Lyme Disease
Lyme borreliosis, commonly known as Lyme diseases is an infectious bacterial disease transmitted through the bite of the blacklegged tick. It is named after the neighboring towns of Lyme and old Lyme, Connecticut. The first reported cases of Lyme disease came from these towns in 1975. Although, it was not discovered that the disease was a tick-born disease until 1978 by Allen Steere. Today it is the most common disease caused by ticks throughout the east coast and California. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011, 96% of Lyme disease cases were reported from these areas in the United States. Black-legged ticks live for about two years, where they go through …show more content…
The early disseminated state usually will cause the rash spread to other areas of the body. Bell’s palsy is also common during the disseminated stage. It is the loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face. Other symptoms that may occur during this stage are pain and inflammation in the large joints, intense pains that may interfere with daily activity, and neck stiffness due to meningitis; the swelling of the spinal cord.
Patients who go months without treatment enter the late disseminated stage. Patients who enter this stage often get mild arthritis; with tremendous joint pain and inflammation. The area that is mostly affected are the knees. Patients who never get treatment for Lyme disease will often experience shooting pains, numbness in the hands or feet, and problems with memory loss years after the infection.
About 10 to 20 percent of patients will still feel symptoms even after being treated with antibiotics. This is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome. Some symptoms being muscle pains, rational defects, insomnia, and fatigue. The post-treatment for Lyme disease will often occur because of an auto immune response. This means that the person’s immune system continues to react, causing destruction to muscle tissue throughout the body. Even after the infection has cleared. Scientists also say that persistent treatment can make the post-treatment Lyme disease worse; in fact it can be very harmful to the