Lyme Disease FAQ

Lyme disease is an illness caused by bacteria. Certain ticks found on deer harbor the bacteria in their stomachs. Lyme disease is spread by these ticks when they bite the skin, which permits the bacteria to infect the body. Lyme disease is not contagious from an affected person to someone else. Lyme disease can cause abnormalities in the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system.

Lyme disease affects different areas of the body in varying degrees as it progresses. The site where the tick bites the body is where the bacteria enter through the skin. Initially, the disease affects the skin, causing an expanding reddish http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=1992rash often associated with "flu-like" symptoms. Later, it can produce abnormalities in the joints, heart, and nervous system.
In the early phase of the illness, within days to weeks of the tick bite, the local skin around the bite develops an expanding ring of unraised redness. There may be an outer ring of brighter redness and a central area of clearing, leading to a "bull's-eye" appearance. Patients often can't recall the tick bite (the ticks can be as small as the periods in this paragraph). Also, they may not have the identifying rash to signal the doctor. More than one in four patients never get a rash. The redness of the skin is often accompanied by generalized fatigue, muscle and joint stiffness, swollen glands, and headache resembling symptoms of a virus infection.
The redness resolves, without treatment, in about a month. Weeks to months after the initial redness of the skin, the bacteria and its effects spread throughout the body. Subsequently, disease in the joints, heart, and nervous system can occur.
The later phases of Lyme disease can affect the heart, causing inflammation of the heart muscle. This can result in abnormal heart rhythm and heart failure. The nervous system can develop facial muscle paralysis, meningitis, and confusion. Arthritis, or inflammation in the joints, begins with swelling, stiffness, and pain. Usually, only one or a few joints become affected, most commonly the knees. The arthritis of Lyme disease can look like many other types of inflammatory arthritis and can become chronic.

Generally, Lyme blood testing is helpful in a patient, with symptoms compatible with Lyme disease, who has a history of tick bite at least a month prior or unexplained disorders of the heart, joints, or nervous system that are characteristic of Lyme disease.

Most Lyme disease is curable with antibiotics. Early illness is usually treated with oral medicines, for example, doxycycline (Vibramycin), amoxicillin, or cefuroxime axetil. Therefore, if a person finds a typical "bull's-eye" skin rash (described above) developing in an area of a tick bite, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible. Generally, antibiotic treatment resolves the rash within one or two weeks. Later illness such as nervous-system disease might require intravenous drugs, for example, ceftriaxone (Rocephin).
For the relief of symptoms, pain-relieving medicines might be added. Rarely, even with appropriate antibiotics arthritis continues. The doctor also can inject cortisone into swollen joints or use oral medications, such as ibuprofen (Motrin, Nuprin), to reduce inflammation and improve function.
Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that is spread by tick bites.
Lyme disease can affect the skin, joints, heart, and the nervous system.
Lyme disease occurs in phases—the early phase beginning at the site of the tick bite with an expanding ring of redness.
Lyme disease is diagnosed based on the patient's clinical signs of illness and the detection of Lyme antibodies in the blood.
Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics.
For more information about Lyme disease, please visit the following site:
American Lyme Disease Foundation (http://www.aldf.com)
General Health Clinic encourages you to speak with your healthcare professional with questions or concerns regarding Lyme’s disease. The Clinic welcomes most major insurances along with Medicare and Medicaid. Payments by cash, credit cards, and debit cards are accepted. The clinic is located at the junction of highways 148 and JJ in Hopkins, Missouri. The office will be closed on July 11th, but will be open Saturday, July 12th. Appointments can be made by calling 660-778-3209.

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=407&pf=3&page=1