Lyme disease is actually an under-researched, underreported, and often supposed to be a debilitating disease transmitted to us by spirochete bacteria which is transmitted by deer ticks. Lyme disease’s symptoms are often same as many other clinical conditions and that makes it really difficult to diagnose the ailment. The symptoms may vary from individual to individual. Different people would be reacting differently to the harmful Lyme bacteria. You may experience all or some symptoms with a varying degree of severity. Here are some of the common symptoms of Lyme disease.
Rashes
The Lyme rash looks very much like a bull’s eye. It is a red oval-shaped rash and could be found anywhere on the body. The Lyme rash or the bull’s eye would be having a red spot in the center with a wide red-colored circle surrounding it. The rash seems to be flat and patients do not complain about itchiness. This rash signifies that the Lyme infection is gradually spreading very much within the skin tissues. It is observed that the rash would be expanding in size but then it would be fine over a period of time even though you are not being treated. The red rash seems to appear at the spot where you had been bitten by the tick. Smaller rashes could breakout even after three to almost five weeks later since the bacteria would be spreading effectively through the skin tissues. Sometimes the typical Lyme’s rash could take a serious turn and look like blisters or raised rashes.
When you find rashes in your body, you must take a photograph and consult your doctor at once. You may require tests to prove that these rashes are caused by Lyme indeed. Western Blotting is an effective technique for identifying and separation of protein molecules. This efficient technique has wide applications in detecting a broad spectrum of infectious diseases such as Hepatitis B virus, HIV, Herpes Type 2, and even feline immunodeficiency disease. Western blotting is implemented for research purposes.
Fatigue
Your early symptoms would be classical flu-like symptoms. These symptoms would often be cyclical, sometimes waxing and then waning every now and then. Exhaustion, tiredness, and serious lack of energy are some of the basic symptoms common to Lyme disease patients. You may find no reason for this sort of tiredness that would take over the entire body and could be really severe. You would be requiring a nap in the afternoon and maybe a couple of hours extra sleep to overcome this sort of exhaustion.
Stiff, Swollen, & Painful Joints
Joint stiffness and pain are early Lyme disease symptoms. Your joints could get inflamed, swollen, and could be really painful. You may experience a restricted range of motion. The pain in your body may not be restricted to a particular spot. It would be moving around. Your knees may start hurting at times while at other times, your heels may start aching or maybe you would experience a severe neck pain. Joint issues are often attributed to chiefly genetics, age, or sports. However, you must consider adding Lyme to this particular list.
Conclusion
Lyme disease has serious implications but its symptoms are just like flu symptoms so often it goes without an early detection. Often Lyme symptoms would include sleep disturbances and night sweats, extreme sensitivity to vision and light, cognitive decline and even certain neurological issues. You need to be alert and get yourself examined by a doctor at the earliest if you see these symptoms.
