Late Disseminated Lyme Disease Treatment

How To Avoid Tick Bites

To reduce the chance of being bitten:

• cover your skin while walking outdoors and tuck your trousers into your socks
• use insect repellent on your clothes and skin products containing DEET are best
• stay on clear paths whenever possible
• wear light-coloured clothing so ticks are easier to see and brush off

Recent Progress In Lyme Disease And Remaining Challenges

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with an estimated 476,000 cases per year. While historically, the long-term impact of Lyme disease on patients has been controversial, mounting evidence supports the idea that a substantial number of patients experience persistent symptoms following treatment. The research community has largely lacked the necessary funding to properly advance the scientific and clinical understanding of the disease, or to develop and evaluate innovative approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Given the many outstanding questions raised into the diagnosis, clinical presentation and treatment of Lyme disease, and the underlying molecular mechanisms that trigger persistent disease, there is an urgent need for more support. This review article summarizes progress over the past 5 years in our understanding of Lyme and tick-borne diseases in the United States and highlights remaining challenges.

Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented

Most people with Lyme disease get the infection during the late spring, summer and early fall when immature ticks are out feeding. In warm climates, few tick bites take place during winter months.

Deer ticks are most often found in wooded areas and nearby grasslands. Theyre especially common where the two areas merge, including neighborhood yards where deer occasionally roam. Ticks dont survive long on sunny lawns. They dry out quickly and die.

Although only about 1% of all deer ticks carry Lyme disease-causing bacteria, there are areas in which over 50% of the ticks carry the bacterium. The diseased ticks are often found in the U.S. Northeast and upper Midwest areas. Ticks also live in coastal areas.

Black-legged ticks can get the infection from animals other than deer. Mice, voles and some squirrels can carry the bacteria.

How can I prevent tick bites?

The following tips can help you avoid tick bites:

Read Also: Can Any Tick Carry Lyme Disease

Pearls And Other Issues

Based on the geographic distribution of the shared vector Ixodes scapularis, co-infections with Lyme disease and human granulocytic anaplasmosis and/or babesiosis can occur. Co-infected patients may be more severely ill at presentation, have a persistent fever longer than 48 hours after initiating antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease, or present with anemia, leukopenia, and/or thrombocytopenia. When co-infection is suspected or confirmed, treatment with an appropriate antimicrobial regimen for each infection is necessary for resolution of illness.

Also Check: Dog Lyme Disease Symptoms Six Indicators

Early Detection Is Key

Amid the conflicting opinions and research on Lyme disease treatment, one thing is clear: The surest way to avoid needing complex treatment programs is to get diagnosed as soon as possible after being exposed and to include testing for all relevant tick-borne pathogens. The longer Lyme disease and these other infections go unchecked, the more difficult they are to treat.

You May Like: Does Lyme Disease Affect Immune System

Are There Alternative Treatments For Lyme Disease

There are a variety of alternative treatments aimed at patients who believe they may have Lyme disease. But the effectiveness of these treatments is not supported by scientific evidence, and in many cases they are potentially harmful.

Bismacine, also known as chromacine, is an alternative-medicine drug that some people use to treat their Lyme disease.

The Food and Drug Administration warns that people should not use this injectable product, which has reportedly caused hospitalization and at least one death. 70563-1.pdf rel=nofollow> 6)

In addition, the FDA notes that bismacine contains high levels of bismuth, which can cause heart and kidney failure.

Other alternative treatments include oxygen therapy, light therapy, and a variety of nutritional or herbal supplements. But there is no evidence that these treatments are clinically effective in the treatment of Lyme disease.

You May Like:

What Are The Side Effects Of Lyme Disease Treatments

Antibiotics, like all medications, have the potential for side effects. Any antibiotic can cause skin rashes, and if an itchy red rash develops while on antibiotics, a patient should see their physician. Sometimes symptoms worsen for the first few days on an antibiotic. This is called a Herxheimer reaction and occurs when the antibiotics start to kill the bacteria. In the first 24 to 48 hours, dead bacterial products stimulate the immune system to release inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that can cause increased fever and achiness. This should be transient and last no more than a day or two after the initiation of antibiotics.

The most common side effect of the penicillin antibiotics is diarrhea, and occasionally even serious cases caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile. This bacterial overgrowth condition occurs because antibiotics kill the good bacteria in our gut. It can be helpful to use probiotics to restore the good bacteria and microbiome balance.

Also Check: How You Get Lyme Disease

False Negatives And Positives

Since early treatment is crucial to prevent complications, accurate diagnosis is essential. Those who have a history of tick bites and a bullseye rash do not need to be tested and should be treated as if they have Lyme disease. However, when the picture is less clear but Lyme disease is suspected, laboratory testing is recommended. False negative results are common in early Lyme disease because the standard test detects antibodies to the Borrelia bacteria and these take several weeks to develop. In addition, some people who receive antibiotics within the first few weeks of a tick bite may not develop antibodies or may only develop them at levels too low to be detected by the test.

In line with this, the NHS Highland National Lyme Borreliosis Testing Laboratory advises that patients with a clinical history consistent with early Lyme disease who have a negative test should be retested six to eight weeks after symptom onset. It is also possible for the antibody test to give a false positive result, so positive tests are confirmed using a second test, called a Western Blot.

Dont Miss: Can You Have Lyme Disease Without A Rash

What Are The Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Most children who develop Lyme disease do not recall having been bitten by a tick. Symptoms can appear a few days to many months after the bite, and can include:

• a rash in the form of a bulls-eye
• facial palsy, or weakness of the facial muscles
• headache/meningitis, or swelling of tissues around the brain and spinal cord

Children with a bulls-eye rash may also have systemic symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and joint aches. The rash may not have a classic bull-eye appearance, especially on people with darkly pigmented skin, and can be mistaken for cellulitis, ringworm, or other skin conditions. Children who develop a disseminated infection often have not had a preceding skin rash.

The most common late stage symptom of Lyme disease is arthritis, particularly in the large joints and especially the knee. Typically, the joints will be more swollen and tender than painful, and anti-inflammatory medicine can help.

You May Like: How To Treat Lyme Disease In Cats

What Is Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.

B. burgdorferi is transmitted to humans by a bite from an infected black-legged or deer tick. The tick becomes infected after feeding on infected deer, birds, or mice.

A tick has to be present on the skin for approximately 36 to 48 hours to transmit the infection. Many people with Lyme disease have no memory of a tick bite.

Lyme disease was first recognized in the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975. Its the most common tick-borne illness in Europe and the United States.

People who live or spend time in wooded areas known for transmission of the disease are more likely to get this illness. Additionally, people with domesticated animals that visit wooded areas also have a higher risk of getting Lyme disease.

Posttreatment Lyme Disease Syndromes: Distinct Pathogenesis Caused By Maladaptive Host Responses

Center for Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Address correspondence to: Allen C. Steere, Massachusetts General Hospital, CNY 149/8301, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. Phone: 617.726.1527 Email: .

J Clin Invest.

Lyme disease, which is epidemic in certain communities, primarily in the northeastern United States, is caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi . When untreated, the disease usually occurs in stages with different manifestations at each stage . In the northeastern United States, the infection usually begins with a slowly expanding skin lesion, erythema migrans , often accompanied by nonspecific symptoms, including headache, myalgias, arthralgias, fever, malaise, and fatigue. Within weeks , neurologic or cardiac abnormalities may develop. Months later , usually following a latent period, intermittent or persistent monoarticular or oligoarticular arthritis commonly develops, lasting for several years, accompanied by minimal, if any, systemic symptoms. Rarely, patients have late neurologic involvement, characterized by a subtle encephalopathy or sensory polyneuropathy. Thus, in most patients, the natural history of Lyme disease, without treatment, is one of persistent infection for several years, with latent periods and changing system involvement.

You May Like: What Are The Long Term Side Effects Of Lyme Disease

Read Also: Medicine For Lyme Disease In Humans

For Depression And Anxiety

Both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy have proven benefits for improving mood. Psychotherapy has many different types such as supportive, dynamic, cognitive behavioral, dialectical behavior therapy, transference focused psychotherapy each of which offers benefit. Pharmacotherapy also has many different types. For depression the first-line options usually are SSRIs, SNRIs, Tricyclics or other agents with more unique modes of action.

A few noteworthy tips on anti-depressant agents:

• Most anti-depressant agents also help in reducing anxiety. However the opposite isnât necessarily true. Specific anti-anxiety agents such as clonazepam or diazepam may not necessarily help fight depression.
• Most anti-depressants take three to eight weeks before an effect is seen. Therefore, it is unwise to stop an anti-depressant after only three or four weeks, as staying on it another two to three weeks may lead to a good response.
• Dosage makes a difference. Some anti-depressants work fine at low doses some medications however are effective only at higher doses. Some medications are more effective as the dose is increased. Other antidepressants may have a therapeutic range one has to achieve at least a certain dosage .

Molecular Testing For Detection Of Borrelia Species Bacterial Dna

PCR is available for Borrelia species DNA detection but is of limited value in routine testing for Lyme disease because the organism is only present in blood during the early stages of the disease and is predominantly restricted to the affected tissues.

Diagnostic molecular testing for Borrelia species DNA is available on request for relevant specimen types. Please call RIPL to discuss individual cases.

Also Check: Can Lyme Disease Cause Hip Pain

Also Check: Do You Always Have A Rash With Lyme Disease

How Do You Treat Lyme Disease Naturally

You can treat Lyme disease naturally with custom-made Homeopathy medicines from Welling Homeopathy Clinics. You can also treat late-stage Lyme disease and Post-Lyme disease syndrome.

Consult our specialists today for a detailed evaluation and to start your customised Homeopathy treatment of Lyme Disease.

Recommended Reading: What Is Lyme Disease Caused By

Symptoms Of Late Stage Lyme Disease

Your suffering has moved from an occasional inflammation flare-up to chronic pain in your muscles, tendons, and joints. You may have been diagnosed with some form of arthritis. Your headaches have become severe. You may even experience dizziness or vertigo.

Additional symptoms include a stiff neck, sleep disorders like insomnia, and numbness in your outer extremities. You may also lack the ability to focus, and paying attention when having conversations has become difficult. Your fatigue is so bad you sometimes do not want to attempt getting out of bed.

The worse symptom may be that you have tried to get the right help, but doctors have failed to give you an accurate diagnosis. Because of this, you may feel like you are crazy, or your friends and family may not believe you are in pain.

You may be wondering how you were able to reach late stage Lyme disease without proper treatment.

Read Also: What Does Lyme Disease Bullseye Look Like

For Memory Concentration And Focus

Improving memory is a challenge. In Lyme disease, short-term memory problems and word-retrieval problems are common. These often improve substantially with appropriate antibiotic therapy. Over time, most patients regain their cognitive function.

When memory is a problem, consider that this could be due to a primary problem with attention or with mood. An individual who can’t focus won’t be able to remember because he/she didn’t “attend” to the item in the first place. This happens to all of us when we hear someone’s name at a party if we don’t focus on the name and perhaps make a mental association to the name to enhance memory storage, we will forget that name within minutes. Patients with depression often experience problems with memory and verbal fluency when the depression is resolved, the memory and verbal fluency typically resolve as well.

• Medications: Attention can be improved with certain medications, such as bupropion , atomoxetine , modafinil , or stimulants . Medications that temporarily slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease or memantine ) have not been studied in Lyme disease.
• There is some evidence that online brain training programs can enhance concentration or processing speed.
• Neurofeedback may be helpful in improving attention, as well as in improving sleep and reducing pain. This has been studied for migraines, fibromyalgia, and ADHD.

What Is Chronic 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.

Read Also: Which Kind Of Ticks Carry Lyme Disease

When Should I See My Healthcare Provider

If you feel sick after having spent time in areas where ticks might live, you should make an appointment with your healthcare provider.

If you received a Lyme disease diagnosis and you dont feel well after taking all of your antibiotics, contact your provider. This is especially true if you have symptoms like a stiff neck or mental confusion.

Lyme Disease Laboratory Tests Available At Ripl

The primary service provided by RIPL is serological testing using well-characterised and validated screening and confirmatory tests in accordance with the NICE Lyme disease guideline.

RIPL participates in regular external quality assurance exercises as an independent measure of its performance.

Details of prices and turnaround times for Lyme testing are provided in Appendix 1 of the RIPL user manual.

Also Check: Is Lyme Disease A Parasite

What Is The Treatment For Lyme Disease

The first-line standard of care treatment for adults with Lyme disease is doxycycline, a tetracycline antibiotic. Other antibiotics that have activity against borrelia include the penicillin-like antibiotic, amoxicillin, and the second generation cephalosporin, Ceftin. The mainstay of treatment is with oral antibiotics, but intravenous antibiotics are sometimes indicated for more difficult to treat cases of neurologic-Lyme disease, such as meningitis, and cases of late Lyme arthritis.

How Is Lyme Disease Treated

Antibiotics, usually doxycycline or amoxicillin, are effective treatments for Lyme disease. How long your treatment lasts depends on the stage of infection. In general, its true that the sooner youre treated, the quicker and more complete the recovery.

Pregnant people should receive treatment for Lyme disease as well. There is, however, no evidence that a fetus can get the infection from its parent. Theres also no strong evidence that miscarriages are more likely after Lyme disease.

What should I do if a tick bites me?

If a tick bites you, the best way to remove it is by taking the following steps:

• Tug gently but firmly with blunt tweezers near the head of the tick at the level of your skin until it releases its hold on your skin.
• Avoid crushing the ticks body or handling the tick with bare fingers because you could expose yourself to the bacteria in the tick.
• Wash the bite area thoroughly with soap and water.
• Dont use kerosene, petroleum jelly or hot cigarette butts to remove the tick.
• Dont squeeze the ticks body with your fingers or tweezers.

Recommended Reading: Dr Dietrich Klinghardt Lyme Disease

Don’t Miss: Old Lyme Women’s Health

Learn The Stages Of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease occurs in three stages: early localized, early disseminated and late disseminated. However the stages can overlap and not all patients go through all three. A bulls-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. In most cases, Lyme symptoms can start with a flu-like illness. If untreated, Lyme disease symptoms can continue to worsen and turn into a long-lived debilitating illness.

Treatment For Erythema Migrans

People treated with appropriate antibiotics in the early stages of Lyme disease usually recover rapidly and completely. Early diagnosis and proper antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease can help prevent late Lyme disease.

Treatment regimens listed in the following table are for the erythema migrans rash, the most common manifestation of early Lyme disease. These regimens may need to be adjusted depending on a persons age, medical history, underlying health conditions, pregnancy status, or allergies. Consult an infectious disease specialist regarding individual patient treatment decisions.

Treatment regimens for localized Lyme disease.

Age Category
30 mg/kg per day orally, divided into 2 doses	500 mg per dose

*When different durations of antibiotics are shown to be effective for the treatment of Lyme disease, the shorter duration is preferred to minimize unnecessary antibiotics that might result in adverse effects, including infectious diarrhea and antimicrobial resistance.

NOTE:For people intolerant of amoxicillin, doxycycline, and cefuroxime, the macrolide azithromycin may be used, although it is less effective. People treated with azithromycin should be closely monitored to ensure that symptoms resolve.

Dont Miss: Can Lyme Disease Cause Leg Weakness

Also Check: Doug Coil Rife Machine Lyme