Thursday, March 21, 2024

Chronic Lyme Disease Symptoms In Adults

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Which Areas Are More Likely To Have It

Lyme Disease Signs and Symptoms (2 of 5) | Johns Hopkins Medicine

The tick that causes Lyme disease has been moving from the Northeast and upper Midwest into the Southern and Western U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Cases in California and Florida are on the rise. After a drop between 2017 and 2018, the numbers jumped a little bit in 2019.

But most Lyme cases in 2019 were in 15 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Washington, DC, is also a hotspot.

In 2019, Pennsylvania had the most Lyme infections, with 6,763. New York was next, with 2,847 cases.

In the Southern U.S., where itâs hotter, ticks stay under leaves so they dont dry out. This means people donât get Lyme from Southern ticks very often because they dont usually come out to bite.

Even though people only report about 30,000 cases of Lyme infection in the U.S. each year, there are actually around 476,000 a year. The same tick also can spread other diseases, including babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and Powassan virus. Those diseases are also on the rise in the U.S.

Whoâs likeliest to get Lyme disease?

Boys up to age 15 and men between the ages of 40 and 60 are the most likely to get Lyme disease. Thatâs because they tend to play outside and go camping, hunting, and hiking.

Why are there more ticks now than there used to be?

There are several reasons why Lyme is spreading. Some of these are:

Traditional Medicine Herbalists And Holisitic Healers To Support The Immune System

Holistic approaches often require dedication, guidance, and working closely with an experienced practitioner. Functional, holistic-minded practitioners may use herbs, nutrition, mindfulness training and meditation, and exercise to support the entire body and its ability to heal itself.

Traditional Chinese medicine degrees include LAc , OMD , or DipCH . Traditional Ayurvedic medicine from India is accredited in the United States by the American Association of Ayurvedic Professionals of North America and the National Ayurvedic Medical Association. There are several certifications that designate an herbalist. The American Herbalists Guild provides a listing of registered herbalists, whose certification is designated RH .

Signs And Symptoms Of Untreated Lyme Disease

Seek medical attention if you observe any of these symptoms and have had a tick bite, live in an area known for Lyme disease, or have recently traveled to an area where Lyme disease occurs.

Untreated Lyme disease can produce a wide range of symptoms, depending on the stage of infection. These include fever, rash, facial paralysis, and arthritis.

The appearance of the erythema migrans rash can vary widely.

  • Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes may occur in the absence of rash
  • Erythema migrans rash :
  • Occurs in approximately 70 to 80 percent of infected persons
  • Begins at the site of a tick bite after a delay of 3 to 30 days
  • Expands gradually over several days reaching up to 12 inches or more across
  • May feel warm to the touch but is rarely itchy or painful
  • Sometimes clears as it enlarges, resulting in a target or bulls-eye appearance
  • May appear on any area of the body
  • Does not always appear as a classic erythema migrans rash

Swollen Knee

  • Severe headaches and neck stiffness
  • Additional EM rashes on other areas of the body
  • Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, particularly the knees and other large joints.
  • Intermittent pain in tendons, muscles, joints, and bones
  • Heart palpitations or an irregular heart beat
  • Episodes of dizziness or shortness of breath
  • Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord

Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.

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Chronic Lyme Dos And Don’ts

Chronic Lyme disease is an ongoing Borrelia burgdorferi infection that can involve any body system or tissue. The infection produces a wide range of symptoms and signs, which can be debilitating for some patients. Common symptoms include severe fatigue, migratory musculoskeletal pain, headaches, and impaired memory. Unfortunately, chronic Lyme disease is complex and often misunderstood, which means that many patients will struggle to obtain the care they need to regain their health. Every patient concerned about Lyme disease and tick-borne illness should know the following.

Signs And Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Some of the most common Lyme Disease Symptoms...only some.... and ...

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Overview

Lyme disease is an underreported, under-researched, and often debilitating disease transmitted by spirochete bacteria. The spiral-shaped bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, are transmitted by blacklegged deer ticks. Lymes wide range of symptoms mimic those of many other ailments, making it difficult to diagnose .

The blacklegged ticks can also transmit other disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites. These are known as coinfections . These ticks that transmit Lyme are increasing their geographical spread. As of 2016, they were found in about half the counties in 43 of 50 states in the United States .

Lyme is the fifth most reported of notifiable diseases in the United States, with an estimated 329,000 new cases found annually . Some studies estimate that there are as many as 1 million cases of Lyme in the United States every year .

Most people with Lyme who are treated right away with three weeks of antibiotics have a good prognosis.

But if youre not treated for weeks, months, or even years after infection, Lyme becomes more difficult to treat. Within days of the bite, the bacteria can move to your central nervous system, muscles and joints, eyes, and heart .

Here is a list of 13 common signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.

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Risk Factors For Post

Youre at a greater risk for post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome if youre infected by the bite of a diseased tick. If the infection progresses to the chronic stage, your symptoms might continue for weeks, months, or even years after the initial tick bite.

You may also be at a higher risk for these long-term symptoms if youre not treated with the recommended antibiotics. However, even people who receive antibiotic therapy are at risk. Because the cause of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome is unknown, theres no way to determine whether it will progress to the chronic stage.

Typically, the symptoms of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome resemble those that occur in earlier stages. People with persistent symptoms often experience lingering episodes of:

Early Detection Is Key

Lyme disease is easiest to treat at the early or acute stage, within the first 30 days of exposure. This is why its so important to take precautions to prevent tick bites, both during and outside of tick season. Protect yourself when near potential tick habitats, always perform tick checks after outdoor activity , and dont delay seeking medical attention if you notice any symptoms that might be related to tick-borne illness. Its important to get tested as soon as possible for the best chances of recovery.

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Has Niaid Looked At The Potential Benefits Of Long

Yes. NIAID has funded three placebo-controlled clinical trials on the efficacy of prolonged antibiotic therapy for treating PTLDS. The published results were subjected to rigorous statistical, editorial, and scientific peer review.

These trials were designed to ensure that several key parameters were addressed:

  • The susceptibility of B.burgdorferi to the antibiotics used
  • The ability of the antibiotics to both cross the blood-brain barrier and access the central nervous system and to persist at effective levels throughout the course of therapy
  • The ability of the antibiotics to kill bacteria living both outside and inside mammalian cells
  • The safety and welfare of patients enrolled in the trials

The first clinical trial, which included two multicenter studies, provided no evidence that extended antibiotic treatment is beneficial. In those studies, physicians examined long-term antibiotic therapy in patients with a well-documented history of previous Lyme disease but who reported persistent pain, fatigue, impaired cognitive function, or unexplained numbness. Those symptoms are common among people reporting PTLDS. Patients were treated with 30 days of an intravenous antibiotic followed by 60 days of an oral antibiotic.

In 2016, a clinical trial conducted in the Netherlands also concluded that in patients with persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease, longer term treatment with antibiotics did not provide additional benefits compared with shorter term regimens.

What Happens At Your Appointment

Understanding the Persistent Symptoms in Lyme Disease | Johns Hopkins Medicine

The GP will ask about your symptoms and consider any rash or recent tick bites you know about.

Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose. It has similar symptoms to other conditions and theres not always an obvious rash.

2 types of blood test are available to help confirm or rule out Lyme disease. But these tests are not always accurate in the early stages of the disease.

You may need to be retested if you still have Lyme disease symptoms after a negative result.

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How Is Lyme Disease Diagnosed

A healthcare provider will diagnose Lyme disease based on symptoms, physical findings and whether or not you’ve been in an area populated by infected ticks.

Many people dont remember or know that theyve been bitten by a tick. This is because the tick is tiny, and its bite is usually painless.

Your provider will confirm the diagnosis using a blood test. If your first blood test is negative for Lyme disease, you won’t need another test. If the first test is positive or equivocal, your provider will conduct the test again. You have to have two positive results to be diagnosed with Lyme disease.

What To Do If You Have A Blacklegged Tick Bite

Remove the tick by pulling it directly out with fine-tipped tweezers. Lift upward with slow and even pressure. Dont twist when removing it. Dont crush it or put soap or other substances on it. Dont apply heat to it.

Place the tick in a resealable container. See if you can identify what kind of a tick it is.

Immediately after removing the tick, wash your skin well with soap and water or with rubbing alcohol.

Not all ticks carry Lyme. The Lyme bacteria is transmitted only by blacklegged ticks in their nymph or adult stage.

Save the tick to show your doctor. The doctor will want to determine if its a blacklegged tick and if theres evidence of feeding. Ticks enlarge as they feed. Your risk of getting Lyme from an infected tick increases with the length of time that the tick fed on your blood.

Summary:

Pull the tick out with tweezers and save it in a resealable container for identification.

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What Is Neurologic Lyme Disease

Neurologic symptoms of Lyme disease occur when the Lyme disease bacteria affect the peripheral or central nervous systems.

  • Cranial nerve involvement: When the cranial nerves are affected, facial palsy can occur on one or both sides of the face.
  • Peripheral nerve involvement: When the peripheral nerves are affected, patients can develop radiculoneuropathy which can cause numbness, tingling, shooting pain, or weakness in the arms or legs.
  • Central nervous system involvement: When the central nervous system is affected, Lyme meningitis can cause fever, headache, sensitivity to light, and stiff neck.

Out of every 100 patients whose cases are reported to CDC, 9 have facial palsy, 4 have radiculopathy, and 3 have meningitis or encephalitis. Because of reporting practices, this statistic may overestimate how often these manifestations are seen by clinicians.

Lyme Disease Symptoms Also Occur In Other Diseases

Pin by Deb Veal on A_LYME

Many Lyme symptoms, such as fatigue, cognitive impairment, joint pain, poor sleep, mood problems, muscle pain, and neurological presentations also occur in other diseases. Hence, the symptoms of Lyme disease significantly overlap those of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, ALS, depression and Alzheimers disease. Many Lyme patients report being misdiagnosed with a different condition before being properly diagnosed with Lyme disease.

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Advanced Symptoms Of Lyme Disease In Adults

If you fail to diagnose or treat Lyme disease in the early stages, new signs and symptoms of advanced Lyme disease could appear in the following weeks and months.

More advanced symptoms of Lyme disease can infect the skin and joints and cause a stiff neck. This can be followed by severe headaches and shooting pain in your body that can keep you up at night. Changes in your heart rate or palpitations and dizziness are also advanced symptoms of Lyme disease.

Lyme disease that has been left untreated for several months can lead to much more serious problems. Including symptoms that affect your nervous system. For example, Bellâs palsy is a neurological complication of Lyme disease and leads to the loss of muscle function in your face.

People with Bellâs palsy sometimes look like theyâve had a stroke because they cannot move the muscles on one side of their face. Pain, weakness, and numbness can also spread to the arms or legs. So too is poor memory, the reduced ability to concentrate, conjunctivitis , or even deep tissue damage to the eyes.

While heart problems and inflammation of the eyes and liver are rare, they are possible symptoms of late stage Lyme disease.

Mass Volunteers Sought For Lyme Disease Vaccine Trial By Pfizer Valneva

Nature enthusiasts and hikers in Massachusetts could soon have a new layer of protection against those pesky ticks.

Pfizer and the specialty vaccine company Valneva have partnered in developing VLA 15, a potential Lyme disease vaccine. As they conduct the third of four required phases of human trials, 6,000 volunteers are needed, according to Pfizer.

In these trials, researchers will consider anyone at risk of Lyme disease exposure during regular outdoor activities such as hunting, jogging, landscaping or playing soccer. Its during these activities that contact with ticks can occur, Wicked Local reported.

Basically, the goal is to enroll volunteers who are either healthy or stable in conditions, Care Access study principal investigator Dr. Peta-Gay Jackson Booth said to Wicked Local. Age and size is up to as old you want to be and still be able to gallivant outside.

Local research sites at Wareham, Rockland and Vineyard Haven are all being used by Care Access, the firm conducting these trials. Those who are interested in signing up must be 5 years old or older, Pfizers website read.

Each of the Massachusetts sites was selected due to its proximity to where Lyme disease is endemic, Jackson Booth told Wicked Local. Other sites are located in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

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How You Get Lyme Disease

If a tick bites an animal carrying the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the tick can become infected. The tick can then transfer the bacteria to a human by biting them.

Ticks don’t jump or fly. They climb on to your clothes or skin if you brush against something they’re on. They then bite into the skin and start to feed on your blood.

Generally, you’re more likely to become infected if the tick is attached to your skin for more than 24 hours. Ticks are very small and their bites are not painful, so you may not realise you have one attached to your skin.

What Is Chronic Lyme Disease

Do you know the signs of Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. In the majority of cases, it is successfully treated with oral antibiotics. In some patients, symptoms, such as fatigue, pain and joint and muscle aches, persist even after treatment, a condition termed Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome .

The term chronic Lyme disease has been used to describe people with different illnesses. While the term is sometimes used to describe illness in patients with Lyme disease, it has also been used to describe symptoms in people who have no clinical or diagnostic evidence of a current or past infection with B. burgdorferi . Because of the confusion in how the term CLD is employed, and the lack of a clearly defined clinical definition, many experts in this field do not support its use.

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When Should I Call The Doctor

If a tick bites you, call your doctor. Other conditions can cause similar symptoms, so it’s always a good idea to discuss them with your doctor. That way you can get checked and treated, if needed. Call right away if you get a red-ringed rash, lasting flu-like symptoms, joint pain or a swollen joint, or facial paralysis.

Lyme Websites Books And Organizations

Private and governmental organizations provide help for people with Lyme disease and PTLDS, their caregivers, and medical professionals, including referrals to support groups and doctors, summaries of the latest research, and practical tips for Lyme prevention.

  • The American Lyme Disease Foundation is a private foundation providing science-based educational resources for patients and physicians.

  • The Bay Area Lyme Foundation funds research on Lyme disease and offers information about symptoms, prevention tips, and how to remove a tick properly.

  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a government agency responsible for health security in the US. It carries out research focusing on disease prevention and tick control, and it also provides recent and historical data on Lyme occurrence.

  • Conquering Lyme Disease: Science Bridges the Great Divide, a book by Jennifer Sotsky, MD, and Brian Fallon, MD, MPH, the director of the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, is an invaluable resource for Lyme patients and practitioners.

  • The Global Lyme Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to fighting tick-borne diseases by supporting education, research, and awareness. It provides referrals to Lyme-literate health care providers, to support groups, and to peer mentors.

  • Familydoctor.org provides general advice from the American Academy of Family Physicians.

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