Long Island's mild winter could bring in a very bad tick season.

"The ticks never died off and they've multiple and multiplied, and now it's beautiful spring and we're outside on their territory," says Dr. Sharon Nachman, of Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

Nachman says there will likely be more tick sightings and rashes that come their bites in the coming weeks. She says a rash can take anywhere from a few days to a month to show up.

Doxycycline is the typical one-dose medication prescribed for tick bites. It comes in two forms - a capsule or a liquid that is sometimes prescribed for children, so they do not have to swallow a pill.

Many chain drugs on Long Island can run low on the liquid form, so Nachman urges parents to teach their children how to swallow pills.

Independent pharmacies could also have better access to the liquid form of doxycycline.

Stony Brook Children's Hospital is serving as a study site for the pediatric study for a Phase 3 trial on a Lyme disease vaccine.

For information on enrolling a child aged 5 to 17 years old, contact sbm_lymevaccine_study@stonybrookmedicine.edu, call 631-6382684 or visit the website.