Lyme Disease Specialist In Virginia

Tick Bites Can Cause Meat Allergies Too

Thomas Platts-Mills, MD, who leads UVAs Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researches the connection between lone star tick bites and red meat allergies. His team found that in some people, a lone star tick bite triggered the body to produce antibodies that binded to alpha-gal, a sugar in red meat. These people then developed hives or anaphylaxis, but not until several hours after eating the meat.

Request Your Consultation Today

If you or someone you know is suffering from any of the aforementioned symptoms, and have been unsuccessful in finding effective treatment or lasting relief, Dr. Heyman treats patients at his integrative medicine practice: the Virginia Center for Health and Wellness in Aldie, Virginia. For an appointment with Dr. Heyman, please call & phone , or contact us online today.

How We Can Help

For most cases of Lyme disease, a brief course of antibiotics is enough to clear the infection and become symptom-free, however, our approach is to take the time to explore the onset of your condition, the specific nature of your pain sensations and the overall status of your health. To gather additional information about your condition, your Kaplan physician may also order diagnostic laboratory testing .

After reviewing all of the factors contributing to your condition, your physician will spend time talking with you about your diagnosis. Together youll create a customized and multi-dimensional treatment plan that addresses your symptoms and any possible co-existing conditions that may be causing or aggravating your health problems.

We offer a multitude of effective treatment options, including:

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How To Approach Your Non

For various reasons, you may choose to consult with a doctor who doesnt specialize in Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases.

If so, be sure to be as proactive as possible in providing information that could help in diagnosing your disease, and always feel free to share resources that you find in your own research to prompt discussions about any aspect of your diagnosis or treatment, including more advanced testing options.

If your doctor does not believe Lyme disease exists, reach out to another doctor for a second opinion.

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There Are575doctors Who Treat Lyme Disease In Charlottesville Find The Best For You:

• Rated 3.80 out of 5 stars, with 1200 Five Springs Rd Ste 202Charlottesville, VA22902
• Rated 3.70 out of 5 stars, with 310 Avon StCharlottesville, VA22902

• Rated 4.60 out of 5 stars, with 1011 E Jefferson St Ste 202Charlottesville, VA22902
• Rated 5.00 out of 5 stars, with 916 E High St Ste 1Charlottesville, VA22902
• Rated 3.90 out of 5 stars, with 2955 Ivy Rd Ste 205Charlottesville, VA22903
• Rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, with 1490 Pantops Mountain Pl Ste 200Charlottesville, VA22911
• Rated 4.60 out of 5 stars, with 1405 Rolkin Ct Ste 101Charlottesville, VA22911
• Rated 4.00 out of 5 stars, with 2955 Ivy Rd Ste 205Charlottesville, VA22903
• Rated 4.60 out of 5 stars, with 901 Preston Avenue 102Charlottesville, VA22903
• Rated 5.00 out of 5 stars, with 1011 E Jefferson St Ste 202Charlottesville, VA22902
• Rated 4.40 out of 5 stars, with 540 Belvedere Blvd Ste 100Charlottesville, VA22901

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Lyme Disease On The Rise In West Virginia

In June of 2007, Victoria Snyder, then age-nine, attended a week-long church camp. During the week she began to feel sick muscle aches, lethargy, headaches. A doctor at the camp thought it might be the flu, but she didnt get better. So after camp, her mother, Christine, took her to see a pediatrician.

The pediatrician found a bullseye ring on her stomach, said Christine. I felt a lot of relief when they put her on antibiotics because with Lyme disease, we knew what we were dealing with.

In 2007, there were only 84 confirmed cases of Lyme Disease in West Virginia – most of which were in the Snyders county, Berkeley. Seven years later, that number almost doubled to 136. The next year, 2015, it doubled again.

The number of cases are increasing, said West Virginia University pediatric infectious disease specialist Kathy Moffett. Its not that we havent diagnosed it before, its that it hasnt been here before.

Moffett said experts think that the mountains in eastern West Virginia have long been a barrier against the ticks .

Others disagree, saying Lyme has always been in West Virginia, it just wasnt well diagnosed.

I can tell you I dont think theres a great wall of West Virginia and all these ticks stop at these borders. Its rampant in Virginia, its rampant in Pennsylvania, its rampant here, said Doctor Erika Pallie, a West Virginia-based physician who used to work for WVU.

The Lyme Controversy

Still Sick? It Must Not Be Lyme

Virginia Tech Researchers Identify A Missing Piece Of The Lyme Disease Puzzle

13May2021

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Epidemic. Pandemic. These terms have become second nature to us, popping up in everyday conversation, and for good reason COVID-19 is the latest pandemic to pose a threat to humanity.

But in recent months, far less attention has been paid to another widely spread problem that has been proliferating since the late 1970s: Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is the most reported vector-borne disease in the country. Over the past 20 years, the United States has experienced a dramatic increase in both the number of reported cases and the geographic distribution of the disease. In Virginia, the disease is transmitted by blacklegged ticks, which are infected with the Lyme disease-causing bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.

Virginia Tech Assistant Professor Brandon Jutras and his lab have continued to tackle the Lyme disease epidemic over the past year, and they have recently identified another missing piece of the Lyme disease puzzle.

This discovery furthers our understanding of how Borrelia burgdorferi causes inflammation and disease, said Mari Davis, who is the lead author on the paper, a former master’s graduate of the Jutras lab in the Department of Biochemistry in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is a testament to how unique this bacterium is and how we need to keep working to understand more about what is going on behind the scenes in order to develop future diagnostics and treatments.

Written by Kendall Daniels

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Other Pathogens To Blame

Shor and his co-authors, including Maloney, propose that the lingering symptoms are caused by several pathogens from the Borrelia burgdorferi family or other tick-borne pathogens.

Nardelli said theres a variety of symptoms and severity in Lyme disease patients, and those symptoms can be caused by the inflammatory responses against the microbes.

“Inflammation is a huge part of the immune response. Its one of the frontline defenses we have, and it has this negative connotation, but it is intended for good,” he said. “Your immune response trying to kill the bug and in doing so, can cause damage, essentially.”

Some theories suggest that variants of the Lyme bacteria are resistant to antibiotics. Others argue that chronic Lyme is caused by a powerful immune reaction or it may even trigger an autoimmune disease. The central neural networks may be altered, having a significant impact on symptoms or a combination of these factors.

Nardelli is investigating Lyme-related arthritis that persists after treatment with antibiotics. He said science can be a slow process of acquiring new knowledge, and its tough for patients who are suffering with no clear answers.

That can lead them to seek out untrustworthy practitioners or fall for costly treatments that dont work. “You go out and find doctors that diagnose everything as Lyme disease,” Nardelli said.

“The whole goal is to get people the right diagnosis so they can get the therapy that they need,” she said.

Here Comes Tick Season

The most common months to diagnose Lyme disease are from May through August, peaking in June and July.The infection can, but not always, cause a bulls eye rash, fever, flu like symptoms and joint pain. The infection can cause: Flu-like symptomsJoint painSeveral kinds of ticks carry the bacteria. Woodlands and tall grass are their habitat.Tick bites are usually found on the body in hard to see placesremove the tick as soon as possibleIf you find a tickMonitor the person after a tick bite for several weeks and up to 30 daysThe best way to prevent Lyme disease is to avoid contact with ticks from April to Septembersocksgrasslands Thank you to Medscape References for information about Lyme Disease. By Linda Bueno, South Wales Resident, Retired RN, MEd and Volunteer at the Fauquier Free Clinic.

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Words From Our Patients

• Dr. Choudhary is the best infection disease doctor in VA, He carefully listens all the concerns of his patients

  Attiya Z.

• Office environment is very cozy. This doctor is amazing and very helpful and treated me nicely. Best doctor ever.

  Verified Patient

• Such a wonderful Doctor, he put me at ease and diagnosed my condition and treated me very professionally.

  Verified Patient

• Dr. Choudhary was awesome. I had Lyme disease for nearly 18 months. I was desperate. He told me exactly what to do and it worked.

  Verified Patient

• I went in for a severe respiratory infection. He explained and treated the condition very well. Definitely recommend best doctor in Leesburg area.

  Shani N.

• Great doctor with a lot of experience. Very kind and patient as well. One of the best doctors Ive been to.

  Andy B.

• He listens to all my concerns and he gives his honest and open opinion. This makes me extremely comfortable to be his patient.

  Omirah N.

• My wife developed severe cellulitis with sepsis. With his knowledge and professionalism over a period of 2 weeks, he saved my wifes leg. Superb treatment.

  Verified Patient

• Dr. Choudhary saved my life! I had a resistant infection and was in blinding pain. Dr. Choudhary gave me a different antibiotic and I immediately got well.

  Verified Patient

• He is awesome! My wife got Lyme Disease and none of the other doctors could diagnose/cure her and he did.

  John C.

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Nearby Virginia Beach Va Hospitals

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Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

The Tick

• RMSF is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected American dog tick.
• The infected tick must be attached to a human for only about four hours to transmit the bacteria.

Symptoms:

• RMSF is characterized by a sudden onset of moderate to high fever , severe headache, fatigue, deep muscle pain, chills and rash.
• The rash begins on the legs or arms, may include the soles of the feet or palms of the hands and may spread rapidly to the trunk or rest of the body.

Treatment

• Certain antibiotics such as tetracycline or chloramphenicol may be effective in treating the disease.
• RMSF can be fatal, so if you are concerned about symptoms, contact your doctor immediately.

Benefits Of Telemedicine For Lyme Disease

The study, entitled The Impact of Telemedicine in the Diagnosis of Erythema Migrans during the COVID Pandemic: A Comparison with In-Person Diagnosis in the Pre-COVID Era, compares clinical data of 439 patients with an erythema migrans rash before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.¹ Participants in the study were being treated at an Italian Dermatology Clinic. Most individuals with an EM rash were diagnosed using an in-person

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Lyme Disease In An African American Child With Downs Syndrome

Welcome to another Inside Lyme Podcast with your host Dr. Daniel Cameron. In this episode, Dr. Cameron discusses the case of a 3-year-old African American child with Downs syndrome, developmental delays and disseminated Lyme disease. By Dr. Daniel Cameron A case of disseminated Lyme disease in a child with skin of color was published by Bax and colleagues in the journal Pediatric Dermatology.¹ The child, who had trisomy 21 (Downs

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What Are The Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Symptoms are wide-ranging and can occur from three to 30 days after a bite. Not all ticks are infected with Lyme disease, so getting a tick bite is not a guarantee that you will develop it. If you did get bitten or spent time outside and you have any of following early Lyme disease symptoms, you should call the Infectious Diseases Tropical Medicine and Travel Clinic for an appointment:

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Do You Have Lyme Disease Symptoms And Answers

Early symptoms of the disease often manifest as a flu-like illness, with accompanying fever, chills, muscle aches, and joint pain. While the characteristic bulls-eye rash called erythema migrans is often present, many people develop a different type of rash or none at all. Moreover, a host of Lyme symptoms occur in other diseases, and as a result, many patients suffering from Lyme disease are misdiagnosed with conditions like fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and other psychiatric illnesses before being correctly treated.

If Lyme is not diagnosed or treated in its early stages, it transitions to a chronic, highly problematic late-stage disease, and symptoms increase in their severity. Untreated Lyme disease will eventually infect joints, the heart, and the nervous systemcausing nerve paralysis and meningitis, and difficulty with memory and concentration.

While one of the defining features of chronic Lyme disease is fatigue, Dr. Heyman discusses his own cases in which there were a myriad of presentations without any one defining symptom. Many of his patients had suffered severe cognitive decline, loss of executive function, memory problems, mood disturbances, chronic pain, cardiopulmonary problems and more. The debilitating effects of the disease then led to more devastating results: these patients often are unable to work, function in personal relationships, or complete simple daily activities without experiencing profound exhaustion.

Be Prepared For Your Doctor Visit

You can improve your chances of having an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment by providing your doctor with as much information as you can from the very start. The following checklist can be a good reminder of what to bring and discuss with your physician at your first visit:

• Have the tick tested and/or identified:If you were able to remove or find the tick that bit you, seal it in a glass or plastic container and consider sending it to IGeneX for testing. Additionally, photograph the tick and/or have the species identified ahead of time if possible. Knowing what kind of tick bit you and, in particular, whether it has tested positive for a tick-borne disease can be extremely helpful for your doctors diagnostic process. If the tick is still being tested when you see your doctor, you still may be able to start treatment based on the severity of your symptoms.
• Note possible exposure: Write down the places and dates that you believe you were exposed to ticksand the possible date and time of day when the engorged tick attached and fell off or was removed.
• Track your symptoms: Keep a running log of all symptoms youve noticed since the tick bite, even if youre no longer experiencing them. Be sure to include the days/times when symptoms appeared . For additional help, you can use IGeneXs Symptom Checker.
• Take pictures: Take pictures of any rashes or blisters that you may have noticed at the site of the tick bite or elsewhere on your body.

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Health Woes Lead To Self

Oppenheimer said Freitas, once wildly independent, increasingly depends on him as she struggles with her health. The two met when she was a single mom driving a Madison Metro bus and juggling classes at the UW-Madison. Oppenheimer had overheard her speaking in Portuguese, and he tried to put together a phrase that he could speak in the same language. That led to a first date and in 2011, marriage.

But these days, Oppenheimer said, his wife is very drained.

And even friends and family members question whether the symptoms Freitas describes are real.

“When everybody is saying that it is not Lyme,” Freitas said, “you start to question yourself.”

She tried a four-week course of doxycycline, the first-line antibiotics therapy for treating Lyme disease, prescribed by another rheumatologist. She began to feel better, with less pain and less brain fog. However, the symptoms returned once she completed the treatment. She even found herself starting to stutter.

Oppenheimer himself was diagnosed with Lyme disease as a 19-year-old. At the time, he was living less than 50 miles from Lyme, Connecticut, the community for which the disease was named.

He described an “arrogant unwillingness” by the medical establishment to recognize what he believes are his wifes ongoing symptoms of Lyme disease.