subject: Information About Lyme Disease - The Six Most Important Facts [print this page] To be thoroughly educated about Lyme disease, it is important that you learn about its definition and infection, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, complications, and prevention.
Although it is not an epidemic, Lyme disease is worth researching about in order to learn its nature, treatments, and prevention.
Description of the condition and cause of Lyme disease
Lyme disease got its name after its discovery in Lyme, Connecticut in 1975. The bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi is the identified cause of this inflammatory disease. People who are bitten by infected ticks, especially deer ticks, often become infected with Lyme disease and this is quite common in late spring and in the start of summer.
Indications that you have been infected with Lyme disease
A few days up to a few weeks after being bitten by an infected tick, a circular skin rash, erythema migrans or otherwise known as the "bull's eye" rash, appears at the site of the tick bite. After several days, the rash may increase in size. Lyme symptoms include the tell-tale rash in addition to flu-like symptoms like fever, muscle and joint pains, chills and headaches. There are some cases where only the flu-like symptoms are present without any rash.
In a month's time, Lyme disease can worsen considerably if left undiagnosed and untreated. The frequency and severity of your headaches will increase, and other symptoms like numbness or pain in your limbs, palpitations, and fainting can occur. You may experience problems with your memory and have difficulty in concentrating and remembering. If the symptoms remain untreated for too long or the medication is ineffective, the symptoms tend to worsen.
Diagnosing Lyme disease
Contact a doctor for proper diagnosis as soon as the symptoms of Lyme disease surface. Your physician usually identifies Lyme disease through your symptoms, especially with the presence of the rash and your personal history of a tick bite. In order to properly diagnose Lyme disease, lab tests like the Western blot and the ELISA may be performed.
How to treat Lyme infection
There are many oral antibiotics that can effectively treat Lyme disease when detected earlier. Some of these include tetracycline, penicillin, doxycycline and others. Other oral antibiotics may be also administered together with erythromycin and azithromycin. Generally, patients who experience neurological or cardiac complications at the start or during the late phase of Lyme disease will have to get intravenous antibiotics.
Complications of Lyme disease
When Lyme disease is not given medical attention right away, the condition can cause long-term health issues. Your nerves, joints, brain, and heart may be affected, causing severe fatigue, chronic arthritis, facial nerve paralysis or bell's palsy, meningitis, heart inflammation, and heart enlargement.
Things you can do to avoid contracting Lyme disease
In all cases, it is always better to prevent catching the disease than trying to find a cure for it. An important preventive action to take is to make sure your body is well-covered when going into wooded and grassy locations. Wear a hat, long trousers and tops, socks and closed-toe shoes to provide full coverage for your skin. If you go out for camping or hiking, make sure you check your body routinely to find the presence of any ticks. Once you are back inside, take a bath and get rid of any ticks that may have gotten stuck on your body.
Because Lyme disease is actually pretty rare, you should not let the disease intrude on your outdoor recreations. Being afraid of Lyme disease must not stop you from having fun with your hobbies and interests in the great outdoors. In order to avoid long term problems associated with Lyme disease, you should be knowledgeable with the illness including its symptoms and what ways to prevent it.
