Tips On How To Treat Lyme Disease

By Etta Bowen


Treatment of lyme disease requires early intervention with the right antibiotics. It takes about a month for the symptoms to be diagnosed. The earliest signs include a rash characterized by a small bump around the area of the bite. This rash may develop on multiple areas on your body. It occurs in a bulls eye pattern with a red ring surrounding the clear area. The patient also experiences flue like symptoms of fever, fatigue, chills, aches and headache.

Advanced stages come with own symptoms. The bacteria are progressive in severity. Experts who understand how to treat lyme disease suggest that the symptoms will become more clear as days or weeks progress. In some cases, it takes up to a month.

When tests confirm that the bacteria are present, antibiotics are used in treatment. The best way is to seek treatment at the earliest opportunity. This will hasten recovery. At the earliest stages, antibiotics are administered orally.

Adults and children over 8 years are given as dose of doxycycline or amoxicillin. Cefuroxime is the best option if children are below 8 years. Pregnant and breast feeding mothers are also treated using cefuroxime. The duration of treatment ranges between 14 and 21 days though there are cases where 10 to 14 days of antibiotic administration have proven effective.

The use of intravenous antibiotic injection is only necessary when the nervous system is affected. The injection will be administered over a period of 14 to 28 days. An infection that has spread or affected the nervous system takes longer to eliminate. Expected side effects include reduced white blood cells count, colonization by organisms that are resistant to antibiotics and severe to mild diarrhea.

After being treated, some patients will still display symptoms such as fatigue and muscle aches. The symptoms do not go away despite continue antibiotic use. This is attributed, to some extent, to the development of autoimmune response by the body. Studies are on going to unravel the mystery.

Food and Drug Administration has warned against using Bismacine. This is an injectable compound commonly used by alternative practitioners. It contains high levels of bismuth, a harmful metal to the body. Its use in injections is said to be poisonous by exposing the patient to such conditions as heart ailments and kidney failure.

Prevention measures include avoidance of tick infested areas. Such are patches with long grass, wooded sections and bushes. You are advised to use long sleeved shirts and pants when working or walking around bushes and areas that are possibly infested.

The market has insect repellants that are helpful in reducing exposure. A higher concentration of DEET makes repellants more effective. They should not come into contact with the hands, mouth and eyes of children during application. There are pretreated cloths for use in the farm or permethrin may be applied locally.

All yards require regular disinfecting to keep them free from ticks. Woodpiles should be kept in the sun with efforts to clear bushes. Regular disinfecting of pets is recommended besides keeping the living area clean. Ticks should be removes as quickly as possible using tweezers and antiseptic applied on the bitten section.




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