Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is a kind of bacterial infection that occurs from a bite of an infected tick like deer or black-legged tick. It is sometimes difficult to determine whether you have Lyme disease since a tick bite may be unnoticeable and its symptoms are just like any other disease. In the initial stage of Lyme disease, indicators like skin rash and flu-like symptoms may occur. The rash is often reddish and would most likely resemble a bull's eye, and usually appears from just one day or even a month after the tick bite. Other symptoms include headache, fever, stiff neck, muscle pain, swelling of large joints and temporary paralysis.
The people who are more likely to get affected with Lyme disease are those who spend time or live near heavily wooded and grassy areas where the ticks that have the disease breed. Such areas in the United States include the Northeastern, North Central and Northwest states. The ticks found in these places are usually brown and are no bigger than the size of a head of a pin, and these make them hard to spot. These ticks would latch on a host and feed on blood until they are very swollen. If these ticks carry the Lyme disease bacteria, they would be capable of infecting the host during their feeding.
The diagnosis of Lyme disease is often based on clinical exam findings and the patient's medical history. The doctor would also need to know if the patient has a history of exposure to particular endemic Lyme areas. For those who are diagnosed with early stage Lyme disease, the usual cure would be a course of antibiotics, such as amoxicillin, doxycycline, macrolide and ceftriaxone. These drugs are effective in clearing the infection and also preventing complications. The usual recommended treatment is a course of two to three weeks but some studies have shown that a course of 10 to 14 days is effective as well.
But for those whose Lyme disease has progressed already, then the doctor might recommend an intravenous antibiotic treatment for about two to four weeks. Although this is an effective treatment, there may be a long recovery period with this. There are also various side effects with this kind of treatment, such as mild to severe diarrhea, appearance of gallstones and a lower count of white blood cells. To prevent being infected with Lyme disease, the best thing to do is to avoid going to areas where ticks are found. Always wear protective clothing and use a mosquito or tick repellent when going to wooded areas. After exposure to such areas, be sure to check clothing and all parts of the body if there are any attached ticks and remove them promptly. When removing a tick, the important thing to do is to completely remove the tick head so as not to have any local infection in the bite area. It is also important to promptly remove the tick to lessen the risk of Lyme disease transmission.
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