How To Determine Lyme Disease

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    Lyme Disease Treatment Options

    Do you know the signs of Lyme disease?

    Early detection and treatment of Lyme are crucial. Most Lyme disease infections clear up with the help of a course of antibiotics you can take at home.

    In some cases, however, people who are treated with antibiotics may continue to experience symptoms. When this happens, its called chronic Lyme disease or post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Doctors may treat chronic Lyme disease with a continued course of antibiotics, but the treatment often also involves managing symptoms like pain and inflammation.

    If youre experiencing symptoms of Lyme disease and think you may have been bitten by a tick and were in an area where it is common, seek medical care as soon as possible. If certain symptoms and risk factors are present, doctors will typically treat for Lyme disease without waiting for a test result.

    How Can I Tell If Treatment Is Working

    If joint lameness is the presenting sign, improvement may be noted after 3-5 days starting antibiotics. A dog’s response to therapy can be assessed by repeating the QC6 test six months after treatment is complete. Dogs that start with a moderate to high QC6 value typically show a 50% reduction or more in the QC6 at six months, indicating that treatment has been successful. Dogs that have a lower initial QC6 value may not show such dramatic reductions in the QC6 at six months, although the value should still be lower than the starting point if treatment has been successful.

    A persistently high QC6 suggests treatment may not have been complete or that the dog became reinfected after treatment was stopped.

    Where Is Lyme Disease Found

    In the United States, Lyme disease has been reported in every state, but over 95% of cases are from the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwestern states, with a small number of cases reported along the West Coast, especially Northern California. In Canada, Lyme-positive dogs are found mostly in southern Ontario and southern Manitoba, with a small number of cases in southern Quebec and the Maritime provinces.

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    Bottom Line: Experts Say At

    I would be a bit hesitant and a bit skeptical about using them, Dr. Dattwyler says. Home tests may not be covered by your insurance company if you have insurance, but it is typically an accepted health care expense if you have a flexible spending account or a health savings account . These tests can run anywhere between about $90 to $120, according to various at-home test company websites. So initially, this may cost less than getting tested through a medical provider if you dont have insurance or if your insurance doesnt cover Lyme disease testing.

    But its not that simple. Again: Testing for Lyme disease is far from perfect even when its done in a qualified lab and analyzed by an expert. Add on the margin for user erroryoud need to collect a perfect blood sample during the ideal post-infection window and it would need to make it to its destination intactand youve got a recipe for misleading results.

    Plus, even if you do test positive for Lyme disease using an at-home kit, you still need to see a doctor. Chances are, your physician wont accept an at-home test in place of a standard laboratory test, so they would likely recommend going through the official process anyway. They will also need to do a thorough assessment of your overall health because diagnosing Lyme relies on more information than a lab test alone, Dr. Dattwyler says.

    Tick Removal And Testing

    lyme disease

    A tool to assist people in removing attached ticks and seeking health care, if appropriate, after a tick bite.

    Get Started

    If you find a tick attached to your skin, simply remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers works very well.

    Read Also: Can Lyme Disease Cause Heart Problems

    Other Lyme Disease Tests

    Three other tests that may be used to diagnose Lyme disease are polymerase chain reaction , antigen detection and culture testing. They are called direct tests because they detect the bacteria, not just your immune response to it.

    PCR multiplies a key portion of DNA from the Lyme bacteria so that it can be detected. While PCR is highly accurate when the Lyme DNA is detected, it produces many false negatives. This is because the Lyme bacteria are sparse and may not be in the sample tested.

    Antigen detection tests look for a unique Lyme protein in fluid . Sometimes people whose indirect tests are negative are positive on this test.

    Culture is the gold standard test for identifying bacteria. The lab takes a sample of blood or other fluid from the patient and attempts to grow Lyme spirochetes in a special medium.

    Although culture tests are generally accepted as proof of infection, the CDC has advised caution on the only commercially available culture test developed by Advanced Laboratory Services. LDo recognizes that the test is new and requires further validation in other studies. However, we believe that informed patients should be able to choose the test if they prefer. Choice is particularly important given the low quality of Lyme disease tests generally.

    What Is Lyme Disease How Does My Dog Get Infected

    Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by bacteria called Borrelia. The bacteria are most commonly carried by the deer tick . Infection occurs when a dog is bitten by an infected tick. It appears that the disease is not transmitted until the tick has fed for approximately 12 hours. The tick itself becomes infected by feeding on infected mice, birds, deer, and other animals.

    Also Check: How Many Ticks Carry Lyme Disease

    What Is An At

    An at-home Lyme disease test will typically be a blood finger prick test.

    If you have been exposed to the bacteria Borrelia that leads to the infection of Lyme disease, your body will have created two antibodies to fight it off. The test will look for the presence of both types of antibodies, known as immunoglobulin M and immunoglobulin G .

    You will receive your test kit along with account information so that you can get your test results as soon as theyre ready. Follow the manufacturers instructions exactly as they are described.

    Each test has different instructions, so its very important to read the kits detailed information before getting started.

    How Are Dogs Tested For Lyme Disease

    How to detect Lyme disease?

    Diagnosis is made by a combination of history, physical signs, and diagnostics. For dogs, the two blood tests for diagnosing Lyme disease are called the C6 Test and Quant C6 test. Veterinarians perform both.

    The C6 test detects antibodies against a protein called C6. Presence of the antibodies suggests an active Lyme infection. The C6 antibodies can be detected three to five weeks after an infected tick bites a dog and may be found in the bloodstream even before the dog shows signs of illness.

    The next step is to do a Quant C6 test. This, along with urinalysis will help determine if antibiotic treatment is necessary.

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    Should You Get A Test For Lyme Disease

    If Lyme disease is treated soon after a tick bite, the outlook is great. Most cases of Lyme disease respond to a 2- to 4-week round of antibiotics.

    If Lyme disease goes untreated, it can be more difficult to eliminate. For some, it can lead to inflammation of the joints, heart, and nervous system. Progression of the disease, and its severity, can vary from person to person.

    Lyme disease is staged in categories: acute, early disseminated, and late disseminated. Later stages of Lyme disease may involve multiple systems in the body.

    The most common sign of Lyme disease is an erythema migrans, or bulls-eye rash. The rash often appears after a delay of 3 to 30 days after the tick bite, according to the

    • sore throat

    With disseminated Lyme disease, symptoms can also include neurologic conditions, such as cranial nerve palsy and meningitis that mimics aseptic meningitis. Heart inflammation can also be a sign of Lyme disease.

    If youre experiencing any of these signs or symptoms, an at-home test may help you identify Lyme disease. With the click of a button, a test can be shipped to your front door.

    These tests may come in handy if youre an avid outdoors person who lives in geographical areas where ticks are present.

    When choosing at-home Lyme disease tests to feature, we looked at affordability, accuracy, ease in reading directions, and what made the specific tests stand out from the crowd.

    To select the best tests, we look at studies and user reviews.

    Cdc Supports The Development Of New Tests

    New tests may be developed as alternatives to one or both steps of the two-step process. Before CDC will recommend new tests, they must be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration . For more details, see: Recommendations for Test Performance and Interpretation from the Second National Conference on Serologic Diagnosis of Lyme Disease.

    Also Check: How To Check For Lyme Disease In Dogs

    Diagnosis Of Lyme Disease

    Many cases of Lyme disease are initially misdiagnosed. Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose because early symptoms of fever, severe fatigue, and achiness are also common in many other illnesses. In addition, diagnostic blood tests are not always dependable, particularly in early disease. However, the round expanding red lesion rash is a unique sign that is more specific for Lyme disease, and many times a diagnosis can be made based on the tell-tale erythema migrans rash itself. Yet, it is important to understand that the erythema migrans rash is not always present or recognizable, and symptoms can fluctuate.

    Think the Lyme disease rash is always a bulls-eye? Think again.Think its a spider bite? Think again. Please refer to our poster of varied rash manifestations as a helpful Lyme disease rash identification tool.

    Recognizing the Lyme disease erythema migrans rash can be crucial to early diagnosis and treatment.

    Despite common belief, the stereotypical ring within a ring bullseye rash is only present in a minority of Lyme disease patients. Instead, the majority of Lyme disease rashes are uniformly red or blue-red and do not have a central clearing or bullseye. Sometimes the site of the tick bite is clearly visible in the center of this lesion. The erythema migrans rash is almost always round or oval and expands over days to a diameter greater than 2. The Lyme rash is often confused with a spider bite, despite spider bites not expanding in this way.

    The Igenex Lyme Immunoblot Solves These Problems

    Lyme disease: What are the symptoms and how to remove a tick if you ...

    IGeneX has developed a serological test that increases specificity without sacrificing sensitivity that has changed how to test for Lyme disease. It uses specifically created recombinant proteins from multiple species and strains of Lyme borreliae and reduces inconsistencies in reading and interpreting the test bands.

    More species detected The Lyme ImmunoBlot tests for more species of Lyme borreliae than the traditional ELISA and Western blot tests, reducing the risks of false negatives due to the inability to detect antibodies to a certain strain or species of Lb. The test includes all Borrelia-specific antigens relevant in North America and Europe, not just B. burgdorferi B31 or 297.

    The result is a single test that replaces at least 8 Western blots.

    More accurate testing The ImmunoBlot uses specific recombinant proteins that are sprayed in precise amounts onto specific locations on the membrane strip, allowing for greater control of the quantity and location of the antigens. This makes reading the bands much more accurate and consistent.

    Earlier detection The ImmunoBlot can detect infections at multiple stages of illness, letting you catch infections earlier.

    The IgM and IgG ImmunoBlots superior specificity and sensitivity make them the best Lyme disease test available.

    Read Also: Symptoms Of Lyme Disease After Tick Bite

    You Do Not Usually Need Tests To Show That You Have Lyme Disease

    In most cases, theres a clear sign of Lyme diseasea painless, spreading rash that often grows to look like a bulls eye. If you have this rash, and you recently had a tick bite or were in an area known for Lyme disease, you dont need a test. Instead, your doctor can just start treating you with antibiotics, as appropriate.

    When Should I Get Checked For Lyme Disease

    Generally, it is best to get tested for Lyme disease if you live where ticks are common or have recently visited such areas. Most certainly, you should get tested if you suspect that a tick has bitten you. It is important to talk to your doctor if you think you have any of the following early Lyme disease symptoms:

    • A rash resembling a bulls eye on the spot where youve been bitten

    Other symptoms dont show up immediately. Sometimes, it takes up to a few weeks or months after the tick bite to notice the following:

    • Swelling on the joints or severe joint pain
    • Tingling in the feet and hands
    • Shortness of breath

    While it is okay get checked early, Lyme disease test results numbers are more authentic a few weeks after youve been bitten by a carrier-tick. Your body would have developed antibodies within that period, and that can make it easier to detect the disease.

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    Use Tick Repellent Collars

    If you cant stand the thought of your feline being inside all day, you can make him an outdoor cat and still prevent ticks from biting him.

    Invest in a tick repellent collar. This accessory will kill and repel fleas for up to 8 months. The collar doesnt have an odor and isnt greasy, so your cat wont be bothered by it.

    Make Your Cat Stay Indoors

    COVID-19 vs. Lyme Disease

    Outdoor cats, even those who split their time indoors and outdoors, are much more likely to get Lyme disease than strictly indoor cats. Because ticks transmit this condition, felines usually acquire it from roaming around outside.

    With this in mind, you should know that indoor felines are not immune to the disease. Other pets may bring ticks into your yard or home. You and your family can also inadvertently track these arachnids indoors via your clothing.

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    Related: To Halt The Spread Of Lyme Nantucket Residents Consider Genetically Engineered Mice

    Her ordeal is a common one every year, some 300,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Lyme disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that number is on the rise. Some people wait months or years to get a correct Lyme diagnosis. And their cases highlight a problem: Tests for Lyme in the first month of infection are frequently wrong. When diagnosed and treated early the infection is a simple one to get rid of, but left untreated it can cause a myriad of lingering symptoms, from severe arthritis to short-term memory problems.

    Now, a number of research groups are working to improve Lyme tests to catch infections in the early stages. One avenue being studied by the CDC aims to create a Lyme signature of small molecules in the blood an approach that, in early testing, catches a dramatically higher share of early infections.

    Who Should Get Testing

    Testing is usually indicated if a person has symptoms of Lyme disease and a known or possible exposure to ticks that can carry the Borrelia bacteria. However, because it takes time for antibodies to develop, the timing of testing is important to consider.

    Lyme disease symptoms depend on the extent of the bacterial infection. Three phases are used to describe the infection:

  • Early localized: In this initial phase, symptoms are normally found only near the tick bite. This early stage is called erythema migrans and involves a noticeable rash that typically develops within a few weeks after being bitten.
  • Early disseminated: In this phase, the bacteria move through the blood to affect other parts of the body and can cause general symptoms like fever, headaches, and pain. In some cases, the bacteria can affect the heart or nervous system.
  • Late disease: This phase occurs long after the initial tick bite and most often includes symptoms affecting the joints or nervous system.
  • It is important to understand these phases because testing is not equally valuable in each stage. With early localized disease and erythema migrans, blood testing is generally not helpful because antibodies have not had enough time to develop.

    Because of similar concerns about potential false positive results, random screening for Lyme disease in people without symptoms is not recommended even in areas that are known to have ticks that can carry the Borrelia bacteria.

    Also Check: Dr Al Miller Lyme Disease

    Future Possibilities For Diagnostic Tools

    NIAID-supported scientists have identified genome sequences for multiple strains of B. burgdorferi. Greater advances in diagnostics are anticipated as genetic information is combined with advances in microarray technology, imaging, and proteomics. These growing fields of science are expected to lead to improved diagnostic tools as well as provide new insights on the pathogenesis of Lyme disease. Examples of tools being developed with NIAID support include use of metabolomics to characterize new biomarkers of infection, next generation T-cell based measurements, and novel antigens for improved measurement of effective treatment.

    Stage : Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

    How

    Late disseminated Lyme disease occurs when the infection hasnt been treated in stages 1 and 2. Stage 3 can occur months or years after the tick bite.

    This stage is characterized by:

    • arthritis of one or more large joints
    • brain disorders, such as encephalopathy, which can cause short-term memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mental fogginess, problems with following conversations, and sleep disturbance
    • numbness in the arms, legs, hands, or feet
    • park or wildlife management

    The majority of tick bites happen in the summer when ticks are the most active and people spend more time outside. However, its also possible to get Lyme disease from tick bites in early fall, and even in late winter if the weather is unseasonably warm.

    Lyme disease prevention mostly involves decreasing your risk of experiencing a tick bite.

    Take the following steps to prevent tick bites:

    Contact a doctor if and whenever a tick bites you or your loved ones.

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