Showing posts with label Lyme Disease Titer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lyme Disease Titer. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Lyme Disease Pregnancy

Lyme Disease Pregnancy
Lyme disease is an illness that can pass on from a disease-carrying tick on a dog to a human. It can be passed on from an infected mother to her fetus via the placenta during pregnancy, and could possibly lead to a miscarriage, premature birth or stillbirth. Pregnant women should be very careful in making sure they don't get any tick bites during their pregnancy so that there are no chances that it will be transmitted to their unborn child.



There are certain antibiotics that are given to pregnant women who contract Lyme disease, such as cefuroxime, penicillin, axetil or amoxicillin. Medications such as ibuprofen or aspirin should not be ingested by pregnant women, but acetaminophen is safe to take in order to treat Lyme disease during pregnancy.



Ever since Lyme disease was found, there has never been any conclusive evidence that it can have severe adverse effects on a fetus. There have been some isolated occurrences of babies having been born with some congenital defects, but these were never linked to the mother suffering from Lyme disease. In further studies that were conducted, most of the pregnant women that were diagnosed with Lyme disease were simply given quick treatment with suitable antibiotics, and all these mothers gave birth to full term, healthy babies who showed no effects of having suffered the disease.



Although there are no proven links between pregnancy and Lyme disease, it is still of great importance that a pregnant woman protects herself from contracting the disease as best as she can. A woman's immune system will be compromised during her pregnancy, so having an illness of any sort will affect her body, and if she is not physically and emotionally able to cope, the chances are that her baby will suffer as well.



The best way to prevent getting Lyme disease is to take all the preventive measures you can think of. Ticks are the primary carriers of Lyme disease, so stay away from any areas that you know they are found in. Do not wear clothes that reveal your arms and legs, and make sure you tuck your trousers into your shoes or socks. Long hair should be tied back so that ticks have a harder time getting into it and nestling down inside it. Covering your hair with a scarf or hat is even better. Once you are done being outside in an area that you know ticks are common in, check your entire body over so that you don't have any on you, and wash yourself just to be sure.






Lyme Disease Testing

Lyme Disease Testing
Lyme disease is not the first thing you will think about once you start getting chills in your body or a slight cough; and for that reason, it is hard to diagnose Lyme disease. You will most likely go for some aspirin and other antibiotics to treat the symptoms of the disease. Another factor that has contributed to Lyme disease spread in the last few years is the fact that it is not genetically inherited and so nobody is on the lookout for their chances of getting Lyme disease. Few people know that it is caused by tick bites.



It is hard to detect Lyme disease as its symptoms are the same with many other diseases. It is hard for a physician to diagnose Lyme disease, especially if he is not a specialist or of he is not experienced in the field. In many of the cases that have been reported, the symptoms did not manifest themselves outwardly until the lyme disease had developed into an uncontrollable mess and for those that were diagnosed will lyme disease, a good percentage were false diagnoses With no basis.



There are ways through which to conclusively test Lyme disease and the most commonly used test is the Enzyme Linked Immune Assay otherwise known as the ELISA test. It is the cheapest test in the medical field and the most preferred, although it is the most inconclusive as its chances of success are only 90%. The ELISA test detects the antibodies of the Lyme disease which are not present immediately after the insect bite thereby lessening the chances of it being an effective tool for diagnosis of Lyme disease.



The western blot test is also reliable although it also tests for antibodies of the disease. It has a higher success rate compared to the ELISA test. Advanced Lyme disease is manifested through heart and brain problems and in the event of advanced Lyme disease, the ELISA test or the western blot test act only to confirm the suspicions of the disease.



After the diagnosis of Lyme disease, the infested person is put through doses of antibiotics that will kill the bacteria and reduce the chances of affecting the major organs of the body. It is important to prevent lyme diseases by cutting all vegetation in your home area and cleaning all the pets at home. Insect repellants will repel the tick from your skin in your excursions.