Tick bite guide

Tick bite and Lyme disease prevention online in Virginia and West Virginia

This guide is for a recent tick bite within 72 hours of removal, not for symptoms of an already-started infection or facial drooping and joint swelling.

Start online

Start a $59 online review for Tick bite prevention.

Review for adults with a recent tick bite who want to know whether a single preventive dose of doxycycline is appropriate, per IDSA guidance. Prophylaxis is only given within 72 hours of removing an identified deer (blacklegged) tick that was attached for 36 hours or more, in a high-Lyme-incidence area, with no reason doxycycline is unsafe. Outside that window, watchful waiting and a description of the early Lyme rash to watch for is the guidance instead.

If treatment is appropriate, your physician can send a non-controlled prescription to your pharmacy and provide portal instructions for the next step.

Start this visit See response windows

Quick facts

You must be physically located in Virginia or West Virginia at the time of request.
Starts at $59
No insurance needed
No app download
Physician review around the clock
Non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy when appropriate
A work or school note can be included when medically appropriate
Response windows: 24/7, every day

Common symptoms

A tick attached and engorged (fed) for at least 36 hours before removal
Bite occurred in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the upper Midwest, or another high-Lyme area
Less than 72 hours since the tick was removed

May fit online care

Adults 18 and older
Tick was attached 36 hours or more and is confirmed removed
It has been less than 72 hours since removal
No fever, rash, or joint symptoms yet
No allergy to doxycycline or tetracyclines

Look for another care setting

Facial drooping, severe joint swelling, or heart palpitations developing after a tick bite
Fever, chills, severe headache, or muscle/joint aches developing in the 30 days after a tick bite
A spreading or target-pattern rash at or near the bite site
More than 72 hours since the tick was removed, or symptoms already starting

What to have ready

How long the tick was attached before removal
When exactly the tick was removed
Where the bite occurred (region)
Any allergy to doxycycline or tetracyclines

What happens next

Standard

$59

Within 6 hours

Priority

$99

Within 3 hours

Rush

$149

Within 1 hour

Start the request on the website, answer the fit questions, and choose the response window you want. If the concern still fits this service, a physician reviews it and sends a secure update after sign-in. When appropriate, non-controlled prescriptions can be sent to your pharmacy, and a basic work or school note can be included at physician discretion.

Your physician

Every visit is personally reviewed by Ankur Fadia, MD — board-certified, cardiology-fellowship-trained, and Alpha Omega Alpha. Licensed in Virginia and West Virginia — your care is never handed off.

Verify Virginia medical license Verify West Virginia medical license Verify board certification

Will I always get a prescription?

No. Prophylaxis is only appropriate within a specific 72-hour window, for a tick attached 36+ hours, in a high-incidence area. Outside that window, the visit still reviews your situation and gives guidance on watching for the early Lyme rash — it just doesn't always end in a prescription.

What if I already have symptoms?

Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, or muscle and joint aches can mean infection has already started, which prophylaxis will not treat. That needs evaluation and testing rather than a preventive dose.

What should I watch for afterward?

Watch the bite site daily for 30 days for an expanding or target-pattern rash, and watch for fever, fatigue, headache, or joint aches over the same period. A single preventive dose does not eliminate risk entirely.

Related conditions we treat

Not quite what you have? These are the closest concerns this service covers.

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