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Lyme Disease - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis

Lyme disease is a systemic infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings , and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful in the later stages of disease. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that causes signs and symptoms ranging from rash and flu-like fever and body aches to more serious ones including joint swelling, weakness, fatigue and temporary paralysis.

The disease is actually a bacteria spread from the bites of infected ticks. It is easy to see why anyone spending time outdoors may get infected. Originally, the disease was thought to be delegated to the Northeastern part of the country. The first case were diagnosed near the small town of Lyme, Connecticut. The name of the town stuck with the disease and is known today as Lyme disease.

Causes

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi which is most often acquired from the bite of an infected Ixodes, or black-legged, tick, also known as a deer tick. Borrelia is a gram negative bacterium. Lyme disease in Europe is more often caused by Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii. areas of New York, where Lyme disease is common, over half of the ticks are infected. Lyme disease has been reported most often in the Northeastern United States, but has been reported in all 50 states as well as China, Europe, Japan, Australia and the parts of the former Soviet UnionIt is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.

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.

Symptoms

Lyme disease has many symptoms, but skin symptoms, arthritis and various neurological symptoms are usually present. Conventional therapy is with antibiotics. The first and most common sign is a "bull's-eye" rash, or a ring of inflamed skin surrounding the initial tick bite or a raised rash. Often the victim develops a fever, and fatigue. Headache, muscle and joint aches are other symptoms. Left untreated Lyme Disease can cause meningitis, tremor, pain and even hallucinations and memory loss. Symptoms usually appear in 1-2 weeks, but can be as long as one month.

Other symptoms are fever, headache, stiff neck, and fatigue. Muscle and joint pain may also be present. These symptoms may last several weeks. If left untreated, other complications can develop. Meningitis, facial palsy, heart problems and arthritis are a few of the complications that may occur.

Other symptoms are also evident. If you are not treated by a doctor for your condition, you can develop conditions in which you have flare ups of arthritis like conditions. Your joints can become swollen and painful. Sometimes this will last for days, other times for months at at ime. It doesn’t have to be the same joint affected each time either. About 15 percent of patients that have lyme disease end up with this symptom. Yet another symptom is that of an attack of the nervous system. Here, you can experience other illnesses like meningitis or even temporary paralysis of facila muscles. Limbs and the circulatory system can become weakened or lessened in their abilities.

Diagnosis

Patients who are diagnosed immediately after getting infected seem to have the best chance of quick and complete recovery when they begin antibiotic treatment immediately. Yet Lyme Disease, which has been nicknamed the Great Imitator, can mimic the symptoms of at least a hundred other medical conditions. Unsuspecting patients and their physicians simply may not know which tests to administer in the face of so many possibilities. Lyme disease is so often misdiagnosed that if and when the patient does eventually receive a correct diagnosis, their condition may have already become chronic.

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