With a member of Medway Local Group contracting Lyme Disease simply by walking the dog in the countryside. I thought it timely to warn people of the dangers, basically it is being infected by the bite of an infected tick. Diagnosed early recovery is almost always complete, left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and/or wrongly treated it can be serious for the individual. So here is the NHS information sheet on it.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks. It's usually easier to treat if it's diagnosed early.
Many people with early symptoms of Lyme disease develop a red, circular skin rash around a tick bite.
This can appear up to 30 days after being bitten by a tick.
CDC/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
The rash is often described as looking like a bull's eye on a dartboard.
LARRY MULVEHILL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
The skin will be red and the edges may feel slightly raised.
Not everyone with Lyme disease gets the rash. Some people also have flu-like symptoms in the early stages, such as:
Let the GP know if:
Only a small number of ticks are infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. A tick bite can only cause Lyme disease in humans if the tick has already bitten an infected animal.
It's still important to be aware of ticks and remove them safely as soon as possible just in case.
Public Health England has produced a factsheet on tick bites and your health. This gives important details on:
Tick bites aren't always painful. You may not notice a tick unless you see it on your skin. Regularly check your skin and your children or pets' skin after being outdoors.
Your GP will ask about your symptoms and consider any recent tick bites you know about.
Lyme disease can be difficult to diagnose. It has similar symptoms to other conditions and there isn't always an obvious rash.
Two types of blood test are available to help confirm Lyme disease. You may need to be re-tested if you still have symptoms after a negative result.
If your GP thinks you might have Lyme disease, they'll prescribe a 2 to 3 week course of antibiotics. It's important to finish the course, even if you start to feel better.
Some people with severe symptoms will be referred to a specialist in hospital for injections of stronger antibiotics.
People with symptoms of Lyme disease that last a long time will be referred to a specialist in hospital for advice and more blood tests.
A few people who are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease develop long-term symptoms such as tiredness, aches and loss of energy. This is known as post-infectious Lyme disease.
The symptoms of post-infectious Lyme disease are often compared to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
It's not clear why this happens to some people and not others. This means there is also no agreed treatment for post-infectious Lyme disease.
On a lighter note here are the Interns enjoying a hot drink and lunch in the office after a freezing cold morning working out on the North Kent Marshes on Friday.
The North Kent Marshes are a very special area and worth preserving at all cost.