HomeAnswersInfectious Diseasestick biteI had elbow joint pain after a tick bite from my pet dog. Is it due to Lyme disease?

How and where should the patient get tested for Lyme disease if he had a tick bite from his pet dog?

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

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Published At August 11, 2022
Reviewed AtJuly 12, 2023

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

I had elbow joint pain after encountering a tick bite, most probably from my pet dog. Could this be Lyme disease? How and where should I get tested? Is there any facility for testing it? If so, how much would it cost, and what would happen during the test? Is it curable?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your elbow joint pain may or may not be related to Lyme disease from a dog tick bite. Untreated Lyme disease can produce a wide range of symptoms, depending on the stage of infection. These include fever, rash, facial paralysis, and inflammatory disease, including arthritis. Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes may occur in the absence of a rash. A two-step testing process is recommended for Lyme disease. Both steps are required and can be done using the same blood sample. If this first step is negative, no further testing is recommended. The second step should be performed if the first step is positive or indeterminate (sometimes called equivocal). Most Lyme disease tests are designed to detect antibodies the body makes in response to infection. Antibodies can take several weeks to develop, so patients may test negative if infected recently. Some tests show two types of antibodies, IgM (immunoglobulin M) and IgG (immunoglobulin G). Positive IgM results should be disregarded if the patient has been ill for more than 30 days.

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Shubadeep Debabrata Sinha
Dr. Shubadeep Debabrata Sinha

Infectious Diseases

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