How is Lyme disease treated?
If you suspect that you have Lyme disease, your health care provider will perform a series of tests, including drawing your blood to determine whether you have antibodies to the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Not all of these blood tests are conclusive for Lyme disease, but your doctor will consider the test results together with your symptoms to make a diagnosis.
Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. Recovery is usually rapid and complete, although some symptoms may recur or persist if the diagnosis is made at a later stage of the disease. It is important to follow your treatment plan for Lyme disease precisely and to take all of the antibiotics as instructed by your health care provider to avoid reinfection or recurrence.
Antibiotic medications used to treat Lyme disease
Antibiotic medications that are effective in the treatment of Lyme disease include:
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Amoxicillin (Amoxcil)
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Cefuroxime (Ceftin)
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Doxycycline (Doryx)
What are the potential complications of Lyme disease?
Most cases of Lyme disease can be cured with antibiotics, especially if treatment is begun early in the course of illness. However, a small percentage of people with Lyme disease have symptoms that last for months to years after treatment with antibiotics.
Complications of Lyme disease range from joint pain and stiffness to meningitis (infection or inflammation of the sac around the brain and spinal cord) and paralysis. About 10% to 20% of untreated or complicated cases of Lyme disease can progress to arthritis.
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/lymedisease/understanding/pages/intro.aspx
You can help minimize your risk of serious complications by following the treatment plan you and your health care professional design specifically for you. Complications of Lyme disease include:
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Arthritis
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Cognitive deficits (for example, memory loss and shorter attention span)
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Fatigue
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Meningitis (infection or inflammation of the sac around the brain and spinal cord)
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Muscle and joint pain
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Paralysis
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Sleep disturbances
INTRODUCTION
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted through tick bites. The infection resulting from these bites causes swelling, joint pain, rash, and flu-like symptoms. The disease can affect the nervous system, as well, causing headaches,
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SYMPTOMS
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
Symptoms of Lyme disease include rash, fever, aches and swelling. You may feel like you have the flu. Left untreated, symptoms can become more serious and include joint swelling and arthritis (inflammation of the joints), especially of the knees. Lyme disease can also affect the nervous system causing stiffness, headache, loss of muscle tone, and even paralysis....
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CAUSES
What causes Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by a tick bite. These ticks, the deer tick in the Northeast and the western black-legged tick in the Pacific Northwest, carry the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes the disease. The bacterium usually lives in rodents and other small animals and is transmitted when a tick bites an infected animal and then bites a human....
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