The Port Macquarie News from Australia published a medical article on September 17, 2010, with a report of Lyme disease hitting Australia. Two persons tested positive for this disease, caused by a kind of bacteria. Although the number infected is low, it is still a cause for concern, as it can be an epidemic if there is no careful handling of the situation, to keep it under control.The cause of the disease is unclear. There are speculations that ticks might be carrying the Lyme bacteria. There are records of deaths arising from this disease in areas that are far away from Lyme, which is in Connecticut, and where they identified the first case of this disease.Hence, all of us must remain vigilant about ticks and tick bites, which may be a potential carrier of this disease. It is necessary to check on all potential tick breeding spots to avoid this condition from becoming epidemic.
Symptoms & Treatment Of Lyme Disease
Symptoms
The common symptoms for Lyme disease include joint aches, fever, general tiredness and headaches at the onset. However, these symptoms are also common in other medical ailments; hence, a more accurate diagnosis of Lyme disease is difficult. Another more definite symptom of Lyme disease is a distinct ‘bulls eye’ redness or rash.
Sometimes the screen test may give false results, unless one performs a more expensive test method, such as Western Blot test. If you are unsure of the symptoms, always check with your physician for a positive diagnosis and avoid any serious consequences.
Consequences
If this disease goes unchecked, greater health issues can generate, as the bacteria can move into the bloodstream and spread to the joints, heart and brain. These more serious health issues will be harder to treat and more complicated to deal with, than just the Lyme disease.
Treatment
It is easy to treat Lyme disease with a good dose of antibiotics, but the symptoms may persist after the eradication of the bacteria, which might lead one to think that the disease still exists. Studies have shown that 0.5%-13% of Lyme recovered patients still exhibit symptoms of the disease, which casts doubts about the ongoing treatment of this disease. This could be due to the inability of many doctors to identify clearly the exact causes of this disease, such as the strain of bacteria.
Tick Carriers
It is urgent and important for all to note tick bites and to monitor their healing, in order to curb the onset of Lyme disease, as many animals tend to carry hundreds of ticks on themselves, with a female tick laying at least 2,000 eggs at a time. One should be careful if in contact with animals, especially the deer, where ticks may abound.Ticks are too small to get detected by the naked eye, as they are adept in hiding in difficult parts of the human body, such as the groin, armpit or behind the knees. Act quickly on Lyme disease to prevent serious long-term health conditions, such as neurological and cardiac damages.
