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BORRELIA
BURGDORFERI (BB) is a bacterium belonging to the spirochete family. Most
commonly referred to as Lyme disease, Bb is traditionally spread through
the bite of an infected tick. Lyme disease has been reported in 49 out of
50 U.S. states and has been recognized in California since 1978. If you
live in San Diego, you are potentially at risk.The ticks that carry Lyme disease on the West Coast are the Ixodes pacificus, otherwise known as the western black-legged tick. In California, this tick “has been found in 55 of 58 counties to date,” according to California Department of Health Services, with 41 of those counties having ticks testing positive for Bb. These ticks may concurrently carry other tick-borne diseases, making one bite an opportunity for several co-infections.
To refer to these ticks as “deer ticks” would be misleading. This may account for one reason so many people are misdiagnosed and why Lyme disease is underreported by possibly as much as 90 percent.
Despite symptoms, unless a Californian has recently been camping, hunting or hiking in areas where deer may be found, some people assume there has been no chance of exposure to Lyme disease. While it is true that adult ticks tend to seek out larger vertebrates for hosts (such as deer), the pre-adult or “nymph” black-legged tick typically seeks out mice or birds for their first meal. With mice and birds characteristically being the original carrier of Bb, once the nymph goes to its next host (such as a human), the Bb transmission results.
I speak from personal experience. I was bit right here in East County in the late 1980s. I never saw signs of an obvious tick - I didn’t even know about Lyme disease at the time - but I did have the classic erythema migrans (EM) rash. It showed up at about the time I was hit with the severe flu-like symptoms. The rash continued to expand covering a six-inch area on the back of my upper arm.
Other symptoms that developed at that time included extreme fatigue, a rapidly beating heart, black-out spells, severe headaches, insomnia and a deep burrowing-like bone pain throughout my entire body. I sought medical attention right away, showing the rash to the doctor, as I suspected a venomous spider was the culprit. But the bite was not recognized for its classic EM pattern and was noted in my medical record as “insignificant.”
Due to my not receiving a proper diagnosis and treatment for 14 years, I am left with persistent neurological and other disabilities. This can be the natural progression of Lyme disease if left either untreated or undertreated.
Jim Sazani is another person who could attest to the devastation of Lyme disease in California. That is, he could if he were still alive. Sazani, 59, died approximately one month ago in Lompoc Hospital as a result of a tick bite and rash he received in 1998 in Nipomo.
“Jim once predicted he would fight to the end,” writes Emily Slater in an April 18, 2003 Adobe Press article. “In an Adobe Press interview last July, he said he was far from giving up. ’When they take me, I will be kicking and screaming,’ he said. The pain, however, became too much for Jim to bear. Jim spent three weeks in the intensive care unit before his death, during which time doctors had to resuscitate him. Jim finally reached a point where he said, ’No more,’ according to (his widow) Judi.”
Others unable to speak of their experience with Lyme disease include babies lost in late-term miscarriages, stillbirths and SIDS. Upon autopsy, their tiny bodies are found infiltrated with Bb. Lyme bacteria can be transferred from an infected mother to fetus during pregnancy.
There are also reported cases of babies contracting Lyme disease from the breast milk of their infected mothers. With proper diagnosis and antibiotic treatment during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, however, it is said that chances of such complications decreased significantly.
Lyme bacteria can also be found in the blood of infected individuals. In fact, patients who knowingly carry Lyme disease are forbidden to donate blood. Whether or not Lyme disease is transmittable through other bodily fluids is still under investigation.
Why is it so difficult to determine whether someone is sick from Lyme disease? It is a “complex illness” that can rapidly progress, “causing a very significant degree of immune suppression,” according to Joseph Burrascano Jr., noted Lyme disease physician and member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS).
According to Burrascano’s article, “Diagnostic Hints and Treatment Guidelines for Lyme and Other Tick Borne Illnesses,” this infection, left unchecked, can result in “damage to virtually all bodily systems,” mimicking such illnesses as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, lupus, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), cardiac disorders, ADD, ADHD, Bell’s palsy, Epstein Barr virus, arthritis, multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome, stress-related illness, other autoimmune diseases and (in children) growing pains.
For this reason, Lyme disease is known as the new “great imitator.”
Lyme can evidence itself in a sudden change in personality, onset of learning difficulty, or even delayed cognitive development in infants and toddlers. Many Lyme patients report that after a sudden onset of a flu-like illness, they were never quite the same.
Physicians unfamiliar with the complexities of Lyme disease often insist on seeing evidence such as a Lyme-positive lab report or documented medical history of either a tick bite or EM rash. But laboratory tests for Lyme disease can be inaccurate.
“Lyme disease is a problematic diagnosis because it is a complicated clinical entity,” writes Nick S. Harris, board-certified in clinical laboratory immunology. Harris is President of IGeneX, Inc., a specialty immunology laboratory and research facility in Palo Alto.
In his article, “An Understanding of Laboratory Testing for Lyme Disease,” which can be found at the ILADS Web site, Harris emphasizes that “[s]ome patients do not elicit an antibody response great enough to be positive by the currently available ELISA assays. Furthermore, if patients are treated early with antibiotics, their antibody response may be reduced or curtailed. The initial mild flu-like symptoms may be overlooked. Later, if the symptoms return, most of the antibody markers [what some tests require for a positive reading] have disappeared.”
To further complicate recognition of Lyme disease, many individuals who are indeed ill with it do not recall seeing a tick attached to their skin. This is not surprising. The average size of these ticks in their nymph stage is about the size of a poppy seed.
They could easily be mistaken for the period at the end of this sentence.
Additionally, reports indicate that anywhere from 20 to 50 percent of Lyme-infected patients did not develop the classic EM rash that is considered proof of Lyme infection. Or, sometimes the rash is present but mistaken for different types of skin disorders, such as ringworm or dermatitis. Doctors had treated Sazani’s 1998 rash first as poison oak and then as athlete’s foot.
Lyme rashes come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can appear anywhere on the body, not just at the site of the bite. Should you develop a rash, it is widely advised to take photographs of the rash, while including a ruler or coin in the photo for scale.
Keep these photos with your personal medical records, having them available to show to your physician should the need arise.
The fact that there are multiple strains of Lyme disease (reportedly in the hundreds) can also delay diagnosis. Bb is known to exist in various forms, and has the ability to dodge defenses put up by both medications and the body’s immune system.
Discovering Lyme in its earliest stages along with appropriate treatment gives the patient the best opportunity for recovery. This is especially true for children and young adults.
Any attempts to self-medicate in attempts to treat this disease are strongly cautioned against, however. A combination of some medicines may work wonderfully for some patients, but be completely ineffective for others, allowing Bb to infiltrate further.
But there is something we can do to lower our chances of infection.
The first line of defense is Lyme and tick awareness. Ticks can be active at temperatures of 35 degrees and above. This means that Southern California’s warm climate invites ticks to be active all year long. Pre-adult ticks, however, are most active during the spring.
Should you suspect exposure to Lyme or other tickborne diseases, contact the Lyme Disease Association toll free at 1-888-366-6611 for the name of a Lyme-literate medical doctor near you.
I would like to thank the following people who generously contributed the information to make this article possible: Anne Kjemtrup of the Department of Health Services, Sacramento; IGeneX, Inc.; Barbara Barsocchini of the Malibu Lyme Disease Resource Center; Mark La Fevers, Lyme activist and writer for the Coastal View Weekly News of Carpinteria Valley; and the Flash Discussion group at The Lyme Disease Network for their valuable feedback.
The following links may be helpful in providing further information about classic signs, symptoms and effective treatment guidelines:
IGeneX, Inc., 1-800-832-3300,
http://www.igenex.com
The International Lyme and
Associated Diseases Society,
http://www.ilads.org
Iowa Lyme Disease Association,
http://www.ildf.info
Lots of Links on Lyme Disease,
http://www.geocities.com/Hot-Springs/Oasis/6455
The Lyme Disease Association, 1-888-366-6611,
http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org
The Lyme Disease Network,
http://www.lymenet.org
World International Lyme Disease
Emergency Resource Network,
http://www.wildernetwork.org
How to Remove a tick.
Ticks carry more than just
Lyme disease! Including:
0 -Ehrlichia;
o -Bartonella;
0 -Babesia;
o -Q- Fever;
0 -Tularemia;
o -Tick-borne Encephalitis;
0 -Mycoplasma;
o -Relapsing Fever;
0 -Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and others.
Never WAIT and SEE about a tick bite, please! Quickly and properly treated infections are less likely to progress to later stage or chronic disease.
Sometimes tick bites are
mistaken for spider bites!
Some diseases may be spread by animal bites or scratches and from mosquitoes, fleas or lice.
There is still so much to learn about Lyme disease and related infections.
Sometimes Lyme disease and related infectious diseases are undiagnosed for years, even decades!
Watch closely for symptoms after tick bites. Some never see a tick or a bulls-eye rash.
Don't ignore tick-borne disease symptoms!
If you feel sick, ask a doctor!
SYMPTOMS may include:
0 -Tick bites;
o -Fever; Flu symptoms;
0 -All kinds of Rashes;
o -Muscle; Joint; Neck Pain;
0 -Body Aches; Weakness
o -Light /Sound Sensitivity;
0 -Bells Palsy; Nerve pain;
o -Insomnia; Poor memory
0 -Headaches; Numbness;
o -Mood disorders; Confusion;
0 -Extreme Fatigue; Exhaustion
Never let tick-borne diseases progress!
Lyme and associated diseases are often MISTAKEN FOR OTHER ILLNESSES, Including:
0 -Chronic Fatigue;
o -Fibromyalgia;
0 -Hypochondria;
o -Multiple Sclerosis;
0 -Lupus;
o -Rheumatoid Arthritis;
0 -Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS);
o -Alzheimer's and
0 -Parkinson's disease
******************
Don't be fooled about ticks and their diseases.
******************
Directly affecting humankind, worldwide:
W H A T H A P P E N E D
when the U.S. Senate addressed the Centers for Disease Control regarding Lyme disease?
Consult a good doctor!
Visit ILADS, LDF, LymeNet or LDA to find a specialist in your location.
Protect your children and your family.
Learn about ticks and their many diseases.
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TICK
BYTES:
Tick-borne diseases are spreading rapidly
in many countries across the world including,
UK, Scandinavia, Hungary, Scotland, USA,
France, Germany, China, and Australia.
There is NO 100% accurate Lyme disease
TEST available to detect infection or cure.
Ticks can be found in and around
leaf litter; grass; logs; animal fur;
bird feeders; and deer, mice, squirrel,
and other small animal habitats.
Tick-borne diseases are spreading rapidly
in many countries across the world including,
UK, Scandinavia, Hungary, Scotland, USA,
France, Germany, China, and Australia.
There is NO 100% accurate Lyme disease
TEST available to detect infection or cure.
Ticks can be found in and around
leaf litter; grass; logs; animal fur;
bird feeders; and deer, mice, squirrel,
and other small animal habitats.
How
to Properly Remove A Tick
Never let tick-borne
infections progress !
Tick-borne diseases can
affect any body part,
organ, and any system
of the body.
Lyme disease and Syphilis are both caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete.
Tick-borne diseases can KILL!
Ticks travel on mice!
ALWAYS Get Ticks Tested!
Never let tick-borne
infections progress !
Tick-borne diseases can
affect any body part,
organ, and any system
of the body.
Lyme disease and Syphilis are both caused by a type of bacteria called a spirochete.
Tick-borne diseases can KILL!
Ticks travel on mice!
ALWAYS Get Ticks Tested!
Lyme Disease Foundation
Lyme
rashes have been
mistaken for ring worm!
mistaken for ring worm!
Ticks
travel on birds!
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