Lyme disease, or Lyme disease, is a disease spread by ticks that feed on the blood of humans and animals. The only way to get it is when a person is sucked in by an infected tick.
These arthropods are found not only in forests and meadows, but also in city parks and gardens. Therefore, everyone should take care of them. Anyone can be infected with Lyme disease, and its consequences are equally threatening to everyone, regardless of the age group to which a person belongs.
“The first stage of this disease is most common. It manifests itself as a bright red spot at the site of the tick bite. Other possible symptoms: chills, fever, general weakness of the whole body, enlarged lymph nodes.
However, in some cases, patients may not notice the first and immediately pass to the asymptomatic-second stage of the disease. Most of the time, it is invisible, unless the disease affects the human nervous system, and manifests itself, for example, in damage to the facial nerves.”
The third stage of Lyme disease is decisive. Its effects can be felt for the rest of your life.
“At this stage, one of the three body systems is usually affected: the joints, the heart or the brain. Having reached the stage of neuroborreliosis, the disease can affect the brain in such a way that the patient remains disabled for life.
Due to a malfunctioning nervous system, a person will no longer be able to take care of himself. Although such cases of the disease are rare, in the long term, joint damage can also cause disability to a person,” says the doctor about the effects of the third stage of Lyme disease.
Three ways to protect yourself
There is no vaccine against this disease. However, it can be prevented by individual protective measures. The first of them is to dress properly when going to the forest or other places where ticks like to go.
“You should wear light-colored clothes: a t-shirt or sweater should be long-sleeved, the cuffs should fit well around the wrist, and the bottom of the trouser legs should fit close to the body. It is also recommended to wrap your head with a scarf or wear a fitted hat. And after returning from tick-risk areas, carefully check the whole body and destroy crawling ticks or pull them out as soon as possible”, – I. Aleksa presents one of the preventive measures for Lyme disease.
Experts call the time of diagnosis of the disease very important – every additional day can lead to a greater complication of the disease.
“The later it is detected, the longer and more complicated the course of treatment of the disease. In addition, the likelihood of complications increases. That’s why it’s good to have rapid tests for Lyme disease at home,” says the medical doctor.
Although the self-test is not equivalent to a laboratory test and in all cases the decision on the diagnosis is made by the doctor, it is a way to detect an existing disease earlier, before a visit to a treatment facility.
“If you notice a tick bite, the tick should be removed immediately. Then, during the incubation period, monitor the location of its detection, and 2-3 weeks after the arthropod ingestion, check your health with a self-administered rapid Lyme disease test.
It can show a positive result up to six weeks after infection. The accuracy of such rapid tests reaches >98%, and they can be easily purchased at major pharmacies if necessary,” says Gintarė Žukauskienė, representative of the Testera product line offering self-monitoring tests and sales manager of pharmacy chains.
The third measure is the use of repellents, substances that repel arthropods. According to a medical doctor, it is one of the best primary prevention measures. It is designed to repel pathogens.
Tags: vaccinations listed ways protect
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