Click Here To Join Us On Telegram For Fast Updates

Lyme Disease; Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

Lyme-Disease

Lyme Disease; Causes, Symptoms And Treatment.

Lyme Disease is also known Borreliosis. It is a zoonotic disease that is caused by the Bacterium Borrelia Burgdorferi. Deer Tick is the vector that carries Lyme disease.

The Tick Metamorphosis

Stages Of Lyme Disease.

  • Early localized
  • Early disseminated
  • Late disseminated.

However the stages can overlap and not all patients go through all three. A bull’s-eye rash is usually considered one of the first signs of infection, but many people develop a different kind of rash or none at all.

  • images-4-1
    The Tick Rashes

Causes:

The disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and rarely, Borrelia mayonii. It is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.

Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans.

Symptoms:

The symptoms include;

  • Pain in the areas like muscle and joints
  • Fatigue
  • Fever
  • Joint stiffness or swelling
  • Bull’s eye pattern
    Headache

Laboratory Test For Lyme disease
To ascertain the occurrence of Lyme disease, Lab test is required.
Lab tests to identify antibodies to the bacteria can help confirm or rule out the diagnosis.

These tests are most reliable a few weeks after an infection, after your body has had time to develop antibodies. They include:

  • Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The test used most often to detect Lyme disease, ELISA detects antibodies to B. burgdorferi. But because it can sometimes provide false-positive results, it’s not used as the sole basis for diagnosis especially in the early stage of diagnosis.

Western blot test. If the ELISA test is positive, this test is usually done to confirm the diagnosis. In this two-step approach, the Western blot detects antibodies to several proteins of B. burgdorferi.

[sc_fs_faq sc_id=”fs_faqmdc38w9xs” html=”true” headline=”h3″ img=”” question=”How Can Lyme Disease Be Treated? ” img_alt=”” css_class=”” ]Lyme disease can only be treated with the help of antibiotics. The antibiotics is categorised into; Oral antibiotics. These are the standard treatment for early-stage Lyme disease. These usually include doxycycline for adults and children older than 8, or amoxicillin or cefuroxime for adults, younger children, and pregnant or breast-feeding women. A 14- to 21-day course of antibiotics is usually recommended, but some studies suggest that courses lasting 10 to 14 days are equally effective. Intravenous antibiotics. If the disease involves the central nervous system, your doctor might recommend treatment with an intravenous antibiotic for 14 to 28 days. This is effective in eliminating infection, although it may take you some time to recover from your symptoms. Intravenous antibiotics can cause various side effects, including a lower white blood cell count, mild to severe diarrhea, or colonization or infection with other antibiotic-resistant organisms unrelated to Lyme.[/sc_fs_faq]