Lyme disease

Introduction: Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by tick bites. There are a variety of symptoms of Lyme disease including a skin rash around the tick bite and various later general symptoms such as fever, fatigue and many other possible symptoms. Lyme disease can also affect the joints, central nervous system, and the heart. Method of treatment for Lyme disease is usually by various antibiotics.

Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose, especially if the characteristic skin rash around the tick bite is absent. Lyme disease is one of a group of conditions with vague symptoms such as fatigue, aches, or malaise. In mild cases, people may not even seek medical advice unless symptoms become more severe. Lyme disease it may need to be distinguished from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, depression, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, or various other conditions. If the main symptoms are joint symptoms, then various other causes of arthritis need to be considered.

Symptoms of Lyme disease

• Early symptoms soon after exposure by tick bite:
  • Skin rash around tick bite - about 75% of cases have this rash; often hot to the touch but not painful; may have bullseye shape.
  • Erythema migrans (EM) - the official name for the tick bite skin rash
  • Mild illness
  • Flu-like symptoms

See full list of 54 symptoms of Lyme disease

Medical Textbooks Online about Lyme disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Lyme disease

• Lyme antibody blood test
• Lyme antibody spinal tap test

Read more about tests for Lyme disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Lyme disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Lyme disease
• Failure to diagnose Lyme disease
• Underlying causes of Lyme disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Lyme disease

Misdiagnosis and Lyme disease

Cluster of diseases with difficult diagnosis issues: There is a well-known list of medical conditions that are all somewhat difficult to diagnose, and all can present in a variety of different severities. Diseases in this group include multiple sclerosis, lupus, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, thyroid disorders (hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism), chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes - all of these can have vague symptoms in their early presentations. Also, depression can have some symptoms similar to these conditions, and also the reverse, that many of these conditions can mimic depression and be misdiagnosed as depression....read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Lyme disease

Causes of Lyme disease

Read more about causes of Lyme disease.

More information about causes of Lyme disease:

• Lyme disease as a complication caused by other conditions
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Lyme disease

Treatments for Lyme disease

• Preventive antibiotics after tick bite - may prevent the disease
• Antibiotics
  • Doxycycline - also good for other tick-borne diseases; not for pregnant women or young children.
  • Cefuroxime axetil
  • Amoxicillin

See full list of 16 treatments for Lyme disease

Videos for Lyme disease

Patient Surveys for Lyme disease

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Lyme disease
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Prognosis for Lyme disease

Prognosis for Lyme disease: Most individuals with Lyme disease respond well to antibiotics and have full recovery. In a few patients symptoms of persisting infection may continue or recur, requiring additional antibiotic treatment. Varying degrees of permanent joint or nervous system damage may develop in patients with late chronic Lyme disease. In rare cases, death may occur. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Neurological Sequelae Of Lyme Disease Information Page: NINDS)

More about prognosis of Lyme disease

Reseach about Lyme disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Lyme disease treatments.

Clinical Trials for Lyme disease

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Lyme disease include:

• Evaluation of Lyme Disease: Clinical, Microbiological and Immunological Characteristics - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Evaluation, Treatment, and Follow-up of Patients With Lyme Disease - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Brain Imaging and Retreatment Study of Persistent Lyme Disease - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - ceftriaxone
• Lyme Disease Prevention Program - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Study and Treatment of Post Lyme Disease (STOP-LD) - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Antibiotics

See full list of 9 Clinical Trials for Lyme disease

Prevention of Lyme disease

Prevention information for Lyme disease has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Lyme disease.

• Lyme disease vaccine - available since 1998
• Avoid ticks - see prevention of tick bites
  • Avoid tick-infested areas
  • Take care during summer - most tick bites occur in summer.
  • Wear long pants

Read more about prevention of Lyme disease

Statistics for Lyme disease

• Medical statistics for Lyme disease
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Lyme disease
• Death and Mortality statistics for Lyme disease
• Society statistics for Lyme disease

Types of Lyme disease

• Lyme-like diseases - conditions similar to Lyme disease in Australia or other non-USA areas

Read more about Types of Lyme disease

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Lyme disease

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Lyme disease

See all guides and ebooks for Lyme disease

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Lyme disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Lyme disease

NINDS Neurological Sequelae Of Lyme Disease Information Page: NINDS (Excerpt)

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by the bite of an infected tick. It may cause a number of medical conditions. The disorder is often hard to diagnose because its symptoms and signs mimic those of many other diseases. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Neurological Sequelae Of Lyme Disease Information Page: NINDS)

Lyme Disease - The Facts, The Challenge: NIAID (Excerpt)

Lyme disease is still mistaken for other ailments, and it continues to pose many other challenges: it can be difficult to diagnose because of the inadequacies of today's laboratory tests, and it can be troublesome to treat in its later phases. Development of a vaccine to prevent Lyme disease is underway. (Source: excerpt from Lyme Disease - The Facts, The Challenge: NIAID)

Definitions of Lyme disease:

A specific species of bacteria, part of the BORRELIA BURGDORFERI GROUP, whose common name is Lyme disease spirochete. - (Source - Diseases Database)

An acute inflammatory disease characterized by a rash with joint swelling and fever; caused by bacteria carried by the bite of a deer tick - (Source - WordNet 2.1)

Lyme disease is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Lyme disease, or a subtype of Lyme disease, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)