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Lyme Disease Causes Misery Nationwide

Tough to diagnose and treat, but it can be prevented

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 24, 2007

Lyme Disease • Lyme Disease Causes Misery Nationwide • FDA Warns Consumers About Alternative Lyme Disease Treatment • Experts See Rise In Tick-Borne Disease • Lyme Disease Not Easy to Prevent, Dignose or Treat

Lyme arthritis is a tough, tough, tough, tough disease. It is tough to prevent, diagnose, treat and live with.

For starters, the tiny Ixodes tick which carries it is tough to see and avoid. It looks sort of like a spec of pepper. You can find it coast to coast in all fifty states in wooded, grassy or bush-covered areas, so anyone can get it.

The actual culprit is B. Burgdorferi. That's the germ the tick injects while it's feeding on your blood.

And there are a lot of cases. Reported cases of Lyme disease have more than doubled since 1991, when Lyme became a nationally notifiable disease, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report also said 93 percent of reported cases were concentrated in 10 states.

It most commonly occurs in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and North-Central states. Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin had the most cases. But it can occur anywhere and cases have been reported from every state.

The CDC report says that during 2003-2005, a total of 64,382 Lyme disease cases were reported. In 1991 fewer than 10,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported.

That’s a lot of misery, because the disease can really hit you hard.

Bulls eye

About 75% of folks with Lyme Arthritis start with some kind of rash a few days after they are bitten. The classic is a “bulls eye” rash with a dot in the middle, a clear zone and redness on the edges. The rash can start small and spread up to ten inches.

Lyme arthritis can cause a flu-like illness with tiredness, trouble thinking, muscle and joint aches and a flu. Left untreated it can cause major league arthritis with joint swelling and damage your heart, brain, and nervous system.

It can make you sick a few days, weeks, or even months after the tick bites you. That’s one of the reasons the diagnosis of Lyme Arthritis is tough and often missed.

The tick is small and hard to see. The initial rash may be hard to pick up. Many people don’t know they have been bitten or forget about the bite. They can get sick weeks later, so their doctor may not think about Lyme Arthritis.

Two different blood tests can help solve the problem.

Doctors use a screening test called an ELISA test to look for antibody against the Lyme Arthritis germ. If they suspect the illness they follow up with a more accurate test called a Western Blot test.

Unfortunately, the tests are not 100% accurate. They may not turn positive for a few weeks after a tick bite, so you can have Lyme Disease and not know it for a while. Also, occasionally people are told they have Lyme Arthritis based on the blood tests when in fact, they do not have it.

Treatment

If you’ve been bitten by a tick or have Lyme Arthritis, thankfully you can be treated. Antibiotics work for most folks.

Your doctor may give you a single dose of Doxycline, a kind of Tetracyline. If you are sick or have positive blood tests you may need three weeks or so Doxycycline or or Amoxacillin, a kind of Penicillin. Other antibiotics like Cephalosporins, erythromycin or Zithromax are also used.

Really sick people need intravenous antibiotics.

Prevention

The best way to deal with Lyme Arthritis is to avoid it. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to prevent the disease.

If you live in wooded or grassy areas or work outside, wear light colored clothing so you can see ticks and clothe up from head to toe. Wear long sleeves and long pants. Tuck your pants into your boots.

Use insect repellant like DEET on your skin and Permethrim on your clothes. Check yourself for ticks daily. If you find one, take it right off and call your doctor. Removing it quickly it may help prevent trouble.. Ticks have to stay on you for a day or so before they can infect you.

Lyme arthritis is a tough disease, but you can be tougher.

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