Lyme Disease Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by the tick sting. Most common symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache and erythema, as these symptoms are met in many other diseases, it must be done a differential test before establishing a diagnosis.

Isodex scapularis, the deer tick or black tick is the vector of the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, which is responsible for Lyme disease. It usually lives in mice, squirrels and other small animals.

The tick has three stages of development: larva, nymph and adult. When an uninfected tick feeds with the blood of a sick animal, it also ingests the bacteria that will live in the tick's intestine, infecting other animal or even humans at the next meal.

Most cases of infection occur at the end of spring or summer when the tick nymphs are more active and human activities in the natural environment are frequent.

The ticks also live in deer's fur, animals that can not contact Lyme disease. The treatment is antibiotic.

Causes

Deer tick is the principal cause of Lyme disease, but it was not shown if other ticks may or may not be responsible.

Other causes of Lyme disease:

- Interpersonal contact

- Transmission during pregnancy

- Blood transfusions

- From animals.

Interpersonal transmission: it hasn't been proved yet that Lyme disease can be transmitted throw kiss, touch or sexual contact with an infected person.

During pregnancy, Lyme disease can lead to the infection of placenta and abortion, though there were no recorded adverse effects on the fetus if the mother is treated properly with antibiotics. It wasn't proved Lyme disease transmission throw breast feeding.

Although there haven't been found yet cases of infection throw blood transfusion, it has been discovered that the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease survives in the blood preserved for donations. The people who are infected with Lyme disease can donate blood 12 months after the last dose of antibiotic treatment.

Pets can contact Lyme disease, but there are no proves that they could become vectors for the human body; instead, animals bring ticks in the house and garden.

Lyme disease is not transmitted through the meat of deer or squirrel, but it must be cooked at appropriate temperatures.

Symptoms of Lyme disease

The first sign of infection is usually a circular erythema. It occurs in 70-80% of people infected and debuts in the infected skin area, after a period of three up to thirty days. A distinctive feature of the erythema is the gradual expansion in time, reaching up to 30 cm. The erythema center can become normal colored as it extends, being compared to an ox-eye. It can be warm and painless. Some people develop other erythema in different areas over several days.

Other symptoms of Lyme disease:

- Fatigue

- Chills

- Fever

- Headache

- Cramps

- Lymphadenopathy.

In some cases, the erythema may be absent.

If it's untreated, the infection can spread in other parts of the body in a few weeks, leading to a multitude of symptoms:

- Hypotonic muscle on both sides of the face- Bell's paralysis;

- Severe headache because of meningitis

- Constant pain during sleep, leading to insomnia;

- Throb and dizziness;

- Migratory joint pain.

Most symptoms get remitted even without treatment. After months of infection, 60% of patients will have intermittent arthritis with severe joint pain and tumefaction, being affected especially the knees. Other 5 percent will develop chronic neurological problems: hands and legs pain, tingling, the reduced capacity to focus, temporary gaps in memory.

Most patients respond to treatment, especially if it is initiated early in the evolution of the disease, but a small percentage will present symptoms after years:

-muscle pain

-arthritis

-tiredness

-insomnia

-cognitive disabilities

Lyme disease treatment

The disease is treated with oral antibiotics (Cefuroxime axetil /Ceftin, Amoxicillin, Doxycycline). If the nervous central system and heart have been affected, it is required intravenous therapy. The treatment is maintained 14 up to 28 days.

Prophylaxis

Ways to prevent Lyme disease:

- avoid areas with ticks: forests, bushes- in May, June, and July.

- use special sprays against insects and wear long clothes, molded, in light colors;

- use pesticides.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease, www.nlm.nih.gov/.../lymedisease.html, www.emedicinehealth.com/lyme_disease/article_em.htm, familydoctor.org/online/.../home/.../257.html