Lyme disease is an infection that derives from a Deer tick bite.

so keep your legs covered up when in the woods.

What is Lyme disease?

Borrelia is the Latin name for a bacterial infection resulting from a lyme disease deer tick bite. The tick (shown below) often buries its head into the skin.The resulting infection from the tick bite that can occur in 50% of cases in those who have been bitten by is a bacterial infection that derives from a tick bite. The disease has a variety of symptoms, including changes affecting the skin, heart, joints and nervous system. It is also known as borrelia or borreliosis.

The wood tick is found in many areas, particularly in forests where deer are common. A tick will settle anywhere on a human body, but mostly prefers warm, moist and dark places like the crotch. the back of the knees or armpits.

When the tick has found a suitable place on the body, it sticks in its probe to draw up blood, exposing the host to the risk of infection.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. Borrelia is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected hard ticks belonging to several species of the genus Ixodes. Early manifestations of infection may include fever, headache, fatigue, depression, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans.

Left untreated, late manifestations involving the joints, heart, and nervous system can occur. In a majority of cases, symptoms can be eliminated with antibiotics, especially if diagnosis and treatment occur early in the course of illness. Late, delayed, or inadequate treatment can lead to manifestations of Lyme disease which can be disabling and difficult to treat.

But now scientists have finally come up with a test that can quickly detect if you have Lyme disease, The LIPS (luciferase immunoprecipation system) test – which has been used for detecting other viral and fungal pathogens – is especially sensitive to Lyme infection. In one test, where it was used with VOVO, a synthetic protein, it detected the disease in virtually 99 per cent of all cases. Up to now, doctors have relied on a two-step blood test. However, the test has not been very sensitive and has not always picked up an infection that is there. This has allowed the infection to develop, by which time it is more difficult to treat. (Source: Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, 2010; 17: 904).

Brown dog, American dog, Canine, Cat, Deer, Seed, Wood, are all expressions used to describe the ticks causing the infection, Lyme Disease.

Do we know the history of Lyme disease?

Interestingly, we only became aware of this infection in 1975 when mothers of a group of children who lived near each other in Lyme, Connecticut,USA made researchers aware that their children all were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

This unusual grouping of illness that appeared "rheumatoid" eventually led researchers to the identification of the bacterial cause of the children's condition, what was then called "Lyme disease" in 1982.

The number of cases of the disease in an area depends on and is in direct proportion to the number of ticks in the area.

In certain areas of New York, where Lyme disease is common, over half of the ticks are infected. Lyme disease has been reported most often in the northeastern United States, but it has been reported in all 50 states, as well as all over Europe, China, Japan, Australia, and the parts of the former Soviet Union.

What does Lyme disease feel like?

Some patients with Lyme disease feel like they have caught influenza - the symptoms may be:

* drowsiness

* headaches

* mild fever

* joint and muscle pains

* swollen lymph glands.

What complications may occur?

crodermatitis chronica atrophicans

This is a condition that often develops in older women. Several years may pass from the tick bite until the development of this phenomenon. The symptoms usually involve changes in the skin around the tick bite, such as:

o swelling

o bluish or reddish discoloration of the skin.

Neuro borrelia

About 15 per cent of people with borrelia develop so-called neuro borrelia, between one and five weeks after the tick bite. The central nervous system is affected and the symptoms that result are very mixed and not specific.

o The symptoms often begin with back pain, typically between the shoulder blades and in the neck like a slipped disc. Simply seeing a tick somewhere on your body does not mean that you have contracted Lyme disease. Unfortunately, not everyone knows when they have been bitten, so consult your GP if you detect the following symptoms.

* A red spot around the location of the tick's bite. The spot will gradually grow bigger, often with a pale area in the middle. This symptom is called erythema migrans.

* Erythema migrans can also appear at other places on the body where the tick has not bitten. Some people get many red spots.

* Usually one to four weeks will pass between the bite and when erythema migrans appears.The pain worsens at night.

o Distorted feelings around the area of the bite. The nerves become numb, especially in the face. This may occur at any time up to four weeks after the pain began.

o Sometimes neuro borrelia may present itself as meningitis, with fever, headache and stiffness in the neck.

o In rare cases, the disease may become chronic, with a slowly developing destruction of the nervous system, numbing, partial hearing impairment and the development of dementia.

o Neuro borrelia demands immediate treatment, usually with an admission to hospital.

Inflammation of the joints or Lyme arthritis

This condition may present itself in days or, rarely, years after the bite, but it is very rare. The inflammation of the joints causes pain and swelling. Often, only one joint is inflamed and, rarely, more than three. The most commonly affected joint is the knee followed by the shoulder, elbow, foot, and hip. It has symptoms similar to arthritis.

When treated, the swelling will go away in about one to four weeks but it may return in later months or even years.

Effects on the heart

Lyme disease may cause:

o inflammation of the heart tissues, along with arrhythmia

o heart failure may develop in severe cases.

How does the doctor make the diagnosis?

A diagnosis of Lyme disease is more likely if the patient remembers a tick bite and presents the doctor with the erythema migrans rash.

To make a firmer diagnosis the doctor may take a blood sample to determine whether the patient has developed an antibody towardsLyme disease in their blood.

Antibodies can typically be found between two and four weeks after contracting the disease, but sometimes the antibodies do not appear for up to eight weeks. This means that people may have Lyme disease even if antibodies are not present at the very early phases, so repeat tests may be necessary in order to detect the diagnostic antibody response.

On the other hand, a positive antibody test does not necessarily mean that borrelia has recently been contracted. The antibodies may be found in the blood several years after an infection is over. Unfortunately, the antibody test is not a very efficient diagnostic tool: false-positive results are common.

If the doctor suspects neuro borrelia then hospital admission is required for tests on fluids from the spinal canal. This is to determine whether Lyme disease has entered the nervous system.

In cases of chronic neuro borrelia the treatment may include a CT scan of the nervous system.

Possible further development

With immediate and appropriate treatment the erythema migrans rash will often disappear within two weeks. Even without treatment, most cases of erythema migrans will go away without leaving permanent effects. But treatment lessens the risk of later symptoms in your nervous system and joints.

If the nervous system, joints, or heart are affected, two to three years may pass before the symptoms go away.

In rare cases a chronic disease with permanent symptoms may develop. This may happen several years after the tick bite.

What can the doctor do?

In the early stages (erythema migrans) oral antibiotic treatment may be sufficient.

If there are other symptoms, he or she will arrange hospital admission for further investigation and possible further treatment with antibiotics.

Tick removal

Grasp the tick as closely to the skin as possible, then steadily remove the tick in an upward motion only.

Inspect the bite area closely to ensure that no mouth parts have been left once it has been removed.

Do not crush or puncture it as the gut contents may contain infectious organisms.

Protect fingers with gloves or shield with tissue paper when removing it as infectious agents may enter through mucus membranes or breaks in the skin.

If you find an attached tick, remove it as per the instructions above at the earliest opportunity. Keep it in a plastic bag for possible identification of infections.

Keep a record of any symptoms and photograph any rashes you may go on to develop.

Data have demonstrated that prompt removal of an infected tick, within approximately 36 hours, reduces the risk of transmission to nearly zero; however the small size of the tick, especially in the nymph stage, may make detection difficult

Based on a text by Ole Davidsen, specialist and Professor Court Pedersen, consultant and 'Wikipedia'

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