Sunday, November 2, 2014

Tips On How To Treat Lyme Disease

By Etta Bowen


The best way to treat lyme disease is to use antibiotics as early as possible. The symptoms can be seen within weeks or a month of the bite. These signs include a small bump that is characteristic of a rash around where the tick bit. The rush may spread to other areas on your skin. The rash is characterized by a bulls eye appearance with a clear red ring surrounding it. Flu like symptoms like headache and body aches, chills, fatigue and fever will be experienced as well.

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.

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.

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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