Lyme disease is not contagious, which means that it does not transmit from an infected person to a healthy individual. Small insects especially ticks are responsible for the onset of this disease. About 90% of infected people get this disease during hiking because ticks love to cling to plants near the ground in grassy, brushy and wooded places. Although ticks cannot fly or jump, they wait on the leaf litter and edges of woodlands for their hosts come near to them. Then, they climb onto people and animals who brush against the leafy branches.
Bacterium “Spirochete” is responsible for causing this disease and it completes its lifecycle in the stomach of a tick. Once it has made its way into your body, it starts multiplying, hence producing hundreds of thousands of copies within a few days. Newly infected individuals often experience an expanding reddish rash. As the bacterium spreads in the skin, one might also develop flu like symptoms. In the early phase of illness, the rash looks like a “Bull’s-eye” as it usually contains a central area of clearing, surrounded by an outer ring of brighter redness. This rash is also known as Erythema Migrans.
The later stage of the Lyme disease may have a devastating effect on your health because it can affect your heart, thus leading to the inflammation of heart muscle. This, in turn, is responsible for the palpitation, heart stroke and even heart failure. Another bad effect of late-stage Lyme disease is that it causes arthritis or inflammation in your joints. It usually begins with the redness, stiffness, swelling and pain of the joints. However, this bacterial illness particularly affects one’s knee. Moreover, this disease badly affects nervous system as it leads to peripheral neuropathy, Bell’s palsy, confusion and meningitis.
Lyme disease is usually diagnosed with the classic red rash associated with this illness. Moreover, a Western Blot assay antibody test is also performed to confirm the presence of Spirochete in one’s blood. The drugs that are used to treat early stage Lyme disease include amoxicillin, ceftin and doxycycline.
Once you have found a tick on your arm or leg, remove the tick with a fine-point tweezer. Make sure that you do not twist or squeeze the tick; rather you grasp it close to its skin and pull straight out. It is important that you wear long pants and long sleeves during the hiking trips.
In order to prevent illnesses like Lyme Disease that spread from the bite of insects, make sure that you consume vitamins-rich diets which help improve your immune system. It is also a good idea to use a dietary supplement that improves immune system. Vitabiotics Immunace Healthy Immune System contains highly effective antioxidant vitamins that help boost your immune system. It provides a comprehensive range of minerals, vitamins, amino acids and five natural source carotenoids to help ensure a healthy immune system.
