Lyme disease
Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia sp which is transmitted by tick bites. This condition can infect and disrupt various body organ systems. Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria are the cause of Lyme disease in Indonesia.
This treatment is done as efficiently and as soon as possible will ensure a faster healing process. If left alone, the symptoms of Lyme disease will develop more severe and prolonged.
Symptoms of Lyme disease
Lyme disease has a variety of symptoms that appear gradually. The division of symptoms of Lyme disease according to stages or stages of disease development is as follows:
Causes of Lyme disease
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia sp. There are four species of bacteria that can cause Lyme disease in humans, namely Borrelia burgderfori, Borrelia mayonii, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii. Borrelia bacteria are transmitted by flea intermediaries, often by ticks from the genus Ixodes sp. Or, in some cases, by ticks by Ambylomma sp. Ixodes ticks are ticks that can suck blood as food, both human and animal blood. Borrelia bacteria are usually transmitted by ticks Ixodes
Some factors that can make a person more susceptible to Lyme disease include:
Lyme disease is usually difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to other diseases. The easiest way to find out if a patient has this disease is to do a skin test. The doctor will ask for a history of flea bites, although many patients cannot remember or know it.
Physical examination and examination of the rash can be carried out for several days to confirm the presence of erythema migrans as a characteristic symptom of Lyme disease. The rash due to erythema migrans can widen in a few days if no antibiotics are given.
If the patient does not remember being bitten by lice and there is no migraine erythema, the doctor will advise him to do a blood test to confirm the diagnosis. However, it must be remembered that blood tests in patients with early Lyme disease are often not useful because specific antibodies have not yet formed against Borrelia sp.
Specific antibodies to Borrelia sp can be detected in a patient's blood using an enzyme-related immunosorbent test (abbreviated as ELISA). If the results of the Borrelia antibody test using the ELISA method are positive, the patient may be advised to undergo a Western Blot test to confirm the ELISA results.
Lyme disease treatment
The main stage of treatment for Lyme disease is taking antibiotics. The duration of antibiotic use generally lasts between two weeks and one month. The difference in duration of antibiotic treatment in each patient depends on the severity of the infection.
Patients with early Lyme disease usually receive antibiotics in tablet form. For patients with advanced Lyme disease, antibiotics can be given as an injection. Giving antibiotics in the form of injections is also given if the symptoms of Lyme disease suffer from disorders of the central nervous system. The initial treatment for Lyme disease lasts about 14 to 21 days, while the advanced phase lasts about 14 to 28 days.
Some types of antibiotics that can be given to people with Lyme disease include:
Complications of Lyme disease
If not treated properly, Lyme disease can cause various complications such as:
Ten to twenty percent of patients may have Lyme syndrome after treatment, even if appropriate antibiotics have been given. This syndrome can last up to 6 months and can be accompanied by symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, muscle or joint pain, fatigue, paresthesia, insomnia, mood disorders, cognitive disorders and hearing loss.
During or after treatment, allergic or inflammatory reactions can occur in the skin, mucous membranes, nervous system and internal organs. This is called the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.
Prevention of Lyme disease
Prevention of Lyme disease can be achieved with simple steps. The most effective way is to avoid places that are prone to spread of Lyme disease infestation. For example, shrubs or herbs. We can also take other simple steps, such as:
Symptoms of Lyme disease
Lyme disease has a variety of symptoms that appear gradually. The division of symptoms of Lyme disease according to stages or stages of disease development is as follows:
- Stage 1. Stage 1 Lyme disease is characterized by the appearance of a rash in the form of an archery target. This rash is a sign that bacteria multiply in blood vessels. The rash style that forms is usually reddish on the tick bite area, surrounded by a normal skin area and again surrounded by a reddish area on the outside. This type of rash is known as erythema migrans. Although erythema migrans is typical of Lyme disease, in some cases this rash may not appear. Rashes due to Erythema migrans usually occur about one to two weeks after the patient is bitten by a flea.
- Stage 2. Stage 2 Lyme disease usually occurs a few weeks after being bitten by a flea. In stage 2, Borrelia bacteria spread throughout the body, marked by flu-like symptoms. Stage 2 Lyme disease can also cause complications such as meningitis, neurological disorders or heart disease. Symptoms that indicate Lyme Stage 2 include:
- fever
- Shivering.
- Headache
- Muscle ache.
- Enlarged lymph nodes.
- fatigue
- Sore throat.
- Vision loss
- Stage 3. Stage 3 Lyme disease usually occurs if the patient is not treated in Stage 1 or Stage 2. Stage 3 can occur weeks, months, or even years after tick bites. Symptoms of Lyme Stage 3 include:
- Arthritis in one or more joints, especially large joints such as the knee.
- Numbness in the legs and arms.
- Arrhythmia.
- Short-term memory impairment.
- Mental disorders
- Difficult to communicate.
- Severe headache.
- Difficult to concentrate.
- Encephalopathy ...
Causes of Lyme disease
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia sp. There are four species of bacteria that can cause Lyme disease in humans, namely Borrelia burgderfori, Borrelia mayonii, Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii. Borrelia bacteria are transmitted by flea intermediaries, often by ticks from the genus Ixodes sp. Or, in some cases, by ticks by Ambylomma sp. Ixodes ticks are ticks that can suck blood as food, both human and animal blood. Borrelia bacteria are usually transmitted by ticks Ixodes
Some factors that can make a person more susceptible to Lyme disease include:
- Activities that are often carried out in grassy areas. Lyme vector ticks often live in grassy areas. In addition to living on deer skin, fleas that carry this disease can also live on the skin of mice and other rodents. Activities that are often carried out in grassy areas can make a person more susceptible to lice and Lyme disease that is contracting.
- Do not clean the body of lice. Despite frequent activities in the grassy area, someone who regularly cleans lice skin can avoid Lyme disease.
- Open dress. Head lice can easily land on the skin. Therefore, by dressing open, a person can be more easily attacked by fleas and Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is usually difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to other diseases. The easiest way to find out if a patient has this disease is to do a skin test. The doctor will ask for a history of flea bites, although many patients cannot remember or know it.
Physical examination and examination of the rash can be carried out for several days to confirm the presence of erythema migrans as a characteristic symptom of Lyme disease. The rash due to erythema migrans can widen in a few days if no antibiotics are given.
If the patient does not remember being bitten by lice and there is no migraine erythema, the doctor will advise him to do a blood test to confirm the diagnosis. However, it must be remembered that blood tests in patients with early Lyme disease are often not useful because specific antibodies have not yet formed against Borrelia sp.
Specific antibodies to Borrelia sp can be detected in a patient's blood using an enzyme-related immunosorbent test (abbreviated as ELISA). If the results of the Borrelia antibody test using the ELISA method are positive, the patient may be advised to undergo a Western Blot test to confirm the ELISA results.
Lyme disease treatment
The main stage of treatment for Lyme disease is taking antibiotics. The duration of antibiotic use generally lasts between two weeks and one month. The difference in duration of antibiotic treatment in each patient depends on the severity of the infection.
Patients with early Lyme disease usually receive antibiotics in tablet form. For patients with advanced Lyme disease, antibiotics can be given as an injection. Giving antibiotics in the form of injections is also given if the symptoms of Lyme disease suffer from disorders of the central nervous system. The initial treatment for Lyme disease lasts about 14 to 21 days, while the advanced phase lasts about 14 to 28 days.
Some types of antibiotics that can be given to people with Lyme disease include:
- Tetracycline. This is the first choice antibiotic group for the treatment of Lyme disease, especially doxycycline. But keep in mind that doxycycline should not be given to pregnant or nursing women or children under 8 years of age. Tetracycline itself is another example of this class of antibiotics.
- Penicillin. This antibiotic group can replace the tetracycline group, especially in patients with doxycycline allergic Lyme disease, pregnant women and children under the age of 8 years. Penicillin VK, penicillin G and amoxicillin are examples of penicillin antibiotics.
- Macrolides. In addition to the two antibiotic groups above, the macrolide antibiotic group can also help treat Lyme disease. This antibiotic can be given to patients who cannot receive tetracycline or penicillin. Erythromycin, clarithromycin, and azithromycin are examples of macrolide antibiotics.
- Cephalosporins. This group of antibiotics is generally used as an alternative to patients who cannot be given doxycycline, such as cefuroxime. In addition, cephalosporin injections are also given to patients with severe symptoms. Examples of injectable antibiotics included in the cephalosporin group are ceftriaxone and cefotaxime.
Complications of Lyme disease
If not treated properly, Lyme disease can cause various complications such as:
- Rhythm disorders
- Nervous system disorders, such as facial muscle paralysis and neuropathy.
- Cognitive disorders, such as memory disorders.
- Chronic joint inflammation due to Lyme disease (Lyme arthritis).
Ten to twenty percent of patients may have Lyme syndrome after treatment, even if appropriate antibiotics have been given. This syndrome can last up to 6 months and can be accompanied by symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, muscle or joint pain, fatigue, paresthesia, insomnia, mood disorders, cognitive disorders and hearing loss.
During or after treatment, allergic or inflammatory reactions can occur in the skin, mucous membranes, nervous system and internal organs. This is called the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.
Prevention of Lyme disease
Prevention of Lyme disease can be achieved with simple steps. The most effective way is to avoid places that are prone to spread of Lyme disease infestation. For example, shrubs or herbs. We can also take other simple steps, such as:
- Use closed clothing, especially when you are active in the grassy area.
- Check yourself, your family and your pet and remove fleas that stick to the skin (if any) after your activity in the grassy area. How to get rid of it is to lift the lice from the skin slowly on the head using tweezers. Don't squeeze or knock on fleas. Use an antiseptic directly on the infected area after removal from the skin.
- Use an antifungal cream for the skin during activities in the grassy area. This cream can be used by adults and children to prevent the spread of Lyme fleas.
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