Ok I got bit by a tick on Thursday, it was probably only on me for an hour or two. Now it's kind red and looks like a mosquito bite, I'm guessing it's just the signs of the skin being irritated. I don't live in an area where Lyme disease is a problem (Florida). It doesn't have the "bulls-eye" shape to it like most Lyme infected bites do but I'm not taking my chances with this. So has anyone else been bitten by a tick and had a similar reaction? And can a tick bite be infected without transmitting Lyme disease?

I've had Lyme Disease for nine years, as well as a host of co-infections that all seemed to stem from a single bite. Like you, I had no bulls-eye rash and had no inkling that something was wrong until I started to go almost completely blind in one eye. A couple months and a host of misdiagnoses later, we finally learned what had happened but not before the disease went chronic. My advice? I'd schedule an appointment immediately witha doctor that is knowledgeable about the disease and get yourself on some antibiotics. Doxycycline does wonders. And if you still have the tick, send it off for testing immediately.
A tick bite CAN become infected without transmitting any of the relevant diseases, but it's just not safe to risk it. Better to nip it in the bud NOW, than wait until it's too late to get rid of.

The lyme-causing bacteria don't start migrating from the tick until after about 24 hours after the tick began feeding. That doesn't mean you weren't exposed to other tick-borne diseases.
http://www.aldf.com/ for useful information about ticks and tick-borne diseases.

The site says the bacteria (that cause lyme) doesn't trasfer until 36-48 hours, but my sister, who works in the same building as a department that is on the cutting-edge of Lyme disease research, says that the minimum transfer time is more on the order of 24 hours.

As for removing ticks, I suggest a little product called the Tick Twister - much better than using tweezers: the twister will pull the entire tick out, much less of a risk of the mouth parts staying imbedded in the skin (as can happen with tweezers). Also, I find that it's easy to get the tick into the twister, whereas I found it difficult to get a grasp on the tick with tweezers due to the tick being able to flatten its body for protection (which is also why it's really difficult to kill a tick by crushing it). We use the twister now all the time on our dogs for when they get ticks; I'd never go back to tweezers, they were way too messy (tick mouth parts still stuck in skin, etc.). I imagine they are as effective when pulling the ticks out from human skin, too.

If you are worried, there are lyme blood tests, though some of the tests are more accurate than others.

EDIT: if you saved the tick, they (doctors) can test the tick itself to see if it is carrying Lyme or other diseases.

Well the tick is now somewhere in my septic tank..... And when I found him he had detached himself so I just kind of picked him up with a piece of toilet paper and then sent him on a ride down the toilet.

So are you saying that I can get tests at the pharmacy that I can do on myself? Or would I have to travel to the nearest blood-work facility and hour away?

At least when I had Lyme's the first time, tests weren't that accurate, and it would take some time for the disease to progress enough to show in the tests. Not sure about nowdays.

Also, if this is your first exposure, it could take some time for symptoms to develop: typically a couple weeks. Mine took about 3 weeks as well as my daughter's. My second time took only a few days....the site was extremely red and the color was expanding.

But....what kind of tick was it?

I would do better research on your own via reputable websites first, then make your decision about seeing a doctor. Note, I'm just a guy, not a doctor, Jim.

Possibly an advlt Lone Star tick, it wasn't big enough to be an advlt Deer Tick.

And another question, is Lyme Disease real bad? or is it just more of an "eh" kinda thing?

EDIT: So there's no possibility it's just irritated from the bite? I mean it only happened about 3 days ago.

It depends on how long it goes untreated.

I know when it was first coming around folks had no clue what it was and were severly arthritic.

It's on most folks radar now, so treatment occurs pretty soon after exposure, which makes it a bit meh.

YOU should do YOUR research and decide what YOUR opinion is and make YOUR decision based on YOUR findings. MY view on this is only MY view

It completly depends on where it is, if items rub on it, if you've been picking at it, how deep it was, etc. It could be possible, it could not be possible. How would you expect us to tell you that? :slap:

It depends on the person. Some people are never effected that much by it, and get over the hump without a lot of antibiotics. Then there are others who are severely effected by it. I've met quite a few people who were debilitated by the disease, to the point where some of them are no longer able to walk or get out of bed for weeks at a time or worse. All in all, it depends upon the person. Which is mostly why I suggest getting the testing out of the way now just to be on the safe side. You just never know how you're going to react if you did catch it, or worse it AND the co-infections. There's of course a decent chance your skin is just irritated, particularly if you've been rubbing at it though. I just wouldn't leave anything to chance personally. It's up to you though. *shrug*

The bit area is on my leg kinda near my...well groin so it gets rubbed a lot. Which I why I suspect it's just irritated. However I talked to my dad and he said that it's best to get it checked out. He said he had one bit his arm that left a little bump for about 2 weeks.

Thats what tick bites look like. They can itch or burn, too. Also, they can stay there from 1-3 months, I believe. Mine stayed for like 2.

That's what I was thinking, I've been bitten by them before but it's been years since the last time I was so I couldn't exactly remember what the bit looked like.

Just go to the doctor and get checked. Don't take any chances with that disease.

Go to the doctors, you may not have lyme disease but ticks carry many things that can make u really sick.