Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria, The infection is most often passed during the bite of a deer tick. The tick is very small, so many people with Lyme disease don't know they have been bitten. Tests for Lyme disease are not always accurate early in the disease. If you were in a high-risk area and you have found a tick swollen with blood attached to you, or a tick that may have been attached more than 36 hours, you should be treated with a one-time dose of antibiotics to prevent Lyme disease. It is OK for pregnant women too. If the disease is suspected, treatment may start before testing confirms the infection. A 2 to 4-week course of antibiotics is the standard treatment.

If untreated, the infection may spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

• Early symptoms . These may appear in a few days to a month after the tick bite. Erythema migrans (EM) rash occurs in about 70% to 80% of infected persons.. The rash appears within 3 to 30 days after a tick bite, with an average of about 7 days. The rash gradually expands over several days, potentially reaching 12 inches or more in diameter. Although it may feel warm to the touch, it is seldom itchy or painful. The rash may exhibit a distinctive target or "bull's-eye" appearance as it clears in the center while enlarging. It can appear on any part of the body. There may be fever, chills, severe tiredness (fatigue), body aches, joint pain, swollen lymph glands, and headache. In time, the rash goes away, even without treatment. But that doesn't mean the infection has gone away. In some cases, early local symptoms or rash never develop.

• Late-stage symptoms. These may appear weeks to months after the bite. These can include weakness in an arm or leg, headache, fever, numbness and tingling in the arms or legs, joint pain and swelling, confusion, and memory loss. There may be more EM rashes over the body along with other symptoms, such as facial weakness, nerve pain, trouble breathing, and heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat.

• Post-Lyme symptoms. Many people will have ongoing symptoms even after Lyme disease is treated and cured. It is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. They may include fatigue, body aches, joint aches, and headaches, which generally improve with time. Repeated courses of antibiotics don't help these symptoms to go away faster. And having the symptoms after a course of treatment doesn't mean that the Lyme bacteria is still active in the body.

Diagnosis of Lyme disease may be done based on signs and symptoms, a history of tick bite, and a blood test to find antibodies against the infection. When the infection is treated correctly, the chance of cure is very high. In some cases, a second or third course of antibiotics may be needed. Follow your healthcare provider's directions about treatment.