Lyme Disease Diagnosis.

Lyme Disease Diagnosis.
Lyme disease is a bacterial disease. This disease is known to be spread by ticks when the patient is bitten on the skin, and consequently the bacterium infects the body of the victim bitten by the tick. This disease is not contagious from one infected person to another, and can only be transmitted through a tick bite.

In Lyme disease, diagnosis can be done by simple observation of the skin for starters. The common indicators include abnormalities in the skin, joints and the nervous system. Doctors can sometimes be able to diagnose this disease by simply identifying the typical rush on a patient. This is made possible in cases where the patient has been to a region in which the disease is commonly reported.

In Lyme disease diagnosis, the doctor usually looks into the patient's history in addition to conducting a physical examination. The history of the patient is specifically with particular regard to the places that the patient has been to in the recent past. This is commonly the case with Lyme disease diagnosis at the early stages.

In later stages, however, an effective Lyme disease diagnosis would require blood testing for antibodies to the Lyme bacteria. The antibodies are produced by the body to fight against the Lyme bacteria, and the antibodies are often the evidence of exposure by the patient to the Lyme bacteria.

However, it is important to note that antibodies could give false indication of a disease, including in Lyme disease diagnosis. This is because antibodies can remain in the body system for years even after the disease as been cured. This is known as a false positive test. A false positive test is dangerous in that it can lead to confusion rather than solutions to an existing problem. As a result, the most reliable test used to confirm presence of the infection in Lyme disease diagnosis is known as the Western Blot assay antibody test. Research is still underway for more tests methods.

In general however, blood testing by doctors and other medical professionals seeking to conduct Lyme disease diagnosis is helpful in patients who exhibit symptoms compatible with Lyme disease, and have a history of exposure to tick bites at least a few weeks before. The testing is also useful for those patients who have unexplained heart disorders, joint problems or nervous system complications, which are typical of Lyme diseases

Lyme Disease Cure

Lyme Disease Cure
Generally, taking antibiotics for several weeks is one sure cure for Lyme disease. But treatment with intravenous (IV) may be required for certain forms of Lyme disease. Cure of the Lyme disease by use of antibiotics always lasts for about 14-28 days.

In most cases however, Lyme disease cure usually involves a few weeks of taking oral antibiotics. There are some common antibiotics that are normally used for the Lyme disease cure and they may include:

• Doxycyline


• Amoxicillin


• Cefuroxime axetail


• Penicillin


• Erythromycin which is usually taken by patients allergic to penicillin

The antibiotics play a major role as they mostly speed up the healing of a rush and as well can ensure that arthritis symptoms go away following antibiotic therapy, within a few weeks or months. Persistent fatigue, muscular aches and sometimes trouble with memory and concentrations are some of the symptoms experienced by patients even after therapy. The good thing however is that research is on going on and it is hoped that soon the best ways of treating these symptoms will be discovered.

Sometimes people taking antibiotics might experience symptoms such as mild joint pain and a headache. This therefore brings to mention the question about pain relievers being able to help in any way. Usually pain relievers play a role in just reliving some symptoms but they don’t help in combating the Lyme disease. In relieving the symptoms, acetaminophen like Tylenol and sometimes aspirin and ibuprofen are usually used. They can be very effective

Important to note also, is that it is in very rare cases that Lyme disease treatment might have to do with more than only medication and sometimes a temporary pacemaker may be required for heart problems.

In cases that intravenous (IV) treatment is required to cure Lyme disease in some patients, then the medications for such type of treatment may include ceftriaxone and penicillin

Patients usually treated by antibiotics in the early stages for Lyme disease experience rapid recovery and in most cases, completely. However, a few patients particularly those diagnosed for the first time with later stages of the Lyme disease may experience persistent or recurrent symptoms. Usually those patients benefit from a second 4-week course of antibiotic therapy. There is an observation made on serious complications arising from including even death that always are from courses of the antibiotics. This mostly happens when the antibiotics are not beneficial and yet the patient continues with their use.