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Lyme Disease Facts Pittsfield, Massachusetts (MA) - Berkshire Health Systems
  1. Home
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  4. Health Take-Away
  5. Lyme Disease Facts

Health Take-Away

Health Take-Away

  • Save a Life, Lift Your Soul, Give Blood
  • Team Approach for Breast Cancer
  • Surviving Breast Cancer: A Journey
  • Hunger in the Berkshires
  • Vaccinations Help Avoid Needless Risks
  • Embrace Mindfulness
  • Low Carb High Fat Diet has Benefits
  • Probiotics Uses the Good Bugs to Fight the Bad Ones
  • Use the Power of Nature for Better Health
  • Unplug from Online for Better Health
  • Weight Loss Through Narrowing Your Eating Window
  • Mammography and Dense Breast Tissue
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment for Addiction Disorder
  • Smoker or Former Smoker? Lung Cancer Screening is Recommended for You
  • Be Safe When Using Over the Counter Medications
  • Screenings for Colon Cancer
  • Thyroid Health Essential to Metabolism
  • Go for Nutrition that is Heart Healthy
  • High Blood Pressure and Ways to Lower It
  • Hospitalists: Your Around the Clock Caregiver
  • Weight Loss Surgery Has Lasting Impact
  • Can you Find Joy in the Holidays When Sick?
  • Coping with Holiday Depression
  • When Quitting Smoking You May Need to Try and Try Again
  • Vaginal Birth after C-Section
  • New Tool to Assess Breast Cancer Risk
  • Migraines: How to Treat Them
  • Vestibular Care: It's All in Your Ears
  • Prepare for a Healthy Trip Abroad
  • New Moms Encouraged to Breast Feed
  • Language Diversity Important to Healthcare
  • Latest Advances in Joint Replacement
  • Vaping and Nicotine Addiction
  • Urgent Care or Emergency Department
  • Free Medicare Wellness Visit
  • Rehabilitation from Stroke Onset
  • Life Threatening Stroke Can be Prevented
  • Mammography and MRI for Women with High Risk of Breast Cancer
  • Breaking the Silence on Kidney Disease
  • Stop Mindless Eating
  • Hospitals Working to Improve Heart Health
  • Your Healthy Gut Bacteria
  • Give Up Smoking in 2018
  • Healthy Resolutions for 2018
  • Healthy Giving for 2017
  • Concussions: Myths and Truths
  • Celebrate a Thankful & Healthy Holiday
  • Don't Die of Embarrassment: Get Screened for Colon Cancer
  • Don't Let the Flu Get You This Season
  • Advanced Cardiac Imaging
  • Chronic Wound Care
  • What is a Hospitalist?
  • Healthy Heart Rhythms
  • Wellness Coaching
  • Men's Health In Crisis
  • Prevent Stroke or Respond FAST
  • Walking to Good Health
  • Healing Through Acupuncture
  • Self Care is Our Future
  • Family Wellness - Play Together Stay Healthy Together
  • Rewriting Your Book of Life
  • Pre-Diabetes: A Wake-Up Call for Better Health
  • Overcoming Crisis With Resiliency
  • Stepping Off the Slippery Slope
  • Sleep & Wellness: Learning to Cherish Your Sleep
  • Kicking the Habit and Ending the Fear
  • High Blood Pressure: One of the Few Things in Life We Can Control
  • Friendship is Powerful Medicine
  • It's Flu Season: Get the Vaccine!
  • The Healing Power of Gratitude
  • Where's the Joy?
  • New Year's Resolutions to Live By
  • Preventing Falls: A Leading Health Risk for the Older Population
  • Staying Healthy in the Office
  • Exercising at Home and Staying Fit in the Winter
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation: Regaining a Healthier and Better Life
  • Nutrition & Exercise: Two Great Gifts for Children
  • A Screening That Has Saved More than a Million Lives
  • How Walking Can Change Your Life
  • Injury-Free Sports & Activities
  • Have a Healthy Summer
  • Head to a Farmers' Market
  • Just Breathe
  • Lyme Disease Facts
  • Mindful Eating
  • Empathy in Healthcare
  • Preparing Your Family for an Emergency
  • Helping Someone to Cope with Opioid Addiction
  • Breast Cancer Awareness: Mammograms Save Lives
  • Antibiotic Resistance
  • Lung Cancer Screening
  • Giving Thanks
  • Healthy Holidays
  • Save a Life, Lift Your Soul, Give Blood
  • Team Approach for Breast Cancer
  • Surviving Breast Cancer: A Journey
  • Hunger in the Berkshires
  • Vaccinations Help Avoid Needless Risks
  • Embrace Mindfulness
  • Low Carb High Fat Diet has Benefits
  • Probiotics Uses the Good Bugs to Fight the Bad Ones
  • Use the Power of Nature for Better Health
  • Unplug from Online for Better Health
  • Weight Loss Through Narrowing Your Eating Window
  • Mammography and Dense Breast Tissue
  • Medication-Assisted Treatment for Addiction Disorder
  • Smoker or Former Smoker? Lung Cancer Screening is Recommended for You
  • Be Safe When Using Over the Counter Medications
  • Screenings for Colon Cancer
  • Thyroid Health Essential to Metabolism
  • Go for Nutrition that is Heart Healthy
  • High Blood Pressure and Ways to Lower It
  • Hospitalists: Your Around the Clock Caregiver
  • Weight Loss Surgery Has Lasting Impact
  • Can you Find Joy in the Holidays When Sick?
  • Coping with Holiday Depression
  • When Quitting Smoking You May Need to Try and Try Again
  • Vaginal Birth after C-Section
  • New Tool to Assess Breast Cancer Risk
  • Migraines: How to Treat Them
  • Vestibular Care: It's All in Your Ears
  • Prepare for a Healthy Trip Abroad
  • New Moms Encouraged to Breast Feed
  • Language Diversity Important to Healthcare
  • Latest Advances in Joint Replacement
  • Vaping and Nicotine Addiction
  • Urgent Care or Emergency Department
  • Free Medicare Wellness Visit
  • Rehabilitation from Stroke Onset
  • Life Threatening Stroke Can be Prevented
  • Mammography and MRI for Women with High Risk of Breast Cancer
  • Breaking the Silence on Kidney Disease
  • Stop Mindless Eating
  • Hospitals Working to Improve Heart Health
  • Your Healthy Gut Bacteria
  • Give Up Smoking in 2018
  • Healthy Resolutions for 2018
  • Healthy Giving for 2017
  • Concussions: Myths and Truths
  • Celebrate a Thankful & Healthy Holiday
  • Don't Die of Embarrassment: Get Screened for Colon Cancer
  • Don't Let the Flu Get You This Season
  • Advanced Cardiac Imaging
  • Chronic Wound Care
  • What is a Hospitalist?
  • Healthy Heart Rhythms
  • Wellness Coaching
  • Men's Health In Crisis
  • Prevent Stroke or Respond FAST
  • Walking to Good Health
  • Healing Through Acupuncture
  • Self Care is Our Future
  • Family Wellness - Play Together Stay Healthy Together
  • Rewriting Your Book of Life
  • Pre-Diabetes: A Wake-Up Call for Better Health
  • Overcoming Crisis With Resiliency
  • Stepping Off the Slippery Slope
  • Sleep & Wellness: Learning to Cherish Your Sleep
  • Kicking the Habit and Ending the Fear
  • High Blood Pressure: One of the Few Things in Life We Can Control
  • Friendship is Powerful Medicine
  • It's Flu Season: Get the Vaccine!
  • The Healing Power of Gratitude
  • Where's the Joy?
  • New Year's Resolutions to Live By
  • Preventing Falls: A Leading Health Risk for the Older Population
  • Staying Healthy in the Office
  • Exercising at Home and Staying Fit in the Winter
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation: Regaining a Healthier and Better Life
  • Nutrition & Exercise: Two Great Gifts for Children
  • A Screening That Has Saved More than a Million Lives
  • How Walking Can Change Your Life
  • Injury-Free Sports & Activities
  • Have a Healthy Summer
  • Head to a Farmers' Market
  • Just Breathe
  • Lyme Disease Facts
  • Mindful Eating
  • Empathy in Healthcare
  • Preparing Your Family for an Emergency
  • Helping Someone to Cope with Opioid Addiction
  • Breast Cancer Awareness: Mammograms Save Lives
  • Antibiotic Resistance
  • Lung Cancer Screening
  • Giving Thanks
  • Healthy Holidays

Lyme Disease Facts

Lyme Disease: Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment
AUCOINhealthtakeaway.jpg
By Paula Aucoin, MD

Summer is the time for gardening, hiking, relaxing at the lake and traveling to wooded and coastal vacation sites.  It’s also the time for ticks, putting people and pets at risk of exposure to infections such as Lyme disease, a condition which often is misunderstood.

What causes Lyme disease?

Ticks carry a bacteria in their salivary glands called Borrelia burgdorferi. When the skin-burrowing tick bites, the bacteria is injected into the host and replicates.  Replication can take up to 36 hours, so if the tick is removed before it has been attached for more than 24 hours, infection is less likely.

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease can be divided into three phases, although patients can present in any stage.

  1. Early localized infection. A large bulls’-eye rash is typically the first sign of Lyme disease. Appearing usually within 7 to 14 days, it can be larger than a grapefruit, often found in the armpit, belt line or groin area. Not everyone with the rash has other symptoms, which may include fatigue, headache, muscle and joint aches and fever.   
  2. Early disseminated infection. Here Borrelia appears to target the nervous system and heart. Patients may have headache and be found with an inflammation of the lining of the brain called meningitis.  They may exhibit a “Bell’s palsy” weakness of one of the nerves of the face which controls one or both sides of the mouth and eye. The heart also may become involved, with some patients having irregularities in rhythm and signs of inflammation.
  3. Late Lyme disease. This least common stage can be seen months or even longer after initial infection.  There may be no sign of earlier stages.  The most common late symptom of Lyme disease is acute swelling and arthritic pain in one or a few joints, most often the knee. 

Can Lyme disease be accurately diagnosed?

Some patients report they have been told that testing for Lyme disease is not accurate and often not detected.  This is true in patients who present with a rash or symptoms within the first 7 to 10 days, when antibody levels may not be high enough to be detected.  For patients with second-phase symptoms, repeat testing usually is positive. Testing of patients with late disease symptoms is always positive. Research is looking into more accurate testing for early stage. At this time, diagnosis is made by clinicians looking for signs and symptoms and repeating testing over time to confirm diagnosis.

How is Lyme disease treated?

Oral antibiotic treatment with doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime is effective for those with early disease. The second, early disseminated stage is usually treated with intravenous, followed by oral antibiotics. Late disease, particularly neurologic or severe arthritis, is often treated with two weeks of intravenous antibiotics such as ceftriaxone.

Some patients treated for the later stages may experience fatigue, muscle pains and difficulty with brain function for three to six months after treatment.  It is not understood why some patients experience this “post Lyme disease syndrome,” similar to the prolonged symptoms that may follow infections like mononucleosis.  Some clinicians argue that extended courses of intravenous or oral antibiotics are necessary to treat it, although studies have not been able to document a benefit of those treatments.

Can Lyme disease be prevented?

Prevention of tick bites is the primary approach to avoiding Lyme infection.  Use of tick and mosquito repellent, wearing long pants and putting socks over the pant leg may decrease the likelihood of acquiring a tick.  Showering after outdoor activities and carefully examining people and pets can allow ticks to be removed before they transmit disease. For older children and adults in an area where there is a high percentage of ticks infected with Lyme disease, two tablets of doxycycline given on the day the tick is discovered may prevent Borrelia infection.

Paula Aucoin, MD, is an Infectious Disease consultant and Medical Director of Infection Control and Prevention at Berkshire Medical Center.

 

 

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