Lyme Disease: Chronic Fatigue

At the time my doctor and I were under the impression that it would be a short recovery and we were very relieved that my symptoms would resolve quickly. However we were wrong. What we thought was going to be a month of antibiotics turned out to be three and a half years, two of which I was essentially confined to my bed. While my friends were off at football games, shopping, and attending school, I was doing what I could to avoid spending my nights in the emergency room. Every day was a struggle. I suffered from a variety of symptoms, including headaches, muscle pain, joint pain, dizziness, and fatigue. I would sleep for 14 hours and wake up exhausted, of course this was only on the nights were I wasn’t in too much pain too sleep. Despite how terrible Lyme disease was I am more than grateful that I was able to come out a stronger person. Without Lyme I do not think I would have the same determination, focus, or confidence that I posses

causes people to become a lot healthier and cut their chances of chronic diseases. (2)

A person can acquire Lyme disease by the bite of an infected tick. This disease is transmitted by deer ticks or black-legged ticks. Ticks are tiny in size and as their bite is painless, people might not even realize that they have been bitten. Once an infected tick attaches itself to the skin, it is able to transmit the bacteria. This bacteria eventually ends up in the bloodstream. The duration of attachment necessary to transfer

Lyme disease has emerged as the most common vector borne infectious disease in the United States and has presented a growing challenge to public health officials over the past three decades. The infection represents a significant disease burden to the population of the United States with nearly 30,000 new cases diagnosed per year and an estimated additional 270,000 annual incident cases that go unreported. The disease results from a bacterial infection with the spirochete bacteria B. burgdorferi. This bacterial agent is transmitted to humans from the bite of a tick and is most commonly associated Ixodes species blacklegged ticks. These ticks represent the largest genus of the family Ixodidae and mainly inhabit temperate forest or grassland

I chose to do my research paper on Lyme disease. During my research, I found a lot of interesting facts about Lyme disease. The disease is caused by bacteria, called Borrelia burgdorferi, which is only transmitted to humans when they are bitten by an infected tick. Lyme disease was first discovered in 1975, in Lyme, Connecticut, after a group of children were diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. This eventually led them to discover the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease was given its name in 1982, after the town of Lyme, Connecticut. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vectorborne illness in the United States. In 2014, it was the fifth most common Nationally Notifiable disease. Lyme disease is most prevalent in the northeast and upper Midwest.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted through the bite of one of several types of ticks. Borrelia burgdorferi (B burgdorferi) is the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. UMMC (2016) asserted that

Lyme’s Disease kept me from doing the things I love. I couldn’t swim, and had to quit my old swim team. I couldn’t hike, and had to be left behind from family adventures. I couldn’t hang out with friends, because I didn't have any. I was imprisoned to my ailing body, at eleven years

Lyme disease is an infection produced by bacteria called Borrelia Burgdorferi. This bacteria or germ is ordinarily found in shrews, deer, mice, and squirrels. Ixodes bugs, normally called deer ticks, often feed on the blood from an infected animal. When this happens, the tick then becomes a carrier of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and can infect you with this germ through your skin. Infected deer ticks are normally found in the northeast and upper Midwest United States because of the climate and humidity levels, and become more active in the late spring and early summer months after the birth of new larvae. Lyme disease is known to cause a skin rash called erythema migrans and can leave you problems with your joints, brain, heart, and nerves. The

Most Lyme disease cases are very serious. The disease creates symptoms that are similar to the flu. When you first catch the disease you may experience fever, chills, sweats, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea and general pain. Very rarely, Lyme disease may be fatal depending on which strain of the disease you caught.

Chronic Lyme disease specialists’ asserts that for some the Borrelia bacteria has become more prevalent. “If untreated, infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system, causing a large variety of symptoms which may persist over months or years” (Melisa) Additionally, when the bacteria is able to spread like this, according to medical officials that agree with Chronic Lyme diseases existence, if left untreated bacterial persistence can occur. When this happens treating the bacteria becomes a much harder and longer process. This viewpoint however is so divisive because the body that decides medical treatment of diseases of this class, the Infectious Disease Society of America, claims that Chronic Lyme doesn’t exist. Today many doctors shy away from the topic as those who support the existence of Chronic Lyme and try to treat patients risk losing the medical license. While this argument is riddled with claims of conflict of interest and fear mongering I believe taking care of the patient’s well being is paramount and that more care should be allotted to Chronic Lyme by American medicine as evidence points to the existence of Chronic Lyme.

Lyme is a disease that is transmitted through the bite of a tick. "It is caused by a spirochete – which is a corkscrew shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi" (About Lyme Disease. 2017). (Show Photo)

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 the most common vector-borne disease in the United States with approximately 30,000 cases reported a year1. The disease was first discovered in 1975 after a group of children were suffering from a rheumatoid arthritis like disease. One similarity all the children had was playing in wooded areas during the summer months in the area of Lyme, Connecticut. This led to the discovery of a new disease, Lyme disease. However, the bacteria that caused the disease was not isolated until late 1981 by Dr. Willy Burgdorfer during his research on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever2. Lyme disease has become an important public health problem in the Midwest and Northeastern United States with incidence rates steadily increasing.

A healthy diet and exercise plan may not seem to be active ways to prevent infection, but these life style choices can boost immunity so if infection occurs, the body is in a strong enough state to prevent extreme symptoms. Maintaining a healthy diet allows for the body to be ready for possible threats. Eating beneficial foods on the food pyramid and eating a day’s full dose of vitamins and nutrients will help keep the human body in prime condition. Also, exercising will maintain the body’s strength and allow for individuals to prepare for virus infection. Exercising thirty minutes a day can greatly impact overall body health. Eating healthy and exercising daily will boost the body’s immune system and prepare the body to fight against infection.

Nothing is more important than following a healthy diet. Eating the wrong foods or not eating enough of the right ones can deprive the body of the essential nutrients it needs to keep working at full power. Maintaining a healthy diet can help boost the immune system, improve