Six Lyme Disease Facts Everyone Should Know

Lyme disease can lead to long-term health problems and have an affect on your future. Gaining information pertaining to Lyme disease can help you in staying clear of it, diagnosing it early, as well as in getting proper treatment for it. Pertinent facts regarding the symptoms of Lyme disease are:

Nature and cause of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is an infection transmitted to human beings through a bite of an infected tick. The cause is a bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi. It enters your body where the bite is and spreads to your brain, muscles, heart and other organs. It got its name after some kids in the United States got infected with the disease in Lyme, Connecticut sometime in 1975.

These are the common Symptoms of Lyme Disease

You might not even show symptoms of Lyme disease until you have progressed to the later stage. There is a delay of anywhere from several weeks to a month after the tick bite before the onset of symptoms. These symptoms include a crimson rash appearing in a circular pattern around the tick bite site. You may feel symptoms generally associated with flue, like fever, head ache, fatigue, muscle pains etc. Eventually there can be swelling of the lymph glands and a numb sensation in the limbs. You will have more debilitating results later on if you don't get Lyme disease identified and treated quickly.

The Lyme Disease diagnosis

Once you show symptoms of Lyme disease and you know you have been bitten by a tick, do not hesitate to visit your doctor for proper diagnosis. The first thing a doctor will do is visually inspect any rashes that develop near the tick bite. If a rash does not manifest, but you develop flu-like symptoms days or weeks after the tick bite, the doctor will conduct a blood test two to five weeks after the tick bite and see if you have developed antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Earlier blood tests may not be useful, as your immune system usually takes two to five weeks to respond to such bacterial infection.

The remedies used to treat Lyme disease

Once it has been determined that the patient has Lyme disease, the appropriate physician will provide the patient with a prescription to help cure the disease. At the beginning a three to four week block of taking antibiotics like amoxicillin, doxycycline and cerfuroxime axetil can be used to treat Lyme disease. For more serious cases there might be more than one antibiotic prescribed and it may be given to the patient intravenously, for a quicker delivery.

The long-range impact and problems associated with Lyme Disease

It is important to get Lyme disease diagnosed and treated immediately. You will experience more serious complications that will affect your heart and nervous system if you don't get treatment early. These diseases include congestive heart failure, irregular heart rhythm, memory loss, meningitis, leg and arm numbness and face paralysis which is also known as Bell's Palsy. You may also develop chronic arthritis and inflammation of the eyes.

Prevention of Lyme disease

The tips which can assist you to avoid yourself from being affected by Lyme disease are following:

* When hiking and going camping, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants preferably tucked in your socks, and a hat.

* It is best to avoid high-risk woody and grassy areas during late spring, summer and early fall.

* Use insect repellents with DEET compound to help prevent tick bites.

* Always be on the lookout for ticks when you are outdoors or right after you come in from doing something outside. Research shows that you will not be infected by the borrelia burgdorferi bacteria until the tick has been attached to your skin for at least 24 hours, so it is essential to remove them immediately.

The risk of catching Lyme disease should not stop you from going hiking, because not all ticks carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. It is important that you know how to prevent the infection. Investigate the symptoms, and consult your doctor immediately if you notice any problems.

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN' 'http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd'><html><head><title>Articles Back Link | Six Lyme Disease Facts Everyone Should Know</title></head><body><h3>Six Lyme Disease Facts Everyone Should Know</h3><br><br> By: Patricia Strasser<br><br><p><p>Lyme disease can lead to long-term health problems and have an affect on your future. Gaining information pertaining to Lyme disease can help you in staying clear of it, diagnosing it early, as well as in getting proper treatment for it. Pertinent facts regarding the symptoms of Lyme disease are:</P><p>Nature and cause of Lyme Disease</P><p>Lyme disease is an infection transmitted to human beings through a bite of an infected tick. The cause is a bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi. It enters your body where the bite is and spreads to your brain, muscles, heart and other organs. It got its name after some kids in the United States got infected with the disease in Lyme, Connecticut sometime in 1975.</P><p>These are the common Symptoms of Lyme Disease</P><p>You might not even show symptoms of Lyme disease until you have progressed to the later stage. There is a delay of anywhere from several weeks to a month after the tick bite before the onset of symptoms. These symptoms include a crimson rash appearing in a circular pattern around the tick bite site. You may feel symptoms generally associated with flue, like fever, head ache, fatigue, muscle pains etc. Eventually there can be swelling of the lymph glands and a numb sensation in the limbs. You will have more debilitating results later on if you don't get Lyme disease identified and treated quickly.</P><p>The Lyme Disease diagnosis</P><p>Once you show symptoms of Lyme disease and you know you have been bitten by a tick, do not hesitate to visit your doctor for proper diagnosis. The first thing a doctor will do is visually inspect any rashes that develop near the tick bite. If a rash does not manifest, but you develop flu-like symptoms days or weeks after the tick bite, the doctor will conduct a blood test two to five weeks after the tick bite and see if you have developed antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Earlier blood tests may not be useful, as your immune system usually takes two to five weeks to respond to such bacterial infection.</P><p>The remedies used to treat Lyme disease</P><p>Once it has been determined that the patient has Lyme disease, the appropriate physician will provide the patient with a prescription to help cure the disease. At the beginning a three to four week block of taking antibiotics like amoxicillin, doxycycline and cerfuroxime axetil can be used to treat Lyme disease. For more serious cases there might be more than one antibiotic prescribed and it may be given to the patient intravenously, for a quicker delivery.</P><p>The long-range impact and problems associated with Lyme Disease</P><p>It is important to get Lyme disease diagnosed and treated immediately. You will experience more serious complications that will affect your heart and nervous system if you don't get treatment early. These diseases include congestive heart failure, irregular heart rhythm, memory loss, meningitis, leg and arm numbness and face paralysis which is also known as Bell's Palsy. You may also develop chronic arthritis and inflammation of the eyes.</P><p>Prevention of Lyme disease</P><p>The tips which can assist you to avoid yourself from being affected by Lyme disease are following:</P><p>* When hiking and going camping, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants preferably tucked in your socks, and a hat.</P><p>* It is best to avoid high-risk woody and grassy areas during late spring, summer and early fall.</P><p>* Use insect repellents with DEET compound to help prevent tick bites.</P><p>* Always be on the lookout for ticks when you are outdoors or right after you come in from doing something outside. Research shows that you will not be infected by the borrelia burgdorferi bacteria until the tick has been attached to your skin for at least 24 hours, so it is essential to remove them immediately.</P><p>The risk of catching Lyme disease should not stop you from going hiking, because not all ticks carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. It is important that you know how to prevent the infection. Investigate the symptoms, and consult your doctor immediately if you notice any problems.<br></P></p> <br><br> <b>Author Resource:-></b>  <br><br><b>Article From</b> <a href='http://www.articlesbacklink.com/'>Articles Back Link</a><br></body></html>