Lyme disease is a tick borne illness caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted by deer ticks. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the term Chronic Lyme Disease (CLD) describes long term Lyme patients with nonspecific symptoms. CLD represents patients with late stage Lyme disease who may have no active infection (remission) but continue to suffer widespread pain, fatigue, and neurological symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not yet fully recognize chronic Lyme disease as an ailment but studies are ongoing.
Symptoms
Symptoms include a trademark bulls-eye rash at the site of the bite in some cases. Patients experience extreme fatigue, joint pain and muscle aches, headache, fever, Bell's palsy (unilateral facial paralysis), and swollen lymph nodes. In later stages, numbness in the extremities, widespread pain, and difficulty concentrating and sleeping occur.
Disease Progression
The early stage commonly manifests with rash and flu-like symptoms. Within a few weeks, infection spreads to other parts of the body. If untreated, it progresses to Late stage with more serious complications such as arthritis (termed Lyme arthritis) and neurological symptoms. Even after treatment some patients continue to experience Lyme arthritis, fatigue, and neurological symptoms. Beyond late stage, chronic Lyme patients may relapse into active infection or experience symptoms without active infection.
Treatment
Standard treatment is orally with doxycycline or amoxicillin. Early treatment lasts 2 to 4 weeks. For later stages, the first month is occasionally followed up with an additional 4-week course of antibiotics. In late stages and severe cases, intravenous antibiotic therapy is initiated if oral treatment is ineffective.
Late stage Complications
If late stage symptoms persist beyond 6 months, the case is considered chronic. Coinfections with other tick borne bacteria may heighten symptoms and increase antibiotic resistance. Severity of early symptoms, treatment modality, and patient compliance also contribute toward complications like heart blockage, seizure, and meningitis.
Prognosis and relapse
While early treatment can halt the infection and resolve symptoms, this is not always the case. The longer the infection is untreated the higher likelihood of complications persisting. When damage occurs, symptom management becomes the best option; symptoms should not worsen if treatment is successful. Blood tests are not always dependable at this stage, making the disease difficult to track. Nutritional, holistic, and traditional Western techniques can all contribute to restoring physical balance.
Tags: active infection, late stage, neurological symptoms, chronic Lyme, Chronic Lyme, fatigue neurological, fatigue neurological symptoms