Take the MRSA Quiz! Strep or Sore Throat Slideshow Pictures Infectious Mononucleosis Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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When to Seek Medical Care

Anyone who experiences a fever after either a tick bite or a suspected tick bite should seek medical care. Some recommend that the individual should also have a rash before seeking care, but since about 10%-15% of infected patients do not develop a rash, waiting for its appearance is not always advised. Since most cases of RMSF are easily treated with antibiotics and early treatment reduces or prevents complications, medical care should be accessed as soon as possible. In areas where most cases occur (states such as North and South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi), patients that are immunocompromised and simply get a tick bite should inform their physician and ask the doctor what they should do.

The highest incidence of RMSF is in children ages 5-9, and one study reported that about half of the patients did not report a tick bite. Several researchers also state that many adults also fail to remember or report tick bites. This often can delay diagnosis and treatment. Consequently, if a person gets a fever and has a rash on the ankles, wrists, feet, or hands, medical care should be sought even if a child (or an adult) cannot remember getting a tick bite.