Why might Lyme disease never go away?

Find Out Why Lyme Disease Might Not Ever Go Away

Lyme disease is a curable ailment. In fact, if caught in the early stages, it can be cured within a few weeks’ time. Even so, Lyme infection can result in a chronic condition. Not everyone afflicted with Lyme disease will be cured.

Lyme disease might never go away — Lyme infection can result in a chronic condition.

Why Lyme Disease Might Not Ever Go Away

There are millions of people who have been diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease. However, there is no way of knowing how many people today are carriers, who never got sick. This is because many people never show symptoms of the infection in the first place. A study conducted by the CDC found that only 33% of infected people reported experiencing a single symptom.

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease

A red bull’s eye rash that expands and fades after a few weeks.
A flu-like headache.
A fever that can feel like a mild infection.
A swollen and migratory joint pain.
Tingling and numbness in the hands, feet and/or other parts of the body.
Fatigue and memory loss.

Treating Lyme disease: What to do

People with early-stage Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics.
People who experience persistent symptoms after antibiotic treatment can be treated again.
People who experience long-term symptoms, such as fatigue or joint pain, should seek medical help right away.

Tick control is key to Lyme disease prevention

Avoiding ticks is the best way to avoid contracting any tick-borne illness. At home, professional tick control through periodic barrier protection sprays, will help you avoid ticks.

Prevent ticks from attaching to your skin by using insect repellent and wearing protective clothing.
Inspect your body for ticks after being outdoors, and remove them as soon as you see them.
Keep your yard mowed so that ticks have fewer places to hide.
Prevent mice and other rodents from entering your home.
Prevent your pets from bringing in ticks.

What to do if you’re bitten by a tick

Remove the tick as soon as possible.
Wash the bite area with soap and water.
Seek medical attention if symptoms worsen, such as a fever, joint pain, rash, or severe fatigue.

Dave Macchia, tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

One Tick Bite, a Lifetime of Lyme Disease

Like long-haul COVID, Lyme disease can become a lifelong challenge.

One tick bite from one tiny tick can be the end of a healthy life as you knew it. Often found in plants and brush, ticks can attach to and bite people and animals. Their bites are usually not harmful; however, these insects can carry serious diseases including Lyme disease.

One tick bite, a lifetime of Lyme disease — One tick bite can result in a lifetime of Lyme disease.

What does Lyme disease rash look like?

A Lyme disease-causing bacterium is carried in the bug bite of the deer tick here in the Chelmsford region. In most cases, a tick – usually 3 to 5 mm long – must be attached to you 36-48 hours to spread Lyme disease.

A circular, red, expanding rash (a bulls-eye rash, if you will) may be one of the first symptoms of Lyme disease. Other symptoms include fatigue, chills, fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. Treatment in the early stages with antibiotics is generally effective and critical to prevent lifelong complications.

What are the long-term health effects of Lyme disease?

Lyme disease can cause muscle aches, mental fog, and fatigue for years or even decades. Researchers are still trying to figure out exactly how and why Lyme disease affects people in different ways and how best to treat them. But evidence that the bacteria-borne disease sometimes sticks around in a person’s body long after they’ve gone through initial antibiotic treatments appears to be mounting.

Some pretty famous people have gone on the record with their own Lyme infection experiences.

As of two years ago, several celebrities have come forward to talk about their experience battling Lyme disease. Here are eight that you most likely are familiar with.

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Amy Schumer: For this comedic actor, Lyme disease has been no laughing matter. She admitted that it’s possible she could’ve experienced Lyme symptoms for quite some time without realizing it. In an Instagram post, she said she’s taken doxycycline, an oral antibiotic, to treat the condition and she also asked others for advice.

Justin Bieber: The singer wrote on Instagram that it has been a “rough couple of years” battling the disease. He explained that, for a long time, people speculated that he was “on meth,” but failed to realize that he’d actually recently been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Avril Lavigne: The singer went public with her Lyme battle in 2015 and is now an advocate for those with the illness. She called that the “worst time” in her life after seeing specialists and doctors who misdiagnosed her with chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.

Ben Stiller: Nine years ago, Stiller told The Hollywood Reporter about his Lyme disease saying, “I got it in Nantucket, Massachusetts, a couple of years ago. My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme.”

Shania Twain: The renowned singer has said her battle with Lyme has impacted her career. She told Canadian news outlet CBC that she was bitten by a tick when on tour in Norfolk, Virginia. She said she saw a tick fall off her and she immediately began to see troubling Lyme disease symptoms pop up.

Kelly Osbourne: Undiagnosed for nearly a decade, her contact with the tick spread disease most likely came from a reindeer sanctuary back in England.

Alec Baldwin: The 30 Rock actor opened up about his years-long battle with Lyme in 2017. During an interview with The New York Times, he mentioned that he had chronic Lyme disease.

Kris Kristofferson: A Star Is Born singer/actor, Kristofferson experienced several misdiagnoses before being treated for Lyme. His wife, Lisa, told Rolling Stone magazine she believed he’d been bitten by a tick while filming the 2006 movie “Disappearances” in Vermont.

You can help stop the spread of Lyme disease with professional Grafton Tick Control.

With expert guidance and the latest tick bite prevention methodology, professional tick control is your best assurance against contacting the dreadful tick-spread Lyme disease.

Also read: When are ticks most active in Massachusetts?

COVID-19 Long Haulers Shine a Light on Chronic Lyme

There have been parallels between COVID-19 and Lyme over the last year. Could COVID-19 long haulers impact the future of treating chronic Lyme?

In June of last year, I wrote about comorbidity between these two illnesses. A chronic Lyme sufferer, who is being treated with immunosuppressant drugs, could be more susceptible to contracting coronavirus. Even though COVID-19 is a viral infection, whereas Lyme disease is bacterial, there are similarities in some of the symptoms. Extreme fatigue, body pain, and fever are just three. In recent months, we have heard about COVID-19 long haulers. These are people, who contracted coronavirus and recovered – but cannot seem to fully recover.

covid-10 long haulers — A negative COVID test does not mean a full recovery.

What are long haulers experiencing?

The persistent symptoms left behind seem to be non-discriminating. There are young and old sufferers. There are patients, who had no co-morbid conditions. There are long haulers, who didn’t experience serious COVID-19 symptoms. Imagine contracting the virus, and feeling okay, only to later begin to feel very sick. Chronic sufferers are experiencing symptoms, such as shortness of breath, extreme headaches, fatigue, and an increased heart rate many months after their original illness. The U.S. does not report an average age of COVID-19 long haulers. A hospital in Paris says the average age of their patients is only 40 years old.

covid long haulers impact lyme sufferers — New long-haulers could shine a light on chronic Lyme sufferers.

Shining a Light on Chronic Lyme Disease

fatigue in COVID long haulers As experts scramble to unravel the mystery of persistent symptoms of coronavirus, the Global Lyme Alliance is reaching out to these new long haulers. As with chronic Lyme disease, the common perception is that once you treat the illness, you are cured. Chronic sufferers of COVID-19 will likely be met with some misunderstanding, but a light is being shone on their suffering. If you search online or watch the news, you will see their stories. There is a active push for awareness, and even more incentive for us to protect ourselves. Doctors are working to treat long haulers, and one could assume that the overall awareness and acceptance of the phenomenon will offer hope to chronic Lyme disease patients, who seek acceptance and effective treatment. The idea that a negative test does not mean that the infection did not leave lasting effects could eventually become a thing of the past. Those suffering chronic Lyme could find new hope in no longer being dismissed by their families, friends, and even medical professionals. There could be a time in the near future, when persistent Lyme symptoms are taken seriously, and this is great news if you suffer from these symptoms.

Hingham Tick Control for Lyme Prevention

tick control Central Mass Knowing that Lyme disease can be just as life-altering as COVID-19, it is imperative that we keep ourselves protected from tick bites. The best way to prevent Lyme infection is to eliminate ticks from your yard. Reputable tick control companies offer ultimate protection with barrier tick sprays for your property. These EPA-registered treatments can eliminate up to 95% of ticks from your yard for a couple of weeks at a time. The best tick control companies offer year-long protection by adding tick tubes to your regimen in the late fall and winter. Tick tubes can greatly impact the number of ticks that emerge on your property in the spring by killing them where they nest.

Category: Chronic Lyme Disease