lyme disease?

Question

i have been having rly wierd pains and recently i found these little scar liek things on my legs that weren't there before...they are small, round and like a pinkish color and some are darker....does anyone know if this is lyme?

ya well my mom just told me one of the tests came back pos.
i think we did elisa n western blot
but well see i feel rly off i hope its guna get better

Answer 1

^The mark usually looks like a bull's eye (target), you should go to the doctor and get checked out, you might be having a reaction to a bug bite or it could be something else entirely. I hope you feel better soon. Good luck, I hope this helped.

Answer 2

Lyme disease is one of those diseases that for every 100 that think they have it, 1 actually does. The symptoms are so common. Have you been in Conneticut, Michigan or any of the few states in the US that actually have Lyme infested tics?
Lyme will cause sore throat, muscle and joint aches, fevers, all the same symptoms of a cold...or a million other things.
Tiny red non-raised spots on the skin are often cherry angiomas. This is not Lyme related. It is usually age, sun related. These spots are totally benign. If you want to have them removed a dermatologist can do it quickly and painlessly with an electric needle.

Answer 3

since you posted that you have tested positive, the next step is to inform yourself. contrary to popular belief, lyme is NOT as rare as some say, it has now been found in all of the lower 48 states and it is not a mild illness that will go away with a couple of weeks of antibiotics. lyme can cause a variety of different rash appearances, though the initial one is usually the bulls eye. many people don;t get that at all. my suggestion is that you see if there is a local or state lyme disease support group and if there is, join the mailing list and try to network with others with lyme. this disease can cause so many different symptoms and they can vary from week to week that you really need someone to talk with who will understand what you are going through. try to find a lyme literate doctor.
lyme disease can affect the heart, joints and brain as well as causing other health problems. memory problems are very common, as are "brain fog", major fatigue, pain in the joints (arthritis can develop at any stage but usually with later stage or untreated lyme), skin rashes, and too many other things to list.
the antibiotics used to treat lyme are usually in high dises and powerful and can in themselves cause other health issues. yeast infections are common, as are digestive upsets. eating plain yogurt and using probiotics can help. taking acidoplilus pills can help keep your stomach and intestinal tract functioning normally as the antibiotics will kill off not only the lyme but the beneficial intestinal flora needed for healthy digestion.
there is way too much more info to learn to go any further here... good luck, and take care of yourself!!!

Answer 4

Have you been bitten by a tic recently? You may want to consider being tested for Lyme, ask your doctor for the " Western Blot Test." I was tested twice. The results from the first test came back negative, but the second test came back positive by the IGeneX standard. Check out the IGeneX website. Useful information on their website. Good Luck to you.

Answer 5

Lyme Disease will give you one helluva temperture.

Those might be Red bugs. Have you been in the woods?

I killed 'em dead with hair spray, and told God they died.

Answer 6

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by a spirochete (spiral-shaped bacterium) that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected Ixodes tick. It is called "The Great Imitator" because its symptoms mimic many other diseases. Lyme disease is now the most common tick-transmitted infection, with 16,461 cases were reported to the Centers of Disease Control in 1996. Over 109,000 cases have been recorded since the disease became reportable. The true incidence is likely many times greater.



Where is Lyme disease found?

Lyme disease has been found on every continent except Antarctica. It is found all across the United States, with a particularly high incidence along the East Coast, where it was first identified in the coastal Connecticut town of Old Lyme. Parts of the Midwest and the West Coast also have a high incidence. In the South, until recently public health authorities have been reluctant to admit that Lyme disease exists, although a Lyme-like disease was being reported. However, new research has identified ticks and animals in the South that carry Lyme disease, so it should become easier to report cases. Within any endemic area, the tick infection rate shows considerable local variation, depending on type of habitat, presence of wildlife, and other factors.


How is Lyme disease transmitted?

The only known way to get Lyme disease is from the bite of an infected tick, with the only exception being the child in utero: the infection can pass from a pregnant mother to her child. There has been speculation about possible sexual transmission, transmission by biting insects (mosquitos, fleas), transmission by contact with or by ingesting body fluids, however no firm evidence is yet available. The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are not often found in blood or other body fluids, except for a short period immediately after the infection, so it is unlikely that these modes of transmission are common.

Many wild animals, such as mice, rats, deer, birds, and rabbits, carry the Lyme disease-causing spirochetes. The adult Ixodes tick (about the size of a lower case o), the nymphal tick (poppy seed size), and the even tinier larval tick may ingest the spirochetes when they feed on the blood of an infected animal. If an infected tick then bites you, you may become infected. Most cases of Lyme disease are thought to be caused by the smaller nyphal tick, since the adult tick is more easily felt crawling on the skin.

The longer ticks are attached to your skin, the more likely they are to transmit the spirochetes into your body, although transmission has occasionally been reported after very short attachments. Inappropriate methods of tick removal, such as applying a hot match or alcohol, may enhance risk by causing the tick to regurgitate and inject some of its gut contents into your skin. Be sure to remove an embedded tick correctly and save it for identification (see "How can Lyme disease be prevented?" below).



What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

Many Lyme disease victims do not remember being bitten by a tick. Some people get a characteristic rash called erythema migrans (EM), which develops around the site of the tick bite. The EM rash is not the same as the welt which often appears within hours of a tick bite. A typical EM rash usually starts to develop a few days or even several weeks after the bite and then expands over a period of days to several inches across, perhaps with a central clearing. Untreated, the rash can last for weeks before fading, or it may fade and recur. So-called satellite rashes may appear on different parts of the body as the bacteria spread in the blood and lymphatic system. Atypical forms are seen more frequently than the classic EM, such as irregular shapes, or blisters and scabby appearance.

The EM rash is the most definitive sign of Lyme disease and warrants immediate treatment. It is important, if you have been exposed to ticks, and whether or not you remember being bitten, to have any suspicious rash checked as soon as possible by a physician who is informed about Lyme disease. Take a photo of your rash for the record.

Early in the infection, many people experience flu-like symptoms such as fever and chills, malaise, fatigue, headache, stiff neck, sore and aching muscles and joints, backache, nausea and vomiting, sore throat and swollen glands. These symptoms may clear up without treatment, or they may persist in a waxing and waning pattern. Later symptoms may include prolems with the muscles and joints, brain and nervous system, heart and circulation, digestion, reproductive system, and skin. For a more detailed Symptom List, click here.

Symptoms may disappear on their own over a period of weeks, and different symptoms may appear at different times. There may be long periods of latency when the patient feels quite well. Research is focussed on discovering how the Lyme bacteria behave in the human body, how they cause disease symptoms and how they evade the immune system. An unknown number of people contract Lyme disease and do not develop symptoms. This is known as "sub-clinical" infection. No one knows if or when symptoms of the infection may appear. Other people have continuing symptoms in spite of repeated treatments. There are several theories about why this happens, but no one knows for sure.



How is Lyme disease diagnosed?

Diagnosis is based primarily on recognition of the typical symptoms of Lyme disease in a person who lives in a high-risk area. Testing is not an exact science: the tests for Lyme disease may sometimes be negative in cases where disease is actually present, and false positive tests are also possible. Therefore, experienced physicians recommend that the diagnosis of Lyme disease should be a clinical one.

New tests, such as the DNA test called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the Lyme urine antigen test (LUAT), can help to distinguish between cases of active Lyme disease and chronic, immune-mediated symptoms. A recent report described success with a new method of culturing the bacteria from chronically ill patients. Diagnosis may be difficult, especially in atypical cases and in non-endemic areas. Many people are misdiagnosed. By the time they receive treatment, irreversible damage may have occurred. Other patients experience complete or almost complete recovery once they receive appropriate treatment, even after many years of infection.

Some physicians feel that Lyme disease is being overdiagnosed, and prefer to classify patients as having fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome if their symptoms do not resolve with a short course of treatment. Other physicians have discovered that patients with long-standing cases of multiple sclerosis and other so-called "autoimmune" diseases actually have Lyme disease and can be helped with antibiotics.

Ticks may carry more than one disease. Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia have long been recognized; human forms of ehrlichiosis and babesiosis have only recently been discovered. There is considerable symptomatic overlap among these diseases, but the treatments may be different. The person who is bitten by a tick may acquire more than one disease from a single bite. To find out more about ehrlichiosis, click here.



What is the treatment for Lyme disease?

Oral antibiotics are often used, though in some cases, intravenous antibiotics are needed. Early treatment may prevent later, more serious, complications. Some physicians believe in giving antibiotics for tick bites, but the cost effectiveness of prophylactic treatment is being hotly debated. Certainly the tick infection rate should be considered, and the duration of attachment.

Physicians do not yet agree on the optimal therapy. Experienced physicians often recommend four weeks of antibiotics to begin, and retreat if necessary. Some physicians are trying pulse therapy (weekly injections with no treatment in between), long term (6 months to a year or more), and combinations (two or more antibiotics simultaneously), however no controlled study of these treatments has been published, and their benefit is still unproven.

Many experts agree that if you have already been treated and are still not well, you may benefit from further treatment. The National Institutes of Health have just funded a clinical trial to examine this theory.



How can Lyme disease be prevented?

CHECK FOR TICKS! Avoiding exposure to ticks when possible and, if you are bitten, promptly removing the tick are the primary preventive measures. If you walk in tall grass or brush, wear long sleeves and tuck the bottoms of long pants into your socks. Use a permethrin spray, or one recommended for use with ticks. Check your body and clothing frequently. Ticks are often found on thigh, groin, underarms, backs of knees, behind the ears and on the neck at the hairline. Be sure to check children and pets.

Removing the tick properly is important. Carefully grasp any attached tick with tweezers as close to your skin as possible and pull slowly and firmly straight out. Do not squeeze the tick, as the body may act like a syringe, injecting bacteria into your skin. Do not twist or attempt to "unscrew" the tick - you will more likely cause the head to break off. Ticks cannot easily remove their barbed mouthparts once they are embedded - steady traction is needed. Apply antiseptic to the bite and save the tick in a small vial marked with the date to show your doctor. You may want to test the tick to see if it is infected.

Because of the relatively small risk of acquiring Lyme disease from a single bite, prophylactic treatment is not usually recommended, but Lyme disease can be so serious that this is a matter to be decided by you and your doctor on an individual basis. That decision will be influenced by the tick infection rate in your area and how long the tick was attached. However, if you develop symptoms, see your doctor immediately.