Lyme Disease A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread through the bite of one of many species of ticks.
Lyme disease is produced by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi or Borrelia mayonii.
These bacteria grow inside of certain infected ticks and spread to humans when the patient is bitten by an infected tick, both adult and nymph, of the genus Ixodes.
There are 3 stages of Lyme disease:
1. Stage 1 is called early localized Lyme disease.
The bacteria are localized and have not spread through the body.
2. Stage 2 is called early disseminated Lyme disease.
The bacteria have started to extend throughout the body.
3. Stage 3 is called late disseminated Lyme disease.
The bacteria have extended throughout the body.
Risk factors for Lyme disease are:
1. Doing outside activities that risk higher tick exposure (e.g., gardening, hunting, or hiking) in an area where Lyme disease happens
2. Presence of a pet that may bring infected ticks home
3. Strolling in places with high grasses
Lyme disease is the most frequent tick-borne infection in the northern hemisphere.
Lyme disease is complicated and produces different symptoms to form, depending on the stage of the infection:
1. A skin lesion known as erythema migrans is the most frequent symptom linked with early-stage Lyme disease.
2. There can be neurological, cardiac, and arthritic problems that form in later stages of Lyme disease.
3. Pauciarticular arthritis (affecting 4 or fewer joints) is the most frequent disorder linked with late-stage Lyme disease.
Small rodents and deer have an important part in a deer tick’s life cycle.
1. Deer ticks lay eggs that turn into larvae that feed on mice and other small mammals
2. Larvae then form into immature ticks called nymphs
3. Nymphs then feed on small mammals and humans
4. Adult deer ticks normally feed on deer during the adult part of their life cycles
5. Both nymphs and adult ticks can spread Lyme disease-causing bacteria.
The recent rise of the deer population in the Northeast and of housing developments in areas where deer ticks are often found probably contributed to its higher spread.
The symptoms are the same as the flu and may be:
1. Fever and chills
2. General ill feeling
3. Headache
4. Joint pain
5. Muscle pain
6. Stiff neck
There may be a "bull's eye" rash, a flat or slightly raised red spot at the location of the tick bite.
Diagnosis:
The most often test used is the ELISA for Lyme disease test.
The immunoblot test is done to confirm ELISA results.
Other tests that may be performed when the infection has extended are:
1. Electrocardiogram
2. Echocardiogram to look at the heart
3. MRI of the brain
4. Spinal tap (lumbar puncture to examine spinal fluid)
Treatment:
A single dose of the antibiotic doxycycline may be administered to someone soon after being bitten by a tick
The selection of antibiotic is dependent on the stage of the disease and the symptoms.
Frequent choices are doxycycline, amoxicillin, azithromycin, cefuroxime, and ceftriaxone.
Pain medicines, such as ibuprofen, are occasionally given for joint stiffness.
If the patient has Lyme arthritis, the doctors may manage the patient with oral antibiotics.
If the arthritis is serious, the patient may be given ceftriaxone or penicillin intravenously.
If the patient has neurological symptoms, the doctor will be likely to treat the patient with the antibiotic ceftriaxone given intravenously once a day for a month
Doctors choose to treat people with Lyme disease who have heart symptoms with antibiotics such as ceftriaxone or penicillin given intravenously for about 2 weeks.
Patients with Lyme disease seldom have long-term heart damage such as heart block
A pacemaker may be needed.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Lyme Disease
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370800780

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Lyme Disease

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2017 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Lyme Disease, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Lyme Disease)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 amazon kindle books and 200 into Smashwords.com eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Lyme Disease

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread through the bite of one of many species of ticks.

Lyme disease is produced by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi or Borrelia mayonii.

These bacteria grow inside of certain infected ticks and spread to humans when the patient is bitten by an infected tick, both adult and nymph, of the genus Ixodes.

There are 3 stages of Lyme disease:

1. Stage 1 is called early localized Lyme disease.

The bacteria are localized and have not spread through the body.

2. Stage 2 is called early disseminated Lyme disease.

The bacteria have started to extend throughout the body.

3. Stage 3 is called late disseminated Lyme disease.

The bacteria have extended throughout the body.

Risk factors for Lyme disease are:

1. Doing outside activities that risk higher tick exposure (e.g., gardening, hunting, or hiking) in an area where Lyme disease happens

2. Presence of a pet that may bring infected ticks home

3. Strolling in places with high grasses

Lyme disease is the most frequent tick-borne infection in the northern hemisphere.

Lyme disease is complicated and produces different symptoms to form, depending on the stage of the infection:

1. A skin lesion known as erythema migrans is the most frequent symptom linked with early-stage Lyme disease.

2. There can be neurological, cardiac, and arthritic problems that form in later stages of Lyme disease.

3. Pauciarticular arthritis (affecting 4 or fewer joints) is the most frequent disorder linked with late-stage Lyme disease.

What is the cause of Lyme Disease?

Cause:

Ticks Transmit Lyme

Lyme disease is produced by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi (B burgdorferi).

Blacklegged ticks and other species of ticks can transmit these bacteria.

The ticks lift up the bacteria when they bite into mice or deer that are infected with B burgdorferi.

The doctors found that the children’s first symptoms normally began in the summer months, the peak of the tick season.

Several of the patients documented having a skin rash just before forming their arthritis.

Many also remembered being bitten by tiny deer ticks infected with a spiral-shaped bacterium or spirochete at the rash location.

The bacterium named Borrelia burgdorferi was responsible for the outbreak of arthritis in Lyme.

Ticks that most often carry Lyme disease in the U.S.A are:

1. Ixodes scapularis (most frequent in the Northeast/Midwest but also found in the South/Southeast)

2. Ixodes pacificus (found on the west coast)

Role of Deer and Rodents

Small rodents and deer have an important part in a deer tick’s life cycle.

1. Deer ticks lay eggs that turn into larvae that feed on mice and other small mammals

2. Larvae then form into immature ticks called nymphs

3. Nymphs then feed on small mammals and humans

4. Adult deer ticks normally feed on deer during the adult part of their life cycles

5. Both nymphs and adult ticks can spread Lyme disease-causing bacteria.

The recent rise of the deer population in the Northeast and of housing developments in areas where deer ticks are often found probably contributed to its higher spread.

The number of documented cases of Lyme disease as well as the number of geographic areas in which it is found has risen.

Lyme disease has been documented in nearly all states in the USA even though more than 95% of all documented cases are intense in:

1. Northeast / Mid-Atlantic states

2. Wisconsin

3. Minnesota

4. N. California

Lyme disease is also discovered in large regions of Asia and Europe.

A tick must be stuck to the body for 24 to 36 hours to pass the bacteria to the blood.

Blacklegged ticks can be so small that they are almost not possible to see.

Many people with Lyme disease never even observed or sense a tick on their body.

Most people who are bitten by a tick may not develop Lyme disease.

What are the Symptoms of Lyme Disease?

Symptoms:

Symptoms of early localized Lyme disease (stage 1) start days or weeks after being infected.

The symptoms are the same as the flu and may be:

1. Fever and chills

2. General ill feeling

3. Headache

4. Joint pain

5. Muscle pain

6. Stiff neck

There may be a bull's eye rash, a flat or slightly raised red spot at the location of the tick bite.

Often there is a plain area in the center.

It can be outsized and increasing in size.

This rash is termed erythema migrans (EM).

If not treated, it can persist 4 weeks or longer.

Symptoms may come and go.

If not treated, the bacteria can pass on to the brain, heart, and joints.

Symptoms of early disseminated Lyme disease (stage 2) may happen weeks to months after the tick bite, and may be:

1. Numbness or pain in the nerve area

2. Paralysis or weakness in the muscles of the face

3. Heart disorders, such as palpitations (skipped heartbeats), shortness of breath, or chest pain.

Symptoms of late disseminated Lyme disease (stage 3) can happen months or years after the infection.

The most frequent symptoms are muscle and joint pain.

Other symptoms may be:

1. Abnormal