Tips On The Question; Is There A Cure For Lyme Disease?

By Daphne Bowen


Lyme borreliosis, the other term for Lyme disease is a disease caused by bacterial infection. This bacteria is spread by ticks of the borrelia type or species. It gets to human beings through a tick bite from an infected tick. The tick gets the infection from host animals that are infected. Such animals include deer and mice. The bacterium however, is not carried by all ticks. Treatment of many diseases has been developed due to their prevalence. Due to this, vast developments have also been taken in developing the cure of Lyme disease. Elaboration of the question;is there a cure for lyme disease, has been done below.

Passing the infection to a human being from a tick after being attached will take around 36 to 48 hours. Due to their minute size, noticing and removal of the ticks may be difficult. The ticks also settle in hidden parts of the body making it difficult for you to see. Groin, armpits and scalp regions are some of their favorite areas. After getting infected, the first and foremost symptom is the development of an erythema migran. This appears as a reddish area and expands as it swells. It originally starts as a rash. It is however not itchy and painless.

Other symptoms that may follow include fevers, headaches and feeling tired. Within the body, joints, face, neck, muscles and even the heart may be affected by this infection. These lead to the said signs and symptoms in addition to muscle pains and neck stiffness. It may also lead to meningeal inflammation in the brain. Diagnosis of this disorder is usually based on the above symptoms. Blood test is however the officially confirmatory means of diagnosing it.

Treatment of Lyme disorder is possible. This is however effective if detected early. If diagnosis or treatment is delayed, there are risks of developing long lasting complications. It is therefore important to seek treatment once you start developing such signs and symptoms.

Lyme disease is usually treated with antibiotic therapy. Doxycycline, which is considered as the first line therapy, is commonly used for treatment. Apart from the advantage of curing the disease, Doxycycline also has the advantage of curing all other infections of tick origin. Due to its adverse effects, it is not advisable for use in children particularly less than eight years and expectant women.

Amoxicillin and azithromycin, also antibiotics, act as second line medications for treating the disorder. They are effective when administered either orally or intravenously. The period of treatment varies and usually ranges from one week to four weeks to completely eliminate the disorder. This duration is however determined by the severity of the disease process. It has been proved that starting the treatment within the first two weeks of infection is effective but this is not possible since the bacteria can be visualized in blood for diagnosis after five weeks.

Preventing any disorder is more economical than curing it. Preventing Lyme disorder would be wise therefore than treating it. Several means to prevent the disease have been put up. Vaccination proved more effective than the other protective means. The production of particular vaccines stopped because of limited market available.

Wearing of protective clothing such as long sleeved hat and long trousers or boots is another preventive method. Also, light colored clothing make the tick easily visible for removal before it attaches itself. Using insect repellents, keeping off long grass and reducing contacts with primary hosts, deer and mice would also help in prevention.




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