When to Get Treatment for Lyme Disease

Updated on May 23, 2020

Lyme disease is rampant in the United States and some parts of Asia and Europe. Borrelia mayoniii and Borrelia burgdorferi are the primary cause of the disease in the USA. Borrelia garinii and Borrelia afzelii cause Lyme disease in Asia and Europe. It’s a tick-borne disease. The disease is spread through bites from infected deer ticks. The latter are black-legged ticks and cause unnoticeable bites.

In most cases, people with Lyme disease either live or spend time in extremely wooded or grassy regions. Therefore, it is always important to take care if you have to live or spend time in tick-infested regions. However, if you are already infected, LIVV natural health offers effective treatment. Livv natural health is a classy clinic in San Diego. It offers solutions to a variety of diseases, including Lyme disease infections. Read on to learn more.

Symptoms of Lyme disease 

The common symptoms of Lyme disease include fatigue, fever, and headache. Also, one develops a skin rash, commonly referred to as erythema migrans. If you fail to seek medical help from skilled professionals, the infection may affect your heart, joints, and nervous system. The disease is diagnosed depending on the symptoms, such as skin rash among others. The doctor considers other factors such as whether the patient has been to tick-infested areas. Additionally, Livv naturally health experts carry out laboratory testing to diagnose the disease. 

Over the years, the clinic has successfully treated Lyme disease infections. This only takes a few weeks, and the patient regains their health. Lyme disease can be prevented through the use of insect repellent or by applying pesticides to the infested areas. Note, the ticks that spread Lyme disease have been found to cause several tick-borne diseases. So, controlling the ticks is paramount.

Early symptoms of Lyme disease

You can experience the following signs and symptoms from 3 to 30 days after a tick bite;

  • Headache, chills, fatigue, joint, and muscle aches as well as swollen lymph
  • Erythema migrans rash; this one occurs in about 70% of all infected persons. The rash starts at the bite site at least 7 days after the bite. The rash spreads gradually to other parts. It’s not painful or itchy, but it feels a bit warm.

Later symptoms of Lyme disease 

The following symptoms occur days or months after the tick bite without seeking treatment. They include;

  • Swollen knees 
  • Facial palsy (droop on either side of the face or both)
  • Serious headaches and stiff neck
  • Spreading EM rashes on many parts of the body
  • Arthritis characterized by extreme joint pain and swelling of the knees and other joints.
  • Pains in bones, tendons, and muscles
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Dizziness and shortness of breath
  • Tingling in the feet or hands and shooting body pains

Diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease 

Livv natural health experts’ asses the patients for Lyme disease by considering the following;

  • Check for signs and symptoms of Lyme disease
  • Confirm if the patient lives in tick-infested areas
  • Conduct laboratory tests to confirm if it’s Lyme disease. Note, some other diseases portray the same symptoms with Lyme disease. Therefore, a laboratory test is important. 

Laboratory Testing 

The doctor carries out 2 steps while testing for Lyme disease. The two steps use the same blood sample. In case the test shows negative in the first step, then, the doctor will not do any further testing. But if the first step turns positive, the doctor proceeds to the second test. A patient is said to have Lyme disease only if the first and the second test turns out positive.

The first test is designed to detect Borrelia antibodies. It’s referred to as an Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test (ELISA). The second test detects the protein antibodies from Borrelia Virus. This is called the Western blot test. In most cases, the ELISA test can reflect false positive Lyme disease results. Therefore, the Western blot test is used to confirm the diagnosis.

If need be, the patient undergoes additional testing such as a viral panel. This testing is carried out to check if the patient has co-infections. Generally, Lyme disease weakens the immune system making it susceptible to co-infections including mycoplasma, HHV-6, EBV, and CMV. As a result, the doctor tests for CD4, CD57, and CD8. Also, HLA-DR haplotype testing can be done to determine what the patient’s body is vulnerable to. The body can get infections such as mold, parasites, fungi, and bacteria. 

Important points to note 

Lyme disease tests are aimed at detecting how the antibodies are responding to the infection. The antibodies may take a while before they are developed. As a result, laboratory tests can turn out negative, especially if the patient just got infected. One can test positive for Lyme disease if they got other underlying tick-borne diseases, autoimmune diseases, or viral bacterial. However, such a positive test result is false hence needs to be verified by carrying out the Western blot test.

How to Treat Lyme disease 

Most cases of Lyme disease are successfully treated using antibiotics. If the patient just got infected with the Lyme disease, oral antibiotics are prescribed. This takes from 10 to 21 days. However, for advanced Lyme disease cases, intravenous antibiotics are administered to prevent the diseases from causing more adverse effects. This is because the infection can spread to vital organs in the body such as the heart and the nervous system. This can be life threatening, hence an immediate solution is needed. The recovery period for advanced cases takes between 2 weeks to one month.

IV antibiotic is effective because it introduces medication right to the bloodstream. These speeds up treatment and prevent grave effects of the disease. However, that kind of treatment attracts a list of side effects. They include mild or severe diarrhea, a low count of white blood cells among others. Furthermore, they are patients whose bodies do not respond to either treatment. Such patients continue to experience symptoms of Lyme disease for months or years, even after treatment. This calls for an alternative treatment method. 

In case the conventional treatment for Lyme disease fails to work, there are other naturopathic options. These are options such as Ozone therapy, Essential oils, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and Chelation therapy among others. 

Finally, many people are suffering from chronic illness and Lyme disease. You may not even know what you are ailing from. Livv Natural Health experts can diagnose your illness and provide necessary treatment. Regardless of the severity of your condition, the talented team has what it takes to help you regain your health.

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