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What is Lyme Disease? |
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Symptoms
People have higher risks for acquiring Lyme disease if they live in grasslands or dense, wooded places, as the tick which carries it can pass it on to humans from animals during feeding. A rash usually develops at the area of the bite – a small, reddish bump which appears within days or even a month of the bite, one which is tender and slightly warm to the touch. This often occurs behind the knees, on the groin, or on the waist. The rash eventually expands and ends up resembling a bull’s eye. An afflicted person may also experience symptoms similar to that of the flu, and if the infection is left untreated, severe joint pain develops within weeks of the incident. Some untreated cases result in neurological conditions, such as meningitis, Bell’s palsy, limb feebleness, and impairment in muscle functioning.
Causes
A bacterium causes the condition, the borrelia burgdorferi organism that is mainly harbored by deer ticks. These ticks have a brownish color and are no bigger than a pinhead, so detecting them is very difficult. Ticks feed on the blood of animals and humans, as such, they can acquire the bacteria from an infected host and pass it on to health ones. They thrive in bushy areas where they wait for warm-blooded animals to feed on, usually in the summer when most animals either graze or hunt. A person must first be bitten by a tick before he can contract Lyme disease. The bacteria then makes its way to the bloodstream through the skin, but only after the tick has fed enough on the patient’s blood so as to become swollen; this usually takes forty-eight hours or longer.
Diagnosis
If a patient doesn’t exhibit the rash which is common to those afflicted with Lyme disease, the doctor may inquire about his health history before lab tests are performed. Physical exams usually aim to determine if the antibodies for the bacteria are active in order to make a diagnosis. An ELISA test is the usual first procedure for Lyme disease detection, identifying the antibodies which deal with B. burgdorferi, but since the results of this can sometimes be falsely positive, other diagnostic tests are performed in accordance with it. A western blot test is more specific, detecting the antibodies which react to specific proteins of the bacteria; a positive result usually confirms the diagnosis.
Treatment Info
A two-week treatment course of oral antibiotics is usually prescribed for Lyme disease; doxycycline for children and adults, and amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil for children under eight years old and conceiving women. This can clear the infection if it has not yet progressed in the patient’s body. Otherwise the doctor may advise an intravenous antibiotic treatment course which lasts for up to a month. This should be potent enough to eliminate the infection, although the symptoms only subside after a week or so. Prolonged use of intravenous antibiotics can result in adverse effects, such as gallstones and a lowered white cell count, so this option must be discussed carefully with a doctor before it is opted for.
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