Classic Diagnosis and Treatments for Pernicious Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a form of infection that gets spread after being bitten by a tick which is a carrier of the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium. Ticks usually contract the bacterium subsequent to having bitten animal forms such as deer, mice. Though majority of the individuals that get bitten by ticks do not always develop Lyme disease, but the condition is grave enough that every bite from a tick should be medically examined. The likelihood of catching the disease amplifies the longer time period the tick stays latched to the body.

In one to four weeks following an infected tick bite, majority of the individuals would start experiencing a number of signs of Lyme disease like a spherical rash that appears increasing – erythema migrans – on the bite mark location in nearly seventy to eighty percent of the occasions. Several others experience flu-similar signs inclusive of fever, chilly sensations, headache, exhaustion, enlarged lymph nodes, joint and muscle aches.

In case not spotted early on and treated, it spreads to the areas of the joint, heart and the CNS nearly one to four months after initially being bitten. Further rashes could develop and there could be sporadic phases of pains and weak sensations felt in the arm or leg region. Headache, fainting spells and recollection issues develop alongside palpitations and partial control lost of the face muscles. In the advanced stages of the disease (either due to improper treatment or not treated, generally developing several months after firstly been bitten) arthritis or joint inflammation becomes noticeable and could turn unremitting. Due to the nervous system getting affected paralysis of facial muscles or Bell’s palsy, unusual sensations because of the peripheral nerves being affected, meningitis and feeling dazed start to appear. Cardiovascular issues though less prevalent could develop, however could comprise of the heart muscle getting inflamed.

The highly responsive test to detect Lyme disease is the Western blot that search for 3 IgM antibodies and nine IgG antibodies to antigens present in the Borrelia bacteria that is the key offender in case of Lyme disease. The presence of 2 or 3 positive IgM banding is suggestive of a severe infection whereas 5 or above IgG banding is indicative of an undetermined time frame during the past.

Following an infected tick bite, the body takes a number of weeks to start launching an antibody response to the infection that is being released inside the system. Hence, a negative test outcome is often the case of a preliminary stage. The presently obtainable blood tests have ninety percent accuracy in spotting the disease. A considerable proportion of patients do not have the bull’s eye like rashes at first or any form of rashes.

Doxycycline is recommended by several specialists to be taken 3 days following the removal of the lodged tick as it would significantly lower the chances of developing Lyme disease in spite of the tick being a carrier of the organism.

A few specialists recommend treatment with 3 antibiotics inclusive of the intravenously administered ceftriaxone, for a number of months; despite investigations printed from scholastic centres have been unsuccessful in showing that highly belligerent treatment enhances results.

There are no means of confirming that Lyme disease has been totally cured. Antibody tests outcome reveal a positive outcome for several months even after the eradication of the organisms.

The clinical signs could endure as the bacterial forms survive in the tiny blood vessels which deliver to the nerves and other cells. In case there is blockage of these blood vessels due to inflammation, then patients could remain symptomatic even after the death of all the organisms in the body.

As Lyme disease mimics a number of other viral, bacterial and malarial parasitic forms hence it comes as no shocker that there is either overtreatment or under-treatment of a number of patients.