3 Stages Of Lyme Disease And Their Symptoms

Lyme disease can be described as a bacterial infection that is transmitted by a tick bite. Normally it can be treated with antibiotics. There are cases wherein the infection can cause complications and long-term disabilities when not immediately treated, or when the disease persists despite medication. To prevent this undesirable event from happening to you, you should be knowledgeable of the symptoms of the stages of Lyme disease-from early to chronic.

Initial phase

If you are bitten by an infected tick, the early stage of Lyme disease lasts for four weeks after. One of the symptoms of Lyme disease at this point includes a red circular rash called erythema migrans, described otherwise as bull's eye rash at the site of the tick bite. There are quite a number of patients, though, who do not display the rash following their tick bite, so you need to be aware of the other signs. These include flu-like symptoms, such as headache, muscle ache, fever, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. When you know you have been bitten by a tick a few days or weeks before the onset of such symptoms, immediately consult your doctor for proper diagnosis and immediate treatment to avoid complications.

The second phase

If Lyme disease is not treated early or there aren't any symptoms in the beginning in the first phase, Lyme disease can progress into the second phase. Generally this will happen around 1 - 4 months following a bite from the tick. Symptoms in this stage include joint pains, more headaches, more muscle pains, numbness in arms and legs, fainting, tiredness, poor concentration, poor memory retention, and conjunctivitis.

Third stage, or Chronic Lyme disease

For the elderly, and the unhealthy, Lyme disease can become chronic Lyme disease. Lyme disease reaches an advanced stage if it is not diagnosed early or if the medication provided is not sufficient to treat the infection. In this period, symptoms are actually quite serious, including:

* Arthritis may be a symptom of late-stage Lyme disease. You'll have redness, swelling, pain in your joints and stiffness in your shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and smaller joints.

* Neurological problems: Neurological problems will arise during the second stage, and they will increase in intensity. Itching, burning, and a strong degree of numbness in your extremities as well as your torso may appear at this point. You may continue to have headaches, and also trouble talking, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, and panic. Bell's Palsy, which is facial nerve paralysis, and aseptic meningitis are some neurological signs.

* Sufferers of chronic Lyme disease may experience symptoms such as inflammation of the heart, chronic tiredness, arrhythmia, tinnitus or ringing in the ears, blurred vision, shortness of breath, hearing loss, chills and fever, excessive sweating, frequent urination, irritable bowel and diarrhea, and pains in the abdomen and pelvic regions.

Most studies do not indicate that death is common in Lyme disease cases Lyme disease is not life-threatening, but it's symptoms and complications can be very serious. You need to know what signs to watch for at the beginning so you can get treatment right away and then you won't have undesired permanent results.