Q: what are the symptoms and signs of lyme disease?

Lyme disease: In early stage, there is wide-spread itching, chills, fever, headache, muscle pain, feeling weak, neck stiffness. Later, there is weakness in muscles of face, pain & swelling in joints, heart symptoms. Later in advanced stage there is weakness, numbness, speech problems, & abnormal muscle movements.

Q: what are signs of lyme disease and how bad is it?

Bulls eye rash: One of the earliest signs that lyme disease has been contracted is a rash that has clearing in the center, or appears as a ring. In this case getting treatment quickly should result in a shorter course of treatment. Symptoms of chronic lyme are: fatigue, insomnia, headaches, confusion or brain fog, joint pain & stiffness, tingling & numbness, weakness and many more symptoms that tend to come & go.

Q: can lyme disease symptoms recur even when it is caught early?

No: If it effectively treated early in the disease course, recurrence of symptoms is more likely to be a new infection than the same previous bout.

Q: how can you get treated for lyme disease early when it's so hard to diagnose?

Not hard to diagnose: Most patients with lyme disease display the characteristic rash and associated symptoms, which makes presumptive diagnosis easy. If one tries to diagnose it using antibody testing you might wait too long to treat effectively. If you are in an area where this is common, have symptoms compatible with lyme you should be treated presumptively. May cause your antibody reactions to remain negative.

Question 1

what can i do to decrease the odds of developing early lyme disease?

Accepted Answer

Avoid ticks: Wear long sleeves, cover pants with socks. Use insect repellant amd examine your skin for ticks when returning from tick prone areas. If exposed see doctor for examination of tick and early course of antibiotics.

Question 2

my sister was diagnosed with early lyme disease. what does this mean?

Accepted Answer

Seek treatment: Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial infection.  If treated early, it resolves without future consequences. If not treated early, it can evolve into a chronic problem that is almost impossible to resolve. So if your sister has "early" lyme disease, tell her to seek treatment as soon as possible.

Question 3

what's the usual medical treatment for early lyme disease?

Accepted Answer

Antibiotics: Studies indicate that Azithromycin could be used but was less effective than Ampicillin or Amoxicillin (500 mg three times a day for three weeks).   There are other alternatives, particularly if the patient is co-infected with babesia, or other tick-borne pathogens.

Question 4

is low sodium a sign of lyme disease?

Accepted Answer

No: Low sodium is not a typical feature of lyme disease.

Question 5

signs and symptoms of lyme disease and how long does it last?

Accepted Answer

Many sxs/until cured: Lyme can cause virtually any symptom, but classically starts with rash & mild flu-like symptoms, then joint pains (often 1st in knees) & fatigue.It often causes problems with memory/concentration/word finding &  vision. Neurological sxs can mimic ms & als. It can cause sxs similar to chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, lupus & other autoimmune diseases-also cardiac sxs.It lasts life-long unless treated.

Question 6

what is the treatment for lyme disease (early)?

Accepted Answer

Oral antibiotics.: The treatment for this is apparently oral antibiotics.  For those >=12 and not pregnant, Doxycycline 100mg 2x/day is the first choice, while those <12 get amoxacillin 50mg/kg/day. Amoxaciliin 500 mg 3x/day is the second choice for adults.  The 3rd and 4th choices for all ages are Cefuroxime axetil 500 mg 2x/day and Erythromycin 250 mg 4x/day respectively.

Question 7

what are the symptoms and signs of lyme disease?

Accepted Answer

Lyme disease: In early stage, there is wide-spread itching, chills, fever, headache, muscle pain, feeling weak, neck stiffness. Later, there is weakness in muscles of face, pain & swelling in joints, heart symptoms. Later in advanced stage there is weakness, numbness, speech problems, & abnormal muscle movements.

Question 8

what are signs of lyme disease and how bad is it?

Accepted Answer

Bulls eye rash: One of the earliest signs that lyme disease has been contracted is a rash that has clearing in the center, or appears as a ring. In this case getting treatment quickly should result in a shorter course of treatment. Symptoms of chronic lyme are: fatigue, insomnia, headaches, confusion or brain fog, joint pain & stiffness, tingling & numbness, weakness and many more symptoms that tend to come & go.

Question 9

can lyme disease symptoms recur even when it is caught early?

Accepted Answer

No: If it effectively treated early in the disease course, recurrence of symptoms is more likely to be a new infection than the same previous bout.

Question 10

how can you get treated for lyme disease early when it's so hard to diagnose?

Accepted Answer

Not hard to diagnose: Most patients with lyme disease display the characteristic rash and associated symptoms, which makes presumptive diagnosis easy.  If one tries to diagnose it using antibody testing you might wait too long to treat effectively.  If you are in an area where this is common, have symptoms compatible with lyme you should be treated presumptively.   May cause your antibody reactions to remain negative.

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Doctor answers about:

Early lyme disease signs

A member asked:

What can i do to decrease the odds of developing early lyme disease?

A member asked:

My sister was diagnosed with early lyme disease. what does this mean?

A member asked:

What's the usual medical treatment for early lyme disease?

A member asked:

Is low sodium a sign of lyme disease?

A member asked:

Signs and symptoms of lyme disease and how long does it last?

A member asked:

What is the treatment for lyme disease (early)?

A member asked:

What are the symptoms and signs of lyme disease?

A member asked:

What are signs of lyme disease and how bad is it?

A member asked:

Can lyme disease symptoms recur even when it is caught early?

A member asked:

How can you get treated for lyme disease early when it's so hard to diagnose?

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