Lyme's Disease: Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention an Overview
Diagnosis of Lyme Disease
Upon your first visit to the healthcare provider, they will diagnose your condition. For Lyme disease diagnosis, the professionals will go through your health history to see if you have any underlying disease causing these symptoms. Furthermore, they will take a look at the tick bites and confirm your residential location or if you visited an endemic area.
The Healthcare provider will also conduct a physical exam ensuring the availability of rash or any other symptoms of Lyme disease. The doctor will not perform tests while you are in the early localized stage of the infection. Because the bite of the tick will not show any immediate effect on the body, a doctor has to wait for a week or two. Therefore, the doctor will perform blood tests after weeks after the infection for reliable results. Here are some tests that you may undergo during the diagnosis of Lyme disease:
Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay
ELISA test will ensure the availability of antibodies after the bite of B. burgdorferi.
Western Blot
Western blot confirms the positivity of the ELISA test. You will go through this test for the confirmation of B. burgdorferi proteins.
PCR or Polymerase Chain Reaction
PCR help to evaluate the symptoms related to the nervous system. The healthcare professional will take the samples from your joint fluid to evaluate you with Lyme arthritis. Because the diagnosis of CSF using PCR testing is low sensitivity, doctors will only suggest this test in rare conditions. The negative result from this testing does not indicate any final results.
Treatment of Lyme Disease
Regardless of which stage you are in, you can seek effective treatment from a professional healthcare provider. During the early localized disease, the doctor will recommend oral antibiotics for 10 to 14 days eliminating the infection. Here are some medications you can take for the treatment:
Amoxicillin, doxycycline, or cefuroxime are the first line of treatments for children and adults.
Amoxicillin and cefuroxime are helpful to treat the condition in a breastfeeding or nursing woman.
If your symptoms affect your cardiac or central nervous system, the doctor will prescribe Intravenous antibiotics to treat Lyme’s disease. Once the healthcare provider notices improvement in your condition, they will change your medications to oral treatment. You have to undergo this treatment for 14 to 28 days.
If you suffer from Lyme arthritis, late-stage symptoms, a doctor will recommend oral antibiotics for 28 days to reduce the symptoms.
Prevention from Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome
Treating a post-treatment Lyme disease can be difficult. Therefore, it is essential to take precautionary measures and avoid direct contact with the infection. Here is what you can do to reduce the risk of getting a disease and developing the symptoms.
Contact your doctor once you experience the initial symptoms. The doctor will observe the development of the signs for 30 days. You shouldn’t completely depend on the doctor but learn and identify the early Lyme disease stage signs. Upon identification, immediately consult with the doctor and seek treatment.
A professional doctor will prescribe antibiotics at the early stage of the condition reducing your risk of spreading the infection throughout your body. Here are some symptoms of Lyme disease you may notice within 3 to 30 days of the bite.
Headache
Itching
Bull’s eye rash on the bite
Dizziness and faintness
Neck stiffness
Fatigue, general feeling of illness, and chills
Swollen lymph nodes
Joint and muscle pain or swelling
Conclusion
The bite of a diseased tick increases your risk for developing post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. The condition may also lead to a chronic situation. When this happens, you may experience symptoms for weeks, months, and years after the tick bite.
If you didn’t seek medical help soon after the bite during your first stage, your condition might become severe. To avoid the severity, a professional healthcare provider will recommend an antibiotic. Consuming the antibiotics will reduce your risk of developing long-term symptoms of Lyme’s disease.
However, it is no possible way to determine the severity of your condition as the symptoms may vastly vary from one individual to another. Also, it would be difficult for a professional doctor to anticipate the duration for which you suffer from this condition.