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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
Free access (no registration).
Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.
Diagnostic Tests for Lyme disease
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
Recognizing Lyme Disease
Public awareness about Lyme disease has heightened in recent years and people in high-risk areas know to look for the telltale bull's-eye rash....
Treating Lyme Disease
If you are infected with Lyme disease, early treatment is crucial for preventing permanent damage. How are the symptoms and complications of Lyme...
Preventing Lyme Disease
Lyme disease -- an infection which can lead to arthritis and other more serious complications -- is spread by tiny deer ticks commonly found in the...
Arthritis Overview Part 1
For most people, arthritis means simply pain in or around a joint. But there are over 100 different kinds of arthritis, each with its own set of...
Patient Surveys for Lyme disease
- Patient Profile Survey
Take Survey View Results - Survey about the symptoms of your Lyme disease
Take Survey View Results
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
See all guides and ebooks for Lyme disease
Stories from Users Related to Lyme disease
- Is it EBV, CFS, Lyme or What?
- CFS/ME/Morgellon's/Lyme/Alzheimers ect....
- Lyme Disease possible?
- Are ME / CFS / FM Actually Lyme's ?
- lyme disease
- lyme-like disease
- Lyme Symptoms, But...
- Lyme Diagnosis Wrong
- Mystery disease mimics lyme disease
- Lyme disease the underlying culprit
- Lyme Question?
- Lyme Disease?
- Educate yourself about Lyme disease
- LYME and MS?
- Arm heaviness come and go. Ms, Lyme or what?
- I think I may have Lyme disease symptoms
- lyme-how long after bite do symptoms appear?
- Lyme medical guidelines are being reviewed...
- Could this be Lyme Disease?
- No diagnosis? Read THIS! Lyme disease false negatives!
Related forums and stories:
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)
- Lyme disease
- What is Lyme disease?
- Online Medical Textbooks for Lyme disease
- Prevalence and Incidence of Lyme disease
- Videos related to Lyme disease
- Prognosis of Lyme disease
- Types of Lyme disease
- Causes of Lyme disease
- Information Guides
- Risk Factors for Lyme disease
- Symptoms of Lyme disease
- Diagnostic Tests for Lyme disease
- Diagnosis of Lyme disease
- Signs of Lyme disease
- Complications of Lyme disease
- Misdiagnosis of Lyme disease
- Undiagnosed Lyme disease
- Misdiagnosis of Underlying Causes of Lyme disease
- Associated Conditions of Lyme disease
- Contagious: Lyme disease
- Treatments for Lyme disease
- Alternative Treatments for Lyme disease
- Doctors and Medical Specialists for Lyme disease
- Prevention of Lyme disease
- Cure Research for Lyme disease
- Deaths from Lyme disease
- Statistics about Lyme disease
- Statistics by Country for Lyme disease
- Medical News Summaries About Lyme disease
- Travel and Lyme disease
- Books about Lyme disease
- Articles about Lyme disease
- Glossary for Lyme disease
- Clinical Trials for Lyme disease
- Images relating to Lyme disease
- External links relating to Lyme disease
- Lyme disease (Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
- Lyme disease (Handbook of Diseases)
» Next page: What is Lyme disease?
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