Prevention magazine article

[philamom]

Prevention News

What You Need To Know About Lyme Disease

Is A Tick Bite Causing Your Depression?

The symptoms your doc could be missing

 

By Leah Zerbe

 

 

However you feel about the mild winter we just experienced (Yay for less shoveling! Boo for global warming!), one thing no one’s excited about: The explosion in the tick population it caused. And while most people know that ticks can carry Lyme disease, many of us know very little about the hard-to-pin-down disease. Here’s how to recognize the symptoms and protect yourself from Lyme disease.

 

What is Lyme disease? There’s a reason experts call it “The Great Imitator.” Lyme disease results from inflammation caused by Lyme bacteria, and the symptoms can mimic everything from rheumatoid arthritis and lupus to anxiety disorders and depression. Most often the result of a tick bite, Lyme disease's range of devastation is daunting: The same Lyme germ causing joint pain in one person could lead to symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's disease in another.

 

 

Caught early, short-term antibiotic treatment can usually wipe out Lyme disease, but left untreated, the disease can move from organ to organ, creating a wide variety of physical symptoms that come and go. On the symptom list:

 

Headache

Stiff Neck

Swollen lymph nodes

Ringing in the ears

Heart palpitations

Brain fog

Acid reflux

Sensitivity to light and sound

Extreme fatigue

Fever and chills

Muscles and joint pain

Bloating and diarrhea in children and teens

What about psychological symptoms? Lyme disease can also cause startling changes in personality and mental health, including depression, self-mutilation, and panic attacks, says Leo Shea, PhD, president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society. "There can be a decline in processes of brain function—attention and concentration problems, memory problems, and the inability to deal with multitasking." How? Lyme disease causes increased pressure in your head, and blood can't flow well into a high-pressure zone, says Andrea Gaito, MD, a New Jersey rheumatologist specializing in the treatment of Lyme disease.

 

Who’s at risk? While most of us associate Lyme disease with long walks in the woods or tick-infested areas like Connecticut and Pennsylvania, the truth is, tick bites usually occur in people's own backyards—all around the country.

 

How is Lyme disease diagnosed? The bull's eye rash is often called a "classic" Lyme symptom because it guarantees you've been infected, but studies show that the majority of infected people never get the telltale rash. The ELISA test, the standard blood test commonly used to diagnose Lyme disease, is only 45-65% percent accurate, and other tests are even less accurate. "It's really a worry because patients can be misdiagnosed with another disease while the causative Lyme disease may go untreated and worsen," says Dr. Gaito.

 

 

 

What’s the best way to prevent Lyme disease? Your best line of defense is a tough offense—preventing ticks from latching onto you in the first place.

 

Exercise and eat well. Heat and oxygen help demolish Lyme bacteria, which makes regular workouts a must. It’s also key to avoid disease-fueling processed foods and excess sugar (good advice in general!).

Fend off ticks with lemon. Dr. Gaito favors natural moisturizers or sprays containing pure essential oils from lemons to repel ticks instead of harmful, chemical-based products like DEET.

Feel for unfamiliar bumps. Get to know the natural raised areas on your body, like moles and scars. Then, run your fingers over your skin and scalp before you go to bed every night, particularly if you’ve spent time outside. An unfamiliar raised area could be a tick getting ready to hunker down for a blood meal. Pay special attention to the places ticks like to hide—armpits, bra and panty lines, and the groin.

Scrub-a-dub-dub. Bath time presents a great opportunity for Lyme prevention, not only giving you a chance to check for ticks, but also the ability to wash off ticks that haven't attached yet. A Yale study confirmed this works: The combination of doing a body scan and taking a shower within two hours of being outside significantly reduces the chance of getting Lyme disease.

What do you do if you find a tick?

 

First, remove it. Pull it out with a tweezers and don’t squeeze it, as this may force any bacteria in the tick into the body, says Dr. Gaito. Clean the area with alcohol and apply an antibacterial ointment.

Get it tested. It's wise to have the tick tested, particularly if you live in an endemic area for Lyme disease (Not sure? Click here). Look online for a lab that can test ticks, such as New Jersey Laboratories, and follow directions for sending them in.

See your doctor. “Early treatment is the most effective,” says Dr. Gaito. “I like to see patients within 24 hours of finding the tick to get them treated early.”

Consider a specialist. Before receiving a Lyme diagnosis, many patients report seeing dozens of doctors and undergoing countless tests. If you believe you have Lyme disease and your current doctors aren't helping you, keep looking. You can find a specialist through the International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society’s website. You’ll also find info about other tick-borne infections you could be dealing with, such as babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and bartonella.

[aidansmom]

Here is another article about panic attacks. Different article, same author?

 

http://www.rodale.com/lyme-disease-panic-attacks?page=0,1

[philamom]

Thanks aidan'smom - I missed it somehow. When you click on the link it goes to the second page. There is additional info on the first page as well. fyi

[SSS]

Thank you for printing this article. I liked how it was written- compact, with some humor, but drove the main points home.

 

I copied it from your post, and emailed it out to my family (in different states.)

 

My brother, who has raging tinnitus, been to many neurologists, etc., very much suffers, and a year ago landed in the hospital with 'unknown' stomach infections, stayed the night, IV antibiotics-

He is an executive at IBM, keeps much to himself about it all- I asked him if he'd been tested for Lyme, he said yes, I asked if it was the Elisa, he said he would look, never brought it up again.

 

But when I sent him this emailed article, he immediately emailed back about testing.

 

I have no idea if he has Lyme (but spent years fly fishing in the mountains)

but I would love for him to rule it out.

 

So, thank you.

[philamom]

I agree S&S - easy to read, great to forward. Years ago, my mom used to bring me these monthly (I think) little books and say "read this, read that". I finally told her to stop - they were just piling up in a corner & I never had the time to read em. Well, I guess she cancelled her membership. I forwarded the articles with a smile and said "my turn"