antibody titer tests for Lyme disease measure antibodies that are specific to the bacteria that can trigger the condition. Antibodies are part of the bodys immune response. Tests look for two types of antibodies, known as immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G .

IgM antibodies usually peak within a few weeks after an infection with Borrelia bacteria and start to collapse 4-6 months after infection. IgG antibodies are slower to develop, beginning to show 4-6 weeks after exposure and may peak 4-6 months after exposure. While IgM tends to be associated with an active infection, both IgM and IgG can persist in the blood for many years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a two-stage or two-tiered test for these antibodies. If the initial blood test is positive for IgM or IgG antibodies associated with the Borrelia bacteria, a second test is done, often using different laboratory methods.

Testing for IgM and IgG can support the finding that you have been exposed to Borrelia, but this on its own does not prove whether or not you have Lyme disease.

Follow-up testing may be necessary if testing is inconclusive. This could involve repeat blood tests or the use of different types of medical tests to rule out other health conditions. In people suspected of bacterial reinfection, imaging tests may be used to detect joint inflammation.

What Does An At

Once ordered, an at-home Lyme disease test kit is delivered to your home, where you can collect the sample privately and comfortably. The kit will include the instructions, the sample collector, and the box to return the sample.

Once the results are ready, you will receive them in your email or through the company’s online portal, or they will be sent to your doctors office.

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Tick Testing Organizationswhere To Get The Tick Tested

There are many places to get a tick tested. You may go through your health provider or you may choose an independent laboratory. In addition, many state and local health departments offer tick testing. Depending on where testing is done, these tick tests may check for other tick-borne diseases besides Lyme.

The following is a partial list of independent laboratories that do tick testing. Most offer mail-based service if you are not local. Please contact the Labs directly for more information.

TickReport

Where Is Lyme Disease Found

In the United States, Lyme disease has been reported in every state, but over 95% of cases are from the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwestern states, with a small number of cases reported along the West Coast, especially Northern California. In Canada, Lyme-positive dogs are found mostly in southern Ontario and southern Manitoba, with a small number of cases in southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces.

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Management Of Individuals Without Symptoms Following A Tick Bite

Diagnostic testing is not recommended for individuals who do not develop any symptoms suggestive of Lyme disease after a tick bite.

Some commercial companies offer services to test removed ticks for the presence of the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. PHE does not provide such tick-testing services. The results of such tests should not be used to inform diagnosis or treatment. A positive result does not mean that the infected tick will have passed on the bacteria there are many factors that determine whether Lyme disease results from the bite of an infected tick. A negative result may not be technically valid and could give false assurance, as it does not exclude the possibility that another tick elsewhere on the body has been missed by the patient.

PHE runs a tick surveillance scheme and is happy to receive ticks for species identification and to monitor tick distribution.

Key Points To Remember

• Most Lyme disease tests are designed to detect antibodies made by the body in response to infection.
• Antibodies can take several weeks to develop, so patients may test negative if infected only recently.
• Antibodies normally persist in the blood for months or even years after the infection is gone therefore, the test cannot be used to determine cure.
• Infection with other diseases, including some tickborne diseases, or some viral, bacterial, or autoimmune diseases, can result in false positive test results.
• Some tests give results for two types of antibody, IgM and IgG. Positive IgM results should be disregarded if the patient has been ill for more than 30 days.

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