Testing Ticks for Lyme Disease

Patients who have removed a tick often wonder if they should have it tested. In general, the identification and testing of individual ticks is not useful for deciding if a person should get antibiotics following a tick bite. Nevertheless, some state or local health departments offer tick identification and testing as a community service or for research purposes. Check with your local health department to see if this service is offered. The phone number is usually found in the government pages of the telephone book.