Articles
Lyme Disease - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
Methods
Lyme disease also called Lyme borreliosis, is
an infection that derives from a tick bite. It
is caused by a kind of bacteria (germ) called a
spirochete. This bacterium is usually found in
animals such as mice and deer. Lyme disease is
diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings
(e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to
infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful in
the later stages of disease. Most cases occur in
the Northeast, upper Midwest, and along the Pacific
coast. Mice and deer are the most commonly infected
animals that serve as host to the tick. Most infections
occur in the late spring, summer, and early fall.
Ixodes dammini is responsible for most of the cases
of Lyme disease in the northeastern United States.
These ticks are found in grassy areas (including
lawns), and in brushy, shrubby and woodland sites,
even on warm winter days. If left untreated, infection
can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous
system. Lyme disease is a vector-borne disease,
meaning that it is transmitted from one host to
another by a carrier- called a vector- that transmits
but does not become infected with the disease.
Lyme disease is an occupational concern for people
who work outdoors in certain areas infested with
ticks. A tick will settle anywhere on a human body,
but prefers warm, moist and dark places like the
crotch or armpits. If Lyme disease spreads to the
heart, the person may feel an irregular or slow
heartbeat. The disease varies widely in its presentation,
which may include a rash and flu-like symptoms
in its initial stage, followed by musculoskeletal,
arthritic, neurologic, psychiatric and/or cardiac
manifestations. It can affect people of any age.
The number of cases of the disease in an area depends
on the amount of ticks in an area and how often
the ticks are infected with the bacteria. The disease
can sometimes be difficult to diagnose because
the symptoms may mimic other diseases. Lyme disease
may cause symptoms affecting the skin, nervous
system, heart and/or joints of an individual. It
is named after the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut
where a cluster of cases was identified in 1975,
although clinical features of the disease had been
described in Europe as early as 1909. There are
more than 16,000 cases of Lyme disease per year
in the United States. People who spend time in
grassy and wooded environments are at an increased
risk of exposure.
Causes of Lyme disease
The common
causes and risk factor's of Lyme disease include
the following:
Lyme disease is caused by an infection
from a micro-organism (Borrelia burghdor feri),
itself
transmitted by a bite from the wood tick, a blood-sucking
parasite which normally lives on deer.
Risk factors
for Lyme disease include walking in high grasses,
other activities that increase
tick exposure, and having a pet that may carry
ticks home.
Having exposed skin.
People who
spend time in grassy and wooded environments are
at an increased risk of exposure.
Not removing ticks
promptly or properly.
The disease can be spread
when an infected tick bites a person and stays
attached for a period
of time.
Symptoms of Lyme disease
Some sign and symptoms related
to Lyme disease are as follows:
The first sign of
infection usually is a circular
rash that appears within 1–2 weeks of infection
but may develop up to 30 days after the tick bite.
Unusual or strange behavior.
Flu-like
symptoms. A fever, chills, fatigue, body aches
and a headache may accompany the rash.
Headache.
Stiff neck.
Joint inflammation in the knees and
other large joints.
Brain swelling (encephalitis)Causes-
learning difficulties, confusion, and dementia.
Some
people may experience heart problems- such as an
irregular heartbeat- several weeks after
infection, but this rarely lasts more than a few
days or weeks.
Treatment of Lyme disease
Here is list of the methods
for treating Lyme Disease:
Oral antibiotics- usually doxycycline for adults
and children older than 8, or amoxicillin or cefuroxime
axetil for adults and younger children- are the
standard treatment for early-stage Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is also treated with antibiotics.
Early Lyme disease responds very well to treatment.
In most cases, 14 to 30 days of treatment with
an antibiotic kills the bacteria.
Patients with certain neurological or cardiac
forms of illness may require intravenous treatment
with drugs such as ceftriaxone or penicillin.
Institute an oral regimen for
30 days.
Erythromycin (for people allergic to penicillin).
Wash
area around the tick bite and hands with soap and
warm water.
Patients with chronic arthritis that does not
respond to IV antibiotics may need a synovectomy
to eradicate the inflammatory arthritis in the
involved joint. |
