2. Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall a tick bite.
3. Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall the circular, or "bulls-eye" rash called erythema migrans (EM) that can occur at the site of the bite.
4. You can think of Lyme as having three categories:
* acute - the stage immediately following the bite of an infected tick. The classic sign of early local infection is the circular, outwardly expanding rash called erythema migrans (EM) which occurs at the site of the tick bite 3 to 30 days after the tick bite. The rash is red,
and may be warm, but is generally painless. It has the look
Lyme disease can progress to later stages even in patients who do not develope a rash.
* early disseminated- some patients with early disseminated Lyme disease may not have any history of symptoms, tick bites or skin rashes. This stage of Lyme develops within days to months after the tick bite. The infection spreads through the lymph system or bloodstream and affects the central nervous system and heart.
* chronic - This stage of Lyme may develop months or even years after the tick bite. Chronic Lyme can affect the skin, brain and nervous system, muscles, bones and cartilage.
5. Lyme is often called "the great imatator" and most often is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Lupus and other rheumatologic and neurological conditions.
6. At this time there is no reliable test for Lyme Disease. Lyme is diagnosed using both blood tests and clinical presentation. No blood test available today is 100% definitive in ruling in or ruling out Lyme disease. The CDC's (Center for Disease Control) established standards on the blood tests were not set up for diagnostic reasons but for tracking a narrow band of cases for epidemiologic purposes. The blood tests check for antibodies to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. The most common blood test used today is the Western Blot. Other tests include the ELISA, and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). A seronegative test result does not necessarily rule out Lyme. False negatives are partly due to the test and partly due to antibody titers appearing to decline over time; thus while the Western Blot may remain positive for months, it may not be sensitive enough to detect chronic infection with the Lyme sprirochet. There are labs that specialize in Lyme disease testing such as iGenex. These labs are more sensitive, and accurate where typical labs may not be.
7. Early detection of Lyme disease is important. The earlier the diagnosis the better the prognosis. Antibiotics are the primary treatment of Lyme disease. Antibiotics are given orally, in combination, and/or parenterally (IV). There is controversy over the most effective length of time for this treatment. According to Dr. Burroscano, "It has been shown that the longer a patient has been ill with Lyme prior to the first definitive therapy, the longer the duration of treatment must be, and the need for more aggressive treatment." Early detection of Lyme is typically treated 4-6 weeks and Chronic Lyme treatment can last 4-6 months or longer. The reason for such prolonged treatment is due to the spirochete's very long generation time and periods of dormancy at which time the antibiotics are not effective.
8. As the bacteria is killed off, a release of endotoxins occurs faster then the body can handle. As a result, a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction is experienced in the form of fever, chills, headaches, and muscle pains.
9. There are very few doctors that are familiar with the different aspects of Lyme Disease. Many doctors are taught that Lyme Disease is rare and easily-curred and they may think its not a serious disease. With thousands of diseases and conditions to learn about, Lyme doesn't seem to rank very high with the majority of doctors, even though it is the most common vector-borne infectious disease in the U.S. Nearly 24, 000 new cases were reported to the CDC in 2002 and it is estimated that at least ten times that man cases are not reported. Unfortunately, the government hasn't made it easy on doctors to treat Lyme. It seems the only thing they can agree on is that Lyme comes from a bite from an infected tick and that its treated with antibiotics. All else is controversial. http://www.lymeinfo.net/opmcissues.html outlines some of the debate.
10. Lastly, the three areas someone with Lyme must focus on is rest (naps and limited activities), diet (no sugar including food that turns to sugar..a.k.a starches and carbs and avoiding food sensitivities), and being compliant with medications.
***The above information is only basic information about Lyme Disease that I, a patient and not a doctor, have gathered from the resources below. Lyme disease is a complex and controversial disease. The above, for example, doesn't even address the co-infections that can exist due to the tick bite. One of the best papers I have read on Lyme is by Dr. Burrascano and, although its lengthy, it will give you a great idea on the many aspects of Lyme. It can be found at: http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/B_guidelines_12_17_08.pdf#search=%22advanced%20topics%22
For more information on Lyme please also visit:
* http://www.ilads.org/lyme_disease/about_lyme.html (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease (Wikipedia on Lyme disease)
* https://health.google.com/health/ref/Lyme+disease
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herxheimer_reaction (Wikipedia on Herxheimer reaction)
* http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/index.htm (CDC)
* http://www.lyme.org (Lyme Disease Foundation)
* http://www.aldf.com/ (American Lyme Disease Foundation)
* http://www.lymenet.org (Lyme Disease Network)
* http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org (Lyme Disease Association)
.
