Lyme disease is an illness which occurs as the result of being bitten by a deer tick infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. People who frequently go camping or hiking through North America's and Europe's wooded areas have a higher chance of encountering deer ticks which is why they should learn how to recognize signs of the illness and how to treat Lyme disease as well as find out how they can reduce the risk of exposure to it.
The symptoms vary from person to person, and sometimes they don't appear until as long as one month after the tick bite occurred. Common symptoms include fever and chills, headache, sore joints and muscles, and fatigue, as well as a bull's-eye pattern at the bite site. Some patients will also have a body rash. While rare, serious complications include miscarriage in pregnant women, liver or eye inflammation, Bell's palsy, irregular heartbeat, weakness or immobility of limbs, and meningitis.
Only a small percentage of tick bites will lead to Lyme disease, but in cases where one suspects they have a tick bite, it's best to consult a physician. With timely treatment, most patients will fully recovery, but left alone, this illness can have damaging permanent effects on the nervous system and can cause arthritis.
Diagnosis is not normally done based on symptoms alone since there are also many other conditions which have similar manifestations. Without the characteristic rash, the doctor will likely ask the patient a series of questions, and also order some lab tests to look for antibodies to this particular strain of bacteria, namely the ELISA-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot tests.
If the tests confirm that the patient has Lyme disease, antibiotic therapy will be started immediately. The outlook for the patient's long-term recovery is improved substantially if treatment is administered promptly. A two to four week course of oral doxycycline or amoxicillin is most often given, but it is not recommended to continue it past this point since this may be harmful.
Intravenous antibiotics will likely be given for one or two weeks, to patients with involvement of the heart or nervous system. Instead of doxycycline which can discolor developing teeth, penicillin or amoxicillin will be prescribed if the patient is a child under the age of 9, or a breastfeeding mother. In the case of allergies to penicillin-based drugs, erythromycin is a suitable alternative.
The best option is to prevent Lyme disease in the first place by taking some precautions before heading outdoors into wooded or grassy areas. Clothing should be snug-fitting, light in color, and pants should be tucked into boots or socks, and shirts tucked into pants. Staying on clearly marked paths, and applying the tick repellent Permethrin or a DEET-based repellent onto one's clothes can also help deter ticks. Upon leaving, inspect oneself and any others for ticks, careful removal can also eliminate the incidence of infection.
With prompt antibiotic therapy, most patients will recover from this condition with no long-term effects. However, one bout of this illness does not provide immunity against future infections, even though the antibodies may remain in the bloodstream for up to several years. It is still highly advisable to take the recommended precautions when going outdoors in places that are possibly inhabited by the deer tick.
The symptoms vary from person to person, and sometimes they don't appear until as long as one month after the tick bite occurred. Common symptoms include fever and chills, headache, sore joints and muscles, and fatigue, as well as a bull's-eye pattern at the bite site. Some patients will also have a body rash. While rare, serious complications include miscarriage in pregnant women, liver or eye inflammation, Bell's palsy, irregular heartbeat, weakness or immobility of limbs, and meningitis.
Only a small percentage of tick bites will lead to Lyme disease, but in cases where one suspects they have a tick bite, it's best to consult a physician. With timely treatment, most patients will fully recovery, but left alone, this illness can have damaging permanent effects on the nervous system and can cause arthritis.
Diagnosis is not normally done based on symptoms alone since there are also many other conditions which have similar manifestations. Without the characteristic rash, the doctor will likely ask the patient a series of questions, and also order some lab tests to look for antibodies to this particular strain of bacteria, namely the ELISA-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot tests.
If the tests confirm that the patient has Lyme disease, antibiotic therapy will be started immediately. The outlook for the patient's long-term recovery is improved substantially if treatment is administered promptly. A two to four week course of oral doxycycline or amoxicillin is most often given, but it is not recommended to continue it past this point since this may be harmful.
Intravenous antibiotics will likely be given for one or two weeks, to patients with involvement of the heart or nervous system. Instead of doxycycline which can discolor developing teeth, penicillin or amoxicillin will be prescribed if the patient is a child under the age of 9, or a breastfeeding mother. In the case of allergies to penicillin-based drugs, erythromycin is a suitable alternative.
The best option is to prevent Lyme disease in the first place by taking some precautions before heading outdoors into wooded or grassy areas. Clothing should be snug-fitting, light in color, and pants should be tucked into boots or socks, and shirts tucked into pants. Staying on clearly marked paths, and applying the tick repellent Permethrin or a DEET-based repellent onto one's clothes can also help deter ticks. Upon leaving, inspect oneself and any others for ticks, careful removal can also eliminate the incidence of infection.
With prompt antibiotic therapy, most patients will recover from this condition with no long-term effects. However, one bout of this illness does not provide immunity against future infections, even though the antibodies may remain in the bloodstream for up to several years. It is still highly advisable to take the recommended precautions when going outdoors in places that are possibly inhabited by the deer tick.
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