*Please See Things To Consider Before Testing Your Tick*
*
WARNING!
Do NOT Depend on the Standard
Lab Tests for a Lyme Disease Diagnosis!
Standard Lyme Tests Are Missing
74.9%
Of People Who Have Lyme Disease
*
FREE TICK TESTING
Free Tick Tests For Pocono, PA Residents
Free Tick Testing New York Residents
*
DIY TICK TEST KITS
Some Kits Offer On-The-Spot Instant Results; Some Test Kits Are For Lyme Only; Some Test Kits Are For Multiple TB Diseases; Order Test Kits In Advance To Be Ready IF You Are Bitten
Cutter Lyme Disease Tick Test Kit- DNA/PCR
You Can Order Kit On Amazon- $27.99 (free shipping with Prime)
OR- Order A Kit Directly From Cutter- $24.99 (plus $4.99 shipping)
Order Kit(s) To Have On Hand To Save Time- Test Results Emailed In 3 Days. No Extra Cost For Test Results With Purchase of Cutter Test Kit. Lyme testing only.
Additional Tick Test Kits
Each Kit Below Has A Different "Deal" Attached- so please read info at the site carefully before making a purchase.
Tic-Kit- $35.99 (Amazon- free shipping with Prime)
No additional fee for obtaining test results. Free shipping label included to mail tick to lab. *Includes laboratory PCR assessment for Babesia, Bartonella, Borrelia and Ehrlichia/Anaplasma. Uses Pharmasan Labs in Osceola, WI.
~~
LymeNator- $14.95 plus shipping (Walmart.com)
Lymenator Instant Tick Test for Lyme-causing bacteria. (No co-infections) *On-site test. No sending ticks to a lab. Results within 10 minutes. Test up to 5 ticks at one time.
~~
Lyme-aid Diagnostic Tick Remover & Testing Kit- $8.99 for kit, PLUS $39.95 for results (Amazon free shipping of kit if you have Prime membership- additional cost to get results currently $39.95) For Humans & Pets
~~
Marshall Tick Releaser Spray & Mail-In Test Kit- $7.02 (*Amazon free shipping) *PLUS ADDED COST FOR TEST RESULTS... YOU CHOOSE TESTS YOU WANT
Labs For Tick Borne Disease Testing
(Humans and/or Tick Testing)
Also tests ticks*
Lyme & Other Tick Borne Diseases
Palo Alto, CA
Phone: 1-800-832-3200 Toll free
Fax: 1-650-424-1196
Lyme DNA Test
Milford, CT 06460
Phone: 203-878-1438
Bartonella & Other TBD's
Morrisville, NC 27560
Phone: 919-313-9672
Lyme & Tick Borne Diseases
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
Phone: 719-219-2826
Also tests ticks*
Lyme & Tick Borne Diseases
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Phone: 301-916-0173
Lyme Culture Tests
Phone: 855-238-4949
Tick Borne Diseases
Scottsdale, AZ
Phone: 866-927-8075
Tick Borne Diseases
Hamilton, NJ 0869
Phone: 877-269-0090
Lyme Urine Test
Virginia
Phone: 703-722-0731
Lyme & Viruses
Los Angeles, CA 90035
Phone: 310-657-1077
Tick Chek- Tick Testing Services
Tests ticks only*
1-866-713-Tick
East Stroudsburg, PA
Multiple Organisms- Check List Here
Ticknology- Tick Testing Services
Tests ticks only*
Fort Collins, CO 80521
(970) 305-5587
Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory- Tick Testing
Tests Ticks Only*
61 North Eagleville Road
Unit 3203 Storrs, CT 06269-3203
Phone: 860-486-3738
Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station- Tick Testing- Connecticut Residents Only (Must submit the tick to your local health department)
123 Huntington St.
New Haven, CT 06511
Phone: (203) 974-8487
Fax: (203) 974-8502
E-mail: Goudarz.Molaei@ct.gov
Laboratory of Medical Zoology (LMZ)
Fernald Hall, University of Massachusetts
270 Stockbridge Rd.
Amherst, MA 01003
Email- support@tickreport.com
ADDITIONAL TESTING CHOICES
FOR HUMAN TESTING
No doctor signature required- they have docs there
Uses Labcorp or Quest Lab
(No Doctor's Signature Required)
Phone for Information: 800-539-6119
LabCorp: Online lab testing is prohibited in MA, MD, NY, NJ and RI.
Quest Diagnostics: Online lab testing is prohibited in NY, NJ and RI.
Order Your Own Lab Tests
(No Doctor's Signature Needed)
Discount Online Blood Chemistry Tests (Uses Quest Lab)
Health One- (Standard tests- not Lyme)
Select Labs Offering
Other Related Tests
Liver Enzymes, MTHFR, etc.
3101 Western Ave., Ste. 100, Seattle, WA 98121
800-TEST-DNA (800-837-8362) or 800-523-3080
Adrenal Testing
Phone 619-223-7074
Detox Profile, Hair Testing
Phone 800-522-4762
Allergy, Hormone Testing
Phone 425-271-8689
Ion, Urine Testing
Phone 800-221-4640
Saliva Hormone Testing (Men/Women)
Dr. John R. Lee
You can purchase the test kits online and they will be promptly mailed to you with specific instructions.
The kits come from ZRT Laboratory, a respected provider of hormone testing products.
Countries Outside the USA
Tick Testing Kits
CarePlus- Over The Counter Tick Test- Instant Results
Canada & Various Other Counties- See Store Locator
"Use the Care Plus® Tick Test to immediately determine whether the tick is carrying Borrelia bacteria, which causes Lyme disease. This (self-)diagnosis test provides a reliable result within 20-30 minutes."
Labs Outside the USA
Human Testing
Tick Borne Diseases
Augsburg, Germany
Phone: 0049 821 780 931 50
Lyme & Other Tick Borne Diseases
Sydney, Australia
02- 9283- 0807
Just because a lab or test kit is listed above does not mean it is an endorsement of the product. We do not receive any perks or money for having these labs or kits listed here. Please do your own research for best results.
Last Updated- July 2019
Lucy Barnes
Some of The Reasons Why Someone Could
Have A False-Negative Lyme Test
Dr. Robert Bransfield
1. Recent infection- before immune response has had time to produce antibodies
2. Antibodies are bound in immune complexes
3. Spirochete encapsulated by host tissue (i.e. lymphocytic cell walls)
4. Spirochete is deep in host tissue (i.e. fibroblasts, neurons, etc.)
5. Blebs in body fluid, no whole organisms needed for PCR
6. No spirochetes in body fluid on day of test
7. Genetic heterogeneity (300 strains, 100 in U.S.)
8. Antigenic variability
9. Surface antigens change with temperature
10. Utilization of host protease instead of microbial protease
11. Spirochete in dormancy phase (L-form) with no cell walls
12. Recent antibiotic treatment for any condition
13. Recent anti-inflammatory treatment
14. Concomitant infection with Babesia may cause immunosuppression
15. Other causes of immunosuppression
16. Lab with poor technical capability for Lyme disease
17. Lab tests not standardized for late stage disease
18. Lab tests labeled "for investigational use only"
19. CDC criteria is epidemiological and is not a diagnostic criteria
20. Lack of standardized control
21. Most controls use only a few strains as a reference point
22. Few organisms are present
23. Encapsulated by glycoprotein "S-layer" which impairs immune recognition
24. "S"- layer binds to IgM
25. Immune deficiency
26. Possible down regulation of immune system by cytokines
27. Revised Western Blot criteria fails to include most significant bands
Source
Difficulty Affording Lyme Testing?
The Lyme Test Access Program (Lyme-TAP) is a nationwide patient assistance program offered by Ferndale Foundation in coordination with the Lyme Patients Assistance Group to provide assistance for initial Lyme-related lab tests to patients who demonstrate true financial need. Please click here for more information.
A false negative Lyme test is a disadvantage in several ways.
1. Your health care professional may not realize you could still have Lyme disease and not treat you as a result.
2. False negative tests can cause a delay in obtaining a proper diagnosis. Not receiving proper treatment in the early stages allows a complex infectious organism to spread throughout your body, making your condition worse and allowing it to advance to later stages. This, in turn, makes Lyme disease more difficult and expensive to treat.
3. You may be improperly diagnosed with fibromyalgia, CFS, MS, Parkinson's, ALS, ADD, depression and other disorders when in fact Lyme disease is the underlying culprit.
4. Having a negative test provides the insurer another reason to deny your medications and any further testing or treatment for Lyme disease.
Johns Hopkins Lyme Test Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1248466/pdf/0742-05.pdf
Over the years more health care professionals have stopped using the standard "insurance approved" tests and are sending blood samples to labs that specialize in tick borne disease testing. If you would like to use a specialty lab to aid in the diagnostic process, you can have a test kit sent to you upon request.
Approximately $500 MILLION is spent on the
3.4 MILLION substandard Lyme tests
performed in the USA each year.
What a huge waste of money!
According to a study from Johns Hopkins, Lyme tests they recommend miss approximately 75% of the patients who have Lyme disease. Other sources have determined the number missed could be as high as 90%. Remember, a negative test does not exclude the diagnosis of Lyme disease!
Update- The 2006 IDSA Guideline editor, Paul Auwaerter, and more than one of the IDSA Lyme disease guideline authors (panel) are from, or are currently working at Johns Hopkins. Paul Auwaerter was also a co-author on the 2005 John Hopkins study proving the tests for Lyme disease were grossly substandard, yet he continues to insist one or more tests should read positive before being treated for Lyme disease.
Update- Paul Auwaerter (Hopkins) is still on the warpath, attempting to stop doctors from ordering tests for Lyme disease from labs that his colleagues don't have patents on. Click here for more information.
Update- 2016- Paul Auwaerter (Hopkins) continues to insist on the use of 2-tier testing when it has been proven in studies and clinical use that the tests are basically garbage and are not to be trusted. Click here for more information.
Update- 2017- IDSA authors and a long time supporter published another trashy un-scientific article attacking Lyme patients, Lyme treating doctors, Lyme labs, the media, politicians and any tests other than the ones they promote- calling them "fake tests". Our response to their "fake" everything article is here.
Attorney General's Investigation
May 1, 2008
"The IDSA's 2006 Lyme disease guideline panel undercut its credibility by allowing individuals with financial interests -- in drug companies, Lyme disease diagnostic tests, patents and consulting arrangements with insurance companies -- to exclude divergent medical evidence and opinion."
Last Update- July 2019
Lucy Barnes
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