2000 words

Lyme Disease Symptoms

Lyme disease has many symptoms that fall under three stages: early
localized, early disseminated, and late. An infected person can go from the
early stage to the late stage without experiencing additional symptoms. This
is why its important to get treatment once the early signs are spotted or if
you think that you may have been bitten by a tick.
Early, Localized Symptoms
The infective microorganism (Borrelia burgdorferi) in Lyme disease spreads
on the body when time goes by. During the early stage, the bacteria have
not yet travelled far from the spot where it has entered the skin. Symptoms
in this stage only include rashes and swelling on the skin. Early signs occur 3
days to one month after being bitten by a tick with B. burgdorferi bacteria.
As mentioned, a rash is one of the earliest indicators of Lyme disease. Its
better to look for a rash than wait for complications. Places to check are
areas that are frequently bitten by ticks such as the armpit, trunk, buttocks,
or thigh.
Erythema Migrans (EM)
A big clue that you might have Lyme disease is the appearance of a red,
circular rash called as erythema migrans. This kind of rash is caused by the
movement of Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria outward on the skin. The rash
expands in a circular formation gradually, resulting into a shape that looks
like a bulls eye. If you suspect you have Lyme Disease, watch out for this
rash because it occurs in around 70 percent of infected individuals.
Erythema Migrans shows up around one week after a tick bite but may arrive
anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks. If a rash shows up immediately after a
tick bite and disappears after 2 days, you may not have Lyme disease. It
may only be an allergic reaction to the bite and not a sign of a B. burgorferi
infection.
A true EM rash starts as a small, raised bump on the site of the bite and turn
into a growing circle over a couple of days. The rash is neither painful nor
itchy so it may be hard to detect. However, it may feel warm if you touched
it. Around 25% of infected people never develop or notice this rash.

Other Rashes in Lyme Disease

Lyme disease often produces a bulls eye or target-like rash, but it can also
produce other forms of rashes:

Spotted rash distributed over a large area

Reddish streaks
Red patch with a crust on the center
Pink area with dark center
Oval-shaped rash
Red-blue rash

The common feature is that the rash covers a wide area on the skin.
Rashes that Are Mistaken for Lyme Disease
As mentioned before, rashes caused by Lyme disease are not itchy or
painful. If it is, then it might be something else, such as a skin condition,
allergic reaction, or an infection thats not caused by b. burgorferi. For
example:

Allergic reaction to insect bite An insect bite may cause itchy bumps
that go away after a few days. In contrast, the rash in Lyme disease
appears three days after and persists for a long time without itching.
Ringworm A ringworm skin infection produces a circular rash with
itchy, raised edges.
Pityriasis rosea This is a non-infectious skin condition that is
currently unexplained. Rashes are salmon-colored, scaly and itchy.
Granuloma annulare rash This is a skin disease that may be
provoked by medications or injuries. This can be itchy or not itchy
depending on the location. It manifests as small, reddish bumps
measuring 5 cm each in a ring formation.
Hives/Urticaria multiforme This is an allergic reaction that forms
randomly scattered rashes that burn and itch.

Lyme Disease Vs. STARI

Another tick-borne illness called Southern Tick-associated Rash Illness
(STARI) produces a rash that is similar to Erythema Migrans but there are
crucial differences:

People with STARI often remembered being bitten by a tick while those
with Lyme disease do not.
STARI often produces fewer symptoms than Lyme disease.
STARI skin lesions are smaller and less prevalent than Lyme disease
skin lesions. STARIs lesions measure from 6-10 cm while Lyme
disease lesions measure 6-28 cm.

Early Disseminated
This stage begins when the bacteria spreads from the bite site and affects
parts of the body other than the skin. Remember that some people do not
get a rash at all so the disease may progress to this stage without being
noticed.
Fever A fever is the bodys response to an infection. It speeds up the
action of white blood cells and other immune system components so that it
can destroy the invading bacteria.
Chills Fatigue Being tired even if you didnt do something exhausting is a sign of
an illness.
Headache Nausea
Sore throat
Vomiting
Muscle pain Muscle aches and cramps are
Joint pain - When the bacteria infect the joints, it can cause joint aches,
stiffness and swelling. The knees are the most commonly affected part, but
it can also occur in the elbows, shoulders, wrists, hips, and ankles.
Swollen lymph nodes
Enlarged spleen
Late Stage

When Lyme disease is untreated for months and years, the infected person
may experience late stage symptoms. This is when serious complications
result, such as brain inflammation and nerve damage.
Arthritis
Around 50% of people with Lyme disease develop arthritis.
It can spread to the muscles, tendons, joints, and bones and cause them to
swell and feel painful.
Pain and swelling in large joints such as the knee recur for several years.
The knees may be swollen, hot, and may look reddish. Painful cysts may
also develop and break behind the knee. This causes persistent knee
problems.
Once arthritis develops, the joint pain and stiffness may come and go, and
recur years later. 10 percent of people with Lyme disease arthritis have
permanent joint stiffness.
It can travel through the nervous system and cause the brain and spinal cord
to be inflamed. This results to nerve pains and paresthesias (numbness,
sharp pain, or tingling) in the arms, legs, and back.
It can cause facial paralysis that is similar to Bells palsy. The face might
droop.
Lyme carditis
The infection may reach the heart and cause it to beat irregularly, causing
abnormal heart rhythms and palpitations. The heart may become enlarged
over time. The sac covering the heart may become inflamed and cause chest
pain.
The lymph glands and spleen might become enlarged as they work hard to
filter the bacteria from the body.
Hepatitis
Eye inflammation
Cardiovascular and central nervous system damage
Severe headaches result

Dizziness
Persistent backache, stiff neck, joint pains and swelling, degenerative muscle
disease.
Mental status may suffer and have difficulty remembering things, moods
wings, speech difficulties, and insomnia.
Trouble concentrating
EM rashes
Symptoms may slowly subside over two to years or become chronic.
Weakness
Its quite hard to catch Lyme Disease because the incubation period is quite
long and the symptoms are so varied. Tick bites are usually painless so the
A doctor may fail to diagnose the disease until its in the later stages. Lyme
Disease is often misdiagnosed as other diseases that share similar
symptoms such as the following:

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ALS damages the nerve

cells that control movements and may result to muscle weakness,
spasms, and incoordination. The causes of ALS are unknown.
Bipolar disorder
Charcot Marie-Tooth Like Lyme disease, Carcot Marie-Tooth affects
the sensory and motor nerves. However, this is caused by gene
mutation and has unique symptoms such as leg and foot deformities.
Chronic fatigue although persistent fatigue may be a result of Lyme
disease, chronic fatigue syndromes causes is not yet known, thus
treatments do not require finding what caused the syndrome but only
deals with re-energizing the body.
Fatigue - Fatigue may have a wide range of causes such as anemia,
diabetes, and sleep apnea.
Dementia Dementia involves brain cell damage caused by
Alzheimers disease, stroke, nerve cell wasting, injury, and other
factors. Lyme disease may cause dementia but a dementia diagnosis
alone may not be able to treat the condition.
Fibromyalgia This disease causes widespread pain in the bones,
joints, and muscles.

Gout Gout is the result of having a lot of uric acid in the body. This
forms tough crystals in the joints and cause arthritis.
Guillan Barre Guillan Barre mimics the tingling sensations
experienced in Lyme disease, but its caused by the immune system
attacking parts of itself.
Lupus Lupus is another auto-immune system disorder where the
bodys defenses targets its own cells. Like Lyme disease, lupus can
cause various symptoms such as painful joints, fever, and fatigue. A
distinctive sign of Lupus is a butterfly-shaped rash over the nose and
cheeks.
Multiple Sclerosis MS is a condition where the immune system
destroys the myelin coating of nerves. Symptoms include tiredness,
muscle weakness, numbness, pain, and others. One unique symptom
is called the MS hug, or pain around the waist that makes it hard to
breathe.
Parkinson's disease PD is the deterioration of the nervous system
and causes slowing of movements and stiffness of muscles. This is not
caused by the bacteria in Lyme disease but by genes and toxins.
Rheumatoid arthritis This is an autoimmune disease that causes
the joints to be inflamed.
Scleroderma This is a group of unusual diseases that involve the
toughening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues. This
results from excessive production of collagen in the body.

Other infections may produce symptoms

HGA
Babesiosis
Tick-borne diseases
Tick-borne relapsing fever Rickettsa rickettsi cause death
Rocky mountain
human monocyte ehrlichiosis (HME), carried by the Lone Star tick,
southern US
Mononucleosis This is a viral infection that can create symptoms
like a skin rash and a swollen spleen.

Depression Depression can also cause aches and fatigue.