May is Lyme Disease Awareness month. When my son was eight years old our lives were turn upside down with his Lyme disease diagnosis. He was hospitalized for a week and required a PICC line to be placed for over a month. Since then, we are hyper-aware of ticks and doing checks.
There are a number of places you can send ticks out to be tested. This isn't always advised but often it can help put your mind at ease knowing. I do recommend sending your ticks to NYTicks since the testing is free. They can use the tick to track Lyme hotspots.
TickReport- You order your kit online ($50) and mail the tick in. Typically you'll have results in 72 hours.
TickCheck- Basic test $50, advanced test $100, super-advanced test $200, turnaround time 34.5 hours
Ticknology- Tests for most pathogens, $55. Turnaround time is 24-72 hours (cheaper option - $35 for three business day turnaround time)
NYTicks- Testing is FREE, turnaround time 5-7 business days
