Tick Bite Lyme Risk

Please complete this form regarding your tick bite to evaluate the level of risk for Lyme Disease and appropriate next steps.

Or, if you prefer just to discuss or schedule a clinic visit, let us know!

1. Emergency Screen
Right now, are there any of the following symptoms or signs? Any one of these could be an indication of a medical emergency.
  • Trouble breathing, wheezing, or throat/chest tightness
  • Swelling of the face, lips, or tongue
  • Fainting, or feeling like passing out
  • New muscle weakness that is spreading (for example, legs then arms), trouble walking, or trouble swallowing or speaking
2. What state did the bite happen in?
Select the state where the tick bite most likely occurred.
3. Is an expanding red or "bull's-eye" rash present?
A rash that is getting larger over days, at the bite or elsewhere.
View Rash Photo Guide
4. Fever, chills, body aches, or headache since the bite?
5. How long ago was the tick removed?
6. How long was the tick attached?
A tick swollen/rounded with blood suggests longer attachment.
View Engorgement Photo Guide
7. Was it a small dark tick likely to be a blacklegged (deer) tick?
Blacklegged ticks are small (poppy-seed to sesame-seed sized) and reddish-brown to dark.
View Tick ID Photo Guide
8. Is doxycycline safe to take?
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This estimate is based on at-home answers, which are less exact than an in-person clinic exam.
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You can paste these results in a message to share with your doctor or nurse at the clinic. They will reply with the appropriate next steps.
Clinical Citations & Scoring Logic
Primary Guideline: IDSA/AAN/ACR 2020 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Lyme Disease.

Logic Rules:
  • Prophylaxis Criteria: Prophylaxis (single-dose oral doxycycline) is considered only when ALL four criteria are met: (1) Attached ≥36 hours, (2) Removed within 72 hours, (3) Identified as blacklegged tick (Ixodes), and (4) Bite occurred in a high-incidence state.
  • Emergency Screen: Any positive severe symptom (breathing difficulty, facial swelling, spreading muscle weakness, syncope) overrides to immediate 911 emergency care.
  • High Risk: Presence of expanding rash (Erythema Migrans) or systemic fever/chills warrants prompt clinic evaluation for full therapeutic treatment rather than preventive prophylaxis.
Erythema Migrans (Bull's-eye Rash)

An expanding red rash often appears 3 to 30 days after a bite. It may expand up to 12 inches or more across, sometimes clearing in the center to form a "bull's-eye" pattern.

Illustration of classical Erythema Migrans expanding rash.

Tick Engorgement & Attachment Time

Flat ticks have usually been attached for less than 24 hours. Swollen, rounded, light gray/blue ticks indicate attachment for 36 hours or longer.

Flat (<24h) Engorged (≥36h)
Blacklegged Tick vs. Other Species

Blacklegged (deer) ticks are reddish-brown with dark black legs and scutum (shield). Dog ticks are larger with whitish/silver markings on their back.

Blacklegged Tick Dog Tick (White pattern)