Lyme disease

Lyme diseaseis a multi-system disease that seems to affect all types of tissues and all organs of the human body. It is a disease that is mild in some and debilitating in others. It can cripple, immobilize or cloud a person's mind. It attacks men, women and children, and even your favorite dog. You can be negative and have the disease, or you can be positive and have no symptoms. Some people develop symptoms within days of being bitten, while others take years to be diagnosed.

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Just a few years ago, only 10 percent. of all arachnids carried dangerous tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease. Today, every third tick is infected with it. Many people with Lyme disease say they have never noticed a tick in their home. There is evidence that not only ticks can infect the Borrelia spirochete, but also other insects and humans. Ticks become infected with the spirochaete when drawing blood from infected animals. During the bite, the tick most often transmits spirochetes in the company of other germs that it has in the saliva or lymph (viruses, bacteria, parasites). We then speak of "Lyme disease co-infections".

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Infected people and animals have been found to have spirochetes in various body fluids (blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, milk, semen, sweat), but their ability to infect is then variable. In order to infect another individual, the spirochete must get into his blood, i.e. in these indirect cases (as in the HIV virus) skin cuts, perineal injuries, etc. are needed.

It happens that a person is infected with the spirochete of borrelia from a young age, but it remains hidden as long as the body is strong, active and oxygenated (the bacterium is anaerobic, oxygen interferes with it). As long as we have a functioning immune system, we do not get sick and do not have symptoms of illness. However, these hidden pathogens (often surrounded by a biofilm, which even an antibiotic cannot break) are waiting for a convenient moment of exit, i.e. a decrease in our immunity (usually caused by chronic stress or another disease that destroys the body). 

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Classic symptoms:

 

Early stage

 

Within 1 to 4 weeks of being bitten, most people have some symptoms of Lyme disease. A circular rash called erythema migrans develops at the site of the bite in about 70% of cases. It grows slowly, reaching up to 30 cm or more. Unfortunately, 30% of cases are asymptomatic in this phase or have other symptoms that can be easily confused or ignored.

 

It could be:

• a warm sensation at the site of the bite, but it probably won't be itchy or painful

• will appear in a completely different place on the body

• looks like a shooting target

• it can look different from person to person, especially if you have darker skin.

 

Some people also report symptoms that can easily be mistaken for a cold or flu at this stage, including:

• Fever

• Chills

• Headache

• Tiredness

• Swollen lymph nodes

• Joint pain

• Muscle aches

 

 

As the infection spreads

 

If the disease is not treated in its early stages, it can spread to other areas of the body in a few weeks or months, such as:

• joints

• Heart

• The nervous system

 

You may also have more rashes and periods of pain and weakness in your arms or legs. Other symptoms include:

• Facial paralysis (Bell's palsy)

• Headache

• Poor memory

• Fast heartbeat

• Dyspnoea

• Dizziness

• Inflammation of the brain and spinal cord

 

Symptoms of the disease in the late stage

 

This is the most serious stage of the disease where treatment has either not worked or never started. This usually happens many months after the first bite and it's hard to pin down what was the cause of this condition. Symptoms include:

• Arthritis, usually in the knees (arthritis)

• Nerve damage (peripheral nerves)

• Bewilderment, disorientation, 'fog'

• Myocarditis and abnormal heartbeat (less common)

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In the late phase of the disease (which may occur many months or even years after infection), the following symptoms are additionally observed: chronic atrophic dermatitis, chronic fatigue, hypersensitivity to alcohol, muscle pain, hair loss, visual impairment, hearing impairment, mental disorders and even autoimmune diseases.

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However, sometimes it's not that simple:

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Despite the lack of specificity of Lyme disease symptoms, however, I notice some recurring features:

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• Good appearance of the patient and correct results of diagnostic tests - despite the terrible feeling. This state can last for many months. Often even the family does not believe the patient, and the doctors refer him to a psychologist or psychiatrist.

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• The cyclicality of symptoms. In most patients, symptoms worsen every 3–4 weeks.

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• Symptoms that follow the "come and disappear" rule are most often:
            _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_    - asymmetrical (on one side of the body),
            _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_    - wandering (once here, once there),
            _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_    - paroxysmal (appear suddenly),
            _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_    - transient (they can go away spontaneously, to return again after some time - often to a different place).

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