Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that leads to skin rash, swollen joints and flu-like fever. A bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease. Usually, this bacterium exists in animals, especially in deer and mice. The carriers of Lyme disease from animals to human beings are ticks of genus Ixodes, which normally depend on the blood of animals for survival. Ticks carrying Lyme disease breed in manifold in the grassy and heavily wooded areas.

If people suffering from Lyme disease are diagnosed and treated in early stage with appropriate antibiotics, they recover completely. However, some people have recurring symptoms even after the infection has cleared. If Lyme disease is left untreated them it can lead to arthritis and other serious health problems.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease

Rash is one evident sign of Lyme disease which may appear either appear in three days or sometimes in a month after a person is stung by a tick. And a person having this rash will see that it begins as a small red spot and grows larger. The rash may burn, hurt or itch, or you may not feel it. Other symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, pain in the joints, fatigue, stiffness of the neck, severe aching of muscles, frequent headache and even shivering. Lyme disease can diffuse to the heart and a person may experience irregular or slow heartbeat. But this rarely lasts more than a few days or weeks. Similarly, Lyme disease can transmit to the nervous system as well due to various neurological problems like sudden weakness of the limbs, paralysis of one part of the face or sometimes because of meningitis, infectious disease characterized by inflammation of the tissues that surround the brain or spinal cord and usually caused by a bacterial infection.

Lyme Disease Diagnosis

The most telling symptoms of Lyme disease is classic red rash. But in the absence of any rash, it really becomes difficult for the doctor to diagnose Lyme disease because its symptoms are often found in other conditions, such as viral infections, various joint disorders, muscle pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even depression. Even the ticks that transmit Lyme disease can also spread other diseases at the same time making the doctor’s job more difficult.

The doctor might review the patient's medical history and examine the patient. He can also take out the blood samples to find out whether the antibodies of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi are present in the blood of an infected person or not. These tests are most reliable a few weeks after an infection, after your body has time to develop antibodies. But Even then, the tests aren't entirely foolproof. Some of the tests are - Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test, Western blot test and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Lyme Disease Treatment

An affected person has to take antibiotics to treat early stage of Lyme disease and the course normally ranges from 21-28 days. Oral antibiotics — usually doxycycline for adults and children over 8 years old, or amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil for adults, younger children and pregnant or breast-feeding women — are the standard treatment for early-stage Lyme disease. If the disease has advanced, a treatment with an intravenous antibiotic for 14 to 28 days can be recommended. This is usually effective method of treatment but can cause various side effects, including a lower white blood cell count, gallstones and mild to severe diarrhea. This is the effective lyme disease treatment.

Lyme Disease Prevention

By taking simple precautionary steps, you can prevent Lyme disease. Here are some tips:

Always wear anklet shoe or long boot when you go outside in the tick-infested area. And instead of t-shirt and half-pants, wear full-sleeved shirts as well as full pants to save your body from sting of ticks.

Don’t wear dark colored clothes because you would not be able to identify the ticks quickly.

Apply an insect repellent with a 20-30 percent concentration of DEET to your skin and clothing. A 20% concentration is effective for about two hours, while higher concentrations protect longer but these chemical repellents can be toxic if used in excessive amount than needed. This is one of the useful way to get rid of lyme disease.

You can also apply oil of lemon eucalyptus, a more natural product, which offers the same protection as DEET when used in similar concentrations.

It is better to pull back your long hair or just cover it under a cap to protect from ticks.

Avoid sitting on ground when outside.

Ensure that the ticks may not crawl up on your clothes as well as on the clothes of your family members. Hence, keep checking everyone as well as yourself.

After returning home, it’s advisable to properly wash your clothes you were wearing while visit to tick-infested area and take a bath.