Treat Lyme Disease

Treat Lyme Disease
Lyme borreliosis is a vector-borne disease that accrues consequent to a tick bite. The causative agent is a bacterium known as spirochete. Spirochete bacterium is mainly found in such animals as deer and mice. To diagnose the Lyme disease doctors refer to physical symptoms like rashes, laboratory testing especially in developed stages of the disease and a patient's admission of exposure to any infected ticks.

In Northeastern United States and some parts of the upper Midwestern, have mice and deer. These are the main infected animals hosting ticks especially in late spring through summer to early fall. Consequently, most incidences of Lyme disease occur in these regions of the US.

If Lyme disease is left untreated for long, chances of recurrence are greater and one can develop some serious complications. Nevertheless, if treatment is initiated early enough, it can be treated with a complete resolution of all the symptoms. The following are ways in which you can treat Lyme disease.

The first step in treating Lyme disease is using a series of specific antibiotics as prescribed by the diagnosing physician. The most common antibiotics a physician may prescribe include amoxicillin, doxycycline and cefuroxime axetil. These antibiotics are usually prescribed prophylactically immediately a tick bite has been noted, with the dosage going for about 10 days.

Some physicians will then administer further antibiotics like Rocephin, via an intravenous line. This is especially the case when a patient's nervous system has been affected by the time Lyme disease is diagnosed.

There is need to exercise caution when treating Lyme disease among pregnant women. The re is need to determine the appropriate antibiotics administered since studies have shown there is a chance of a pregnant mother transferred the Lyme disease to a fetus, This may further complicate the pregnancy. Physicians will direct the ideal drugs to be used to ensure that the disease is treated and that the fetus is also safe.

In most cases where the Lyme disease has affected the joints and probable inflicted an arthritic condition, physicians use cortisone injections. The best way of noting such complications is when a patient has swollen joints. Again, the physician will prescribe oral medication like ibuprofen, to curb pain, reduce the joint swelling and improve a patient's mobility.

The rash that indicates infection of Lyme disease, especially in children, should disappear within days after the antibiotic treatment is initiated. The condition should however be tested before one is declared fully treated to avoid reoccurrence.

Canine Lyme Disease

Canine Lyme Disease
Canine Lyme disease is a disease that is caused by a minuscule bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacterium is difficult to find, considering the fact that even their carriers, deer ticks, are impossible to identify because they are tinier than the head of a pin.

These ticks grab onto dogs, and people, similar to all other ticks. After a period of one or two days, however, the victim's blood becomes too thick for the tick to drink it comfortably. At this point, the tick injects a substance that makes the victim's blood thinner and therefore makes it easier for the tick to drink. Therefore, the first one or two days are your window of opportunity to get rid of the ticks on your dog before he is infected with the disease.

After two days, there's no going back as your dog is most likely infected with the disease. Only ten to fifty percent of deer ticks actually carry this disease, but it might be more than that based on which part of the country you are located in, and they are still not good chances for your dog.

This bacterium lies dormant for many months and only then do the symptoms show. If your dog has recently run around a field during tick season, then these are some of the signs you need to keep an eye out for:

Fever

Lethargy

Painful, swollen joints

Swollen lymph nodes

Loss of appetite

If you find that your dog is showing any of the above symptoms, then be sure to tell his vet that your dog might have ticks, because these symptoms are signs of several different illnesses. Thankfully, today there is a simple way in which vets test for Canine Lyme disease and all they need is a blood sample from your dog.

There are many ways to prevent your dog contracting this disease in the first pace. You can use tick repellents and preventives to make sure that he doesn't get this disease, even if you cannot keep him out of areas that are infested with ticks. Your vet will most likely know what brands are best to use and how strong they need to be according to the area you live in.

Humans can't actually catch this disease from your dog, but the same ticks that are on his body can latch onto yours, and if it happens to be a disease-infected one, you could get the disease too. You should find it and get rid of it in time, or you will have Lyme disease.