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.

Antibiotics will be administered after the doctor ascertains the presence of the bacteria through tests. Seeking early treatment leads to quicker recovery. Early treatment is done through oral antibiotics.

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.

If the disease has spread to the nervous system, an intravenous injection is recommended. The injection will be administered for 14 to 28 days in order to clear the bacteria. This is because of the difficulty of eliminating the bacteria in this area. When administered, you can expect such side effects as reduction in white blood cells count, diarrhea and the presence of antibiotic resistant micro organisms in the body.

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.

Bismacine is commonly prescribed by alternative practitioners though it has not been approved by Food and Drugs Administration. This is because it contains very high bismuth metal content. Patients are exposed to poisoning as well as such fatal diseases as kidney failure and heart attack.

Measures that can be implemented to prevent attack include avoiding infested areas. These are areas with long grass, thick wood and bushes. When walking or working around such areas, use long sleeved pants and shirts to prevent bites on arms and legs.

There are insect repellants that can be used to reduce exposure. The most effective repellants have higher DEET concentration. Guardians must avoid the mouth, hands and eyes when applying such repellants on children. Permethrin may be applied on cloths or pretreated clothes obtained for farm use.

Precaution should be taken to keep the yard tick free. This involves keeping woodpiles in the sun as well as clearing bushes. All pets and the entire living area should be disinfected on regular basis. A person who has had the disease is likely to catch it again. You should remove the tick as fast as possible using tweezers. Antiseptic should be applied on the bitten area.




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