Lyme Disease Information and Treatment 

Lyme disease is due to the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. The disease is lugged by deer ticks and western black-legged ticks (found mostly on the Pacific Coast). Lyme disease is most common in rural and urban areas in the northeastern and midwestern states.

One sign of Lyme disease is a rash, that can appear 3 to 30 days after a tick bite. This rash, called erythema migrans (say: "ear-a-theem-a my-granz"), generally begins at the site of the tick bite. Lyme disease was first detected in the United States in the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1975, but has now been reported in most parts of the United States.

The disease affects both humans and animals. Lyme disease can show symptoms affecting the skin, nervous system, heart and/or joints of an individual. People who spend time in grassy and wooded environments are at an advanced risk of exposure. Lyme disease is not infectious and cannot be passed from person to person.
The first stage of Lyme disease is called early Lyme disease. Most cases of Lyme disease can be medicated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. It is also differentiated as a zoonosis, which means that it is a disease of animals that can be transmitted to humans under natural conditions.

Methods to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and concatenated pest management. If Lyme disease isn't vaccined, it can spread to other parts of the body. After several months, around 60% of patients with untreated infection will begin to have intermittent bouts of arthritis, with harsh joint pain and swelling.

Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. Ultimately, researchers traced the children's signs and symptoms not to arthritis, but to a bacterial infection transmitted by deer ticks.It is known that certain outdoor areas are highly infested with deer ticks and should be avoided if possible-these include woods and brush areas.