Chronic Lyme Disease Research Paper

Typical incubation periods between initial infection and symptom presentation is between 7 and 14 days. The classic symptomology indicating infection is the development of Erythema-Migrans, which is a bulls-eye shaped rash or legion that emanates from the site of the original tick bite. Although this is considered the characteristically identifiable symptom of early Lyme disease infection, studies have shown that as few as 35% of patients develop a rash (Nadelman et al., 1996). Other common indications of early Lyme disease include, flu-like symptoms and the development of Bell’s palsy. Common treatments for early stage cases include oral antibiotics and are highly effective in relieving infections. However, patients who do not receive treatment and develop CLD or acquire Post Lyme Disease Syndrome can experience significantly more severe health problems. Symptoms of these conditions include those found in early stages as well as, cognitive impairment, insomnia, neuropathy, and heart problems (Wormser et al., 2006). The nature of this bacterial infection and its increasing global incidence has made it a disease of significant interest in the public health and medical

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease may occur within a couple days after being bitten, but it can also take up to a month before symptoms develop. Your family caregiver should diagnose you Lyme disease, they will begin by asking you about your signs and symptoms. They will then check your skin for any unusual rashes and or attached ticks. During this you should make sure you tell your caregiver if you have removed a tick or have been in an area that ticks may live, such as sagebrush or wooded areas. Your caregiver may diagnose you with Lyme disease on the spot, but chances are you will have to be put through further testing. Testing can range from blood tests, lumbar puncture commonly known as spinal taps, and synovial fluid tests, which is the fluid that surrounds your joints. After being diagnosed, treatment for Lyme disease can be simple as taking medicine. Medicines can include antibiotics that kill the germs that causes the disease, anti-inflammatories that decrease pain and swelling, or steroids that can also reduce pain, redness, and swelling in your joints and or

Lyme disease, or lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease transmitted by ticks. Lyme disease is considered an emerging infectious disease because it’s incidence has increased over the past 20 years, and it was not identified until 1975 in the United States (CITE). Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in the United States. Lyme disease causes symptoms similar to that of influenza, and includes headache, chills, fever, lethargy, and muscle pain in the initial stages. A bulls-eye shaped rash at the site of the tick bite can also occur in those infected, but not all infected persons develop the rash. The rash typically develops three to thirty days after the person is bitten. Later

What is Lyme disease? Should it be measured as a true “illness”? These questions are being asked thousands of times each year. Doctors, scientists, and patients all around the United States desire to comprehend what this infection indeed is and how to deal with it. The steps to healing and treating this disease have been very controversial. The idea of Lyme disease being a chronic illness has also been up for debate recently. Do we understand enough about this tick borne illness to accurately benefit those infected? How much treatment should doctors offer to their patients? Lastly, is Chronic Lyme disease a legitimate disease or are its patients just crying out for attention? These are just a few questions Americans hope the Lyme Disease Control Board and doctors will soon be able to answer.

The threat of Lyme disease is an ever growing concern especially due to the fact that late stage Lyme has no cure and early stages are hard to diagnose. The

The first stage involves the hallmark of the disease, having a bullseye like rash known as erythema migrans at the site of the bite, and also flu like symptoms such as fatigue, fever, and headache. Not all individuals experience the erythema migrans so it is not a required finding for the diagnosis of the disease. If left untreated, the disease will advance to the second stage. The second stage is known as the early disseminated stage, and is when the infection has progressed to other areas of the body. It can involve additional erythema migrans on different parts of the body, Bell’s palsy, inflammation of the spinal cord, swelling the joints, and heart palpitations. Like other spirochete infections, such as syphilis, the disease can have various asymptomatic periods (Bhate, 2011). The third stage, can result in arthritic bouts and neurological issues such as numbness in different parts of the body and/or short term memory

Lyme borreliosis or Lyme disease can be devastating both physically and mentally for victims. The disease is transmitted by a vector, specifically a tick, which infects their host by biting and infecting them with pathological spirochete bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi (Muschart & Blommaert, 2015). There are several species of Borrelia globally, and as a group, the bacteria are referred to as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Pearson, 2015). The disease originated from, Lyme Connecticut, of which it was named, after a patient was mistakenly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when the cause of their disease was B. burgdorferi or Lyme disease (Snow, 2013). Lyme disease is classified as one of the most common and growing vector-born disease in the United States as well as Europe (Snow, 2013). Understanding how Lyme disease progresses through the body as well as the disease’s signs and symptoms are essential to understanding how to treat the disease and stop it from spreading throughout the body with destructive results. With a disease as potentially devastating as Lyme disease, early treatment is required for a better outcome (Pearson, 2015). This research paper will discuss the pathophysiology of three Lyme conditions known as Lyme arthritis, Lyme neuroborreliosis, and Lyme carditis and provide an overview of the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and treatments, and how to prevent infection.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is typically spread by ticks or most commonly known as deer ticks. It's estimated that over 300,000 people are diagnosed with lyme disease every year. Lyme disease is easily misdiagnosed  because its symptoms are closely related to other conditions. This disease could affect any part of the body , like the brain , nervous system , muscle and joints and the heart. Lyme disease can commonly mistaken for a number of other diseases such as chronic fatigue syndrome , fibromyalgia , multiple sclerosis , and various other ones.  Signs of early lyme disease feel like the flu and have the same symptoms.

Physicians in Canada have not been properly exposed to the symptoms of clinical Lyme disease; therefore it has become difficult to diagnose a patient with clinical Lyme disease. Professional organizations, such as International Lyme and associated disease society, and Lyme literate medical doctors, have acknowledged the uncommonness of Lyme disease in Canada (Magnotta, 2015). Canada has been highlighted with concerns of misdiagnosis and the increased cost in public health care. The lack of research and resources in Canada, have caused physicians to dismiss the clinical symptoms of Lyme disease, and diagnose patients with a variety of other illnesses, such as fibromyalgia, chronic Fatigue syndrome, to name a few, or something less substantial such as increased anxiety or stress (Magnotta, 2015). A case study presented in Hospital News has recognized that the rarity of symptoms requires hospitals and clinics to do excessive amounts of testing and the patient is sent to different specialists. These chronic illnesses are associated with bacteria, but the Canadian health system needs to recognize that the underlying diagnoses are infections, where Lyme disease

The disease can affect a human’s skin, joint, neurologic and/or cardiac manifestations. Early Lyme is 2 to 30 days prior to the tick bite, which includes fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen nodes. Late Lyme would be weeks to years after the tick bite, which include episodes of dizziness or shortness of breath and problems with short-term memory. Early Lyme can be treated with antibiotics and late Lyme can be treated with IV antibiotics. In the absence of neurologic or cardiac symptoms, treatment recommendations for adults would be a 14-day course of oral antibiotics. Doxycyline 100 mg twice daily is the preferred treatment; alternatively, amoxicillin 500 mg three times daily or cefuroxime axetil 500 mg twice daily may be prescribed (History of Lyme Disease | Bay Area Lyme Foundation. n.d.). The most common diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are indirect ones. Two-tiered testing uses two tests. The first is a screening test that should detect anyone who might have the disease. Tests that do this well have are regarded as having high sensitivity. This test is followed by a second test that is intended to make sure that only people with the disease are diagnosed. Tests that do this well have high specificity (Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis, based on your medical history, symptoms and exposure to ticks. n.d.). Diagnose of Lyme can be difficult to detect because

bodily functions, especially in the nervous system (1). It occurs because of the effect of bacterial infection, a Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which is blood-borne to a person by infectious ticks (1). The disease is more common in North America and Europe, especially in wilderness areas and grassland (1). Lyme disease is classified into phases according to the speed and the extent of the infection in the body. Early diagnosis and treatment prevent the patient from reaching the late phase, so it is important to be aware of the two phases of Lyme disease, which are the early disease phase that has two stages, and the late disease phase.

It is recommended that people are aware of what signs and symptoms to look for because the sooner treatment is administered the better chances are for a good outcome. Symptoms occur in stages and may be different for different people. In the early stage, it is common to not have any symptoms. One of the first signs is a rash around the bite site which can resemble a bullseye or just be a patch of redness. It is not usually painful or itchy. This rash should go away in a few days and does not always mean Lyme Disease will occur. The first symptoms of Lyme Disease may include fever, headache, joint aches and swollen lymph nodes. Second stage symptoms can include nerve pain, meningitis and facial paralysis. Stage Three symptoms are similar to arthritis with joint pain, mild memory loss and numbness and/or tingling in hands and feet.

Imagine someone who loves the outdoors and loves life. While they are out and about doing what they love, they are unknowingly bitten by a deer tick. They start to develop a few symptoms and get diagnosed with Lyme disease some time later. Their whole life will be different forever. How does this happen? What is Lyme disease? Lyme disease is classified as a zoonosis, a disease that is spread from animals to humans. Humans acquire this disease through the bite of contaminated deer ticks. The tick contracts different kinds of Borrelia bacteria by feeding on deer and mice. Any human that the tick bites afterwards may be at risk for developing the disease. Once the Borrelia enters the human bloodstream, the bacteria begins attacking body systems. Some of the organs include the brain, heart, and joints, but all organs are at risk. Symptoms include aches anywhere on your body; joints, head, stomach, heart. Some people have also experienced memory loss or confusion, shaking, and flu-like symptoms. Different people have different symptoms. It’s crazy to think that one

Lyme disease is caused by a spirochete— spirochete is a corkscrew-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. A group of children in Old Lyme, Connecticut, had mysterious arthritis-like symptoms and led to being identified in 1975. Because Lyme Disease symptoms copies many other diseases,Lyme Disease is also known as “The Great Imitator,”.

There is a treatment for lyme disease. Normally it is antibiotics for two to six weeks or oral antibiotics with a course of fourteen to twenty-one days. If the disease gets into your nervous system, you would have to get intravenous, or IV, antibiotics for fourteen to twenty-eight days. The type of antibiotic you are prescribes depends on what you are allergic to, your age, the stage of the disease, and the symptoms you have.