Thursday, March 21, 2024

What Happens With Lyme Disease

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How Do Dogs Act When They Have Lyme Disease

What Does Lyme Disease Do To Your Body?

Many animals can have Lyme disease and show no signs. In dogs, the most common signs include fever, loss of appetite, painful or swollen joints, lameness that comes and goes, swollen lymph nodes, and lethargy. If Lyme disease is left untreated it can lead to damage in the kidneys, nervous system, and heart.

Questions To Ask Your Veterinarian

If your dog has a positive Lyme test but no symptoms of the disease or protein in the urine, ask your veterinarian why he or she is recommending treatment. Experts currently recommend against antibiotic therapy under these circumstances because the dogs immune system is holding the bacteria in check and antibiotics are unable to eliminate the infection.

Dogs who have contracted Lyme disease do not develop prolonged, protective immunity and can be reinfected at a later date. Talk to your veterinarian about how best to prevent future infections. Options include measures to prevent the ticks that carry Lyme disease from biting your dog and Lyme vaccination.

When To Get A Lyme Disease Test

If you find a tick on your body, remove it and store it in an airtight container. Finding a tick does not mean you will get Lyme disease. It doesnt even tell the tick has bitten you yet. Deer ticks are known to travel for a couple of days before finding the perfect spot to try and embed themselves.

If you develop Lyme disease symptoms, however, you can take the tick with you to your doctor for examination and testing of Lyme disease. If you find a tick embedded in your skin, remove it with a tool like tweezers that can secure the tick while pulling it out. Make sure you get the whole tick, including the head, when removing it. If the head is not removed, it will simply become dead matter. However, it may still contain bacteria.

If you find an embedded tick, your doctor may want to test you for Lyme disease even if you havent experienced symptoms representative of the disease. Not everyone finds a tick on their body. Therefore, knowing the symptoms to look for can help you receive an early diagnosis.

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The Chance Of Getting Lyme Disease

Not all ticks in England carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

But it’s still important to be aware of ticks and to safely remove them as soon as possible, just in case.

Ticks that may cause Lyme disease are found all over the UK, but high-risk places include grassy and wooded areas in southern and northern England and the Scottish Highlands.

SINCLAIR STAMMERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/263611/view

Ticks are tiny spider-like creatures that live in woods, areas with long grass, and sometimes in urban parks and gardens. They’re found all over the UK.

Ticks do not jump or fly. They attach to the skin of animals or humans that brush past them.

Once a tick bites into the skin, it feeds on blood for a few days before dropping off.

Later Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Treatment for Lyme Disease

More serious symptoms may develop if Lyme disease is left untreated or is not treated early. These can include:

  • pain and swelling in the joints
  • nerve problems such as numbness or pain in your limbs
  • memory problems
  • difficulty concentrating

Some of these problems will get better slowly with treatment. But they can persist if treatment is started late.

A few people with Lyme disease go on to develop long-term symptoms similar to those of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. This is known as post-infectious Lyme disease. It’s not clear exactly why this happens. It’s likely to be related to overactivity of your immune system rather than continued infection.

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How Common Is Untreated Lyme Disease

Its difficult to get exact numbers when it comes to Lyme disease, in part because theres only limited accounting of the conditions frequency overall, and its often misdiagnosed or mistaken for other conditions.

Currently, its estimated that 476,000 people develop it in the United States every year, with 81% of the cases clustered in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and mid-Atlantic regions.

A significantbut shrinkingproportion of those with the disease end up progressing without treatment. Current estimates are hard to come by. In 2012, researchers estimated that about 16% of Lyme disease cases present without rashincreasing the chance that the case is missed, overall. From 1.6% to 7% of all infections have no symptoms.

Knowledge and awareness of this disease have grown over the past couple of decades, greatly improving outcomes. This improving prognosis is associated with better care and detection, leading to timelier intervention.

If you live in a hot spot area for black-legged ticks, never hesitate to reach out to your healthcare professional if youre feeling sick or have a rash.

What Is Lyme Disease And Can You Die From It

Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling, particularly the knees and less commonly in other joints such as the ankle, elbow and wrists. In rare cases, Lyme disease can lead to death usually because of complications involving infection of the heart. You may experience symptoms that last months to years after treatment.

Can Lyme disease kill you?

But, if you dont treat it in time, the consequences can be fatal. If it is not treated properly or if it is not treated at all, Lyme disease can spread to the heart, joints and also to brain. In some cases a patient can get chronic Lyme disease or neurological Lyme disease, which may lead to death.

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Welcome To The School Of Lyme 6 Tips For Those Newly Diagnosed With Lyme Disease

Every day, I receive emails from people who have recently been diagnosed with Lyme disease. As most of us do when we hear a new medical term or leave a doctors office, these people frantically search the web looking for information. Sometimes they come across one of my blog posts. Then they write with questions about treatment, with requests for finding a good doctor and with prayers that I will be able to offer them some hope. Most of all, they want to know: What do I do to get better?

Because I find myself offering the same responses to many such patients, I thought I would create a School of Lyme For the Newly Diagnosed. Consider this a brief survey course on tick-borne illness, open to anyone who wants to learn the basics of what to do when you get a Lyme diagnosis.

Lesson 1: Its Lyme, not Lymes!

Its important to know the correct name of your disease! Many people mistakenly call it Lymes disease, assuming it was discovered by a Dr. Lyme. In fact, Lyme is named for the town in which it was first detected: Lyme, Connecticut. As for the names of co-infections, those are not as simple, but should still be part of your working vocabulary well get to those in Lesson 5.

Lesson 2: All cases are different

Lesson 3: Find an LLMD

Lesson 4: Get tested for co-infections

Lesson 5: Take probiotics

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own.

Can You Live With Lyme Disease And Not Know It

Lyme Disease: Is The Tick-Borne Illness Even Real?

One of the only reliable ways to know whether or not you have Lyme disease is through a lab test. This means that if symptoms go unnoticed, it is possible to live with the disease for weeks, months, or even years and not realize it. This is why its crucial to get tested if you suspect you could have contracted Lyme disease.

LetsGetCheckeds at-home Lyme Disease Test can identify Borrelia antibodies in the blood, which can indicate the presence of Lyme disease . Online results will be available within 2-5 days and our dedicated clinical team will be available to help throughout the process to answer any questions you may have.

You should consider taking the test if:

  • You are presenting with symptoms of Lyme disease
  • You live in a place that is rich in vegetation or a woodland area
  • You live in Northern America or Northern Europe
  • You go camping or hiking on a regular basis, particularly during the Summer or Autumn
  • You come into contact with larger woodland animals on a regular basis

If you develop the erythema migrans rash, or if you experience any neurological symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately.

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Early Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Early symptoms will typically develop 1 to 4 weeks after being bitten, however, they can appear anytime between 3 to 30 days after exposure.

Many people with early-stage Lyme disease develop a distinctive circular red rash usually, but not always, at the site of the tick bite.

The rash is often described as looking like a bulls-eye on a dart board and is known as erythema migrans. The affected area of skin will be red and the edges may feel slightly raised.

The size of the rash can vary significantly and it may expand over several days or weeks. Typically, its around 15cm across but it can be much larger or smaller than this.

Some people may develop several rashes on different parts of their body. However, around one in every 3 people with Lyme disease do not report seeing a rash.

As well as a rash, people with early Lyme disease may experience any of the following:

  • flu-like symptoms such as fever and sweats, chills, fatigue, neck pain or stiffness, headaches, joint or muscle pains
  • paralysis of the facial muscles, typically only on one side of the face
  • nerve pains, which may be shooting, sharp or prickly and which follow the course of the nerve

What Is The Outlook For Someone With Lyme Disease

Most of the people who get Lyme disease and receive treatment early will be fine. Treatment can cure Lyme disease but you might still have some long-term effects. Untreated Lyme disease may contribute to other serious problems but its rarely fatal.

Post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome

Even after proper treatment, some people may experience lingering fatigue, achiness or headaches. This is known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome or PTLDS. The symptoms dont mean that you still have an infection. PTLDS probably wont respond to additional antibiotics. The majority of people in this group will have symptoms that resolve at some point over the next six months.

Chronic Lyme disease

Chronic Lyme disease is a term used by some for a condition in a person who had Lyme disease and the symptoms of PTLDS. Some people consider chronic Lyme disease to be the same as PTLDS. However, some people receive a chronic Lyme disease diagnosis without a Lyme disease diagnosis. Sometimes, extended treatment with antibiotics helps.

This term may be why some people think a Lyme disease infection can occur without being bitten by a tick. There isn’t enough proof that mosquitoes can transmit Lyme disease. Many researchers dislike using the term chronic Lyme disease.

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What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease can affect different body systems, such as the nervous system, joints, skin, and heart. The symptoms of Lyme disease are often described as happening in three stages. Not everyone with Lyme has all of these, though:

  • A circular rash at the site of the tick bite, typically within 12 weeks of infection, often is the first sign of infection. Its considered typical of Lyme disease, but many people never get one.

    The rash sometimes has a bulls-eye appearance, with a central red spot surrounded by clear skin that is ringed by an expanding red rash. It also can appear as an growing ring of solid redness. Its usually flat and painless, but sometimes can be warm to the touch, itchy, scaly, burning, or prickling. The rash may look and feel very different from one person to the next. It can be harder to see on people with darker skin tones, where it can look like a bruise. It gets bigger for a few days to weeks, then goes away on its own. A person also may have flu-like symptoms such as fever, tiredness, headache, and muscle aches.

  • The last stage of Lyme disease happens if the early stages werent found or treated. Symptoms can begin anytime from weeks to years after an infectious tick bite. In kids and teens, this is almost always in the form of arthritis, with swelling and tenderness, particularly in the knees or other large joints.
  • Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes

    Lyme disease in Canada: What we do and don

    The key to Lyme disease is prevention and this requires an interprofessional team approach. All healthcare workers including the nurse practitioner, pharmacist, and primary care provider should provide patient education on measures to prevent tick bites while hiking or working outdoors. In areas where ticks are common, cleaning up of the environment by removing the underbrush and spraying an insecticide may reduce the tick burden in the area. The outdoors person should be told to wear appropriate garments and be familiar with the skin features of the tick bite. The nurse should educate the patient on how to remove the tick from the skin and when to seek medical assistance. The pharmacist should educate the patient on medication compliance for those who have been confirmed to have acquired Lyme disease.

    Nurses should educate parents how to inspect their children for ticks at the end of an outdoor event, in an endemic area. While there are many repellants on the market, it is best to avoid them as the risk of harm is greater than any benefit. If one is going to use a repellant, DEET is the one product that is safe, however, it is not 100% effective. finally, the pharmacist should educate the patient about the harms of taking prophylactic doxycycline a better strategy is to remove the tick as soon as it is visualized.

    Outcomes

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    Symptoms Of Post Treatment Lyme Disease

    • Include severe fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, & cognitive problems
    • Can significantly impact patients health and quality of life
    • Can be debilitating and prolonged

    Our research indicates the chronic symptom burden related to PTLD is significant. Although often invisible to others, the negative impact on quality of life and daily functioning is substantial for PTLD sufferers.

    The chronic symptom burden related to Lyme disease is considerable, as shown on the left side of the graph above, and statistically significantly greater than the aches and pains of daily living experienced by the control group, on the right.

    What To Expect At Home

    Home care for dogs with Lyme disease is relatively straightforward. Doxycycline is usually given by mouth twice daily for at least 30 days. Improvement in the dogs symptoms should be noted within 24-48 hours. If the dogs condition fails to improve in 72 hours or worsens at any time, call your veterinarian.

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    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:

    What Can You Do To Protect Yourself From Lyme Disease

    Think the Lyme Disease Rash is Always a Bull’s-eye? Think Again! | Johns Hopkins Rheumatology

    If you live or spend time in an area where Lyme disease is endemic and wear light-colored clothing with long sleeves, pants tucked into socks and hats that cover the head try to avoid areas with high grass and leaf litter.

    If you know you have been bitten by a tick, remove the attached tick promptly with fine-point tweezers.

    Do not try to burn or smother an attached tick, or use petroleum jelly, alcohol, nail polish remover or other home remedies. This may cause the tick to regurgitate infected bodily fluids into the bite wound.

    Wash your hands with soap and water after removing a tick, and avoid handling the tick. Some ticks secrete a cement-like substance that binds them to their host.

    Do not crush or squeeze ticks when you remove them from your skin. If you cannot easily grasp the ticks mouthparts with tweezers, leave the tick in place and get medical help.

    After removing the tick, clean your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. If you have a mild reaction to being bitten by a tick, such as redness around the bite site that may become swollen or itchy, apply an antiseptic to the area three times a day.

    If your bite is more severe, develops a red rash or flu-like symptoms occur, see your doctor immediately.

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    How To Remove A Tick

    A tick must remain attached to the skin for at least 36 hours to spread Lyme disease. The best way of preventing Lyme disease is to remove a tick as soon as possible.

    The blacklegged tick that spreads disease-causing bacteria resembles a tiny spider. Young ticks are around the size of a poppy seed, while adult ticks are around the size of a sesame seed. Ticks of all ages are reddish-brown.

    Below are some steps for tick removal.

    • Step 1: Use fine-tipped tweezers to gently grasp the tick near its head or mouth. Avoid squeezing the tick.
    • Step 2: Using the tweezers, pull the tick carefully and steadily away from the skin. Avoid yanking or twisting the tick, as this could cause its mouthparts to remain in the skin.
    • Step 3: After removing the tick, dispose of it by putting it in some alcohol or flushing it down the toilet.
    • Step 4: Apply antiseptic to the tick bite.

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