Two

2 – the number of trips we made to urgent care last weekend

2 – the number of children with a fever

2 x 2 – the number of doctors I spoke with about the tick embedded in Princess last week

2 x 2 – the number of opinions on tick engorgement, contracting a tick-borne illness, and possible causes for Princess’s fever

1 – the current plan of action….wait for a rash

If you recall, the first doctor (who is on vacation until the 21st) we saw after the tick was discovered on Princess told me to watch for a fever and bring her in if she had a fever. Sunday Princess had a fever so we headed to urgent care. The same nurse we saw Friday was there and she was surprised to see us.

The doctor checked, and double-checked, tick bite protocol. Without a rash there was nothing she could do for us. She had some different stats on tick bites than the first doctor told me as well as what the first urgent care doctor said on Friday. It seems there are many different opinions on the time a tick must be embedded in its host before it passes on the nasty stuff.

She did find a little redness and fluid in Princess’s ears so we decided to blame the fever on a virus and wait it out. She also told me to call our regular doctor yesterday and discuss everything with him. He, too, is out of the office this month so I got another doc in his office….now I have a fourth opinion. Are you confused yet? I am.

It all seems to boil down to a rash. Unless Princess gets a rash, they won’t treat her for any tick-borne illnesses because of her age. It sounds like the one and only antibiotic they give is pretty strong and not the best for children unless they really need it. This is ok with me, except the doctor we saw the day we discovered the tick told me to bring her in when the fever started because he wanted to catch it before she got the rash. Maybe I misunderstood him, but that is what I remember.

Today Princess is feeling much better. Her fever is down quite a bit so I think she just had a little virus. Hopefully this will be the end of the tick saga. Who knew one little bug could cause so much trouble?