What is Lyme disease?

Recently, American Pop Star Avril Lavigne opened up about her battle with Lyme disease. In an interview with ABC News.com she revealed how she was diagnosed with Lyme disease two months after she contracted it. She explained how she was bed-ridden and sick, and many top doctors would dismiss it as chronic fatigue syndrome or depression. She revealed her trauma when no doctor could diagnose what she was suffering from even after multiple blood tests. She finally found a Lyme disease specialist and now she's halfway through her recovery.

Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is spread through tick bites, and symptoms begin about a week after the bite.

Symptoms:

1. Redness in the area of the bite after about a week.
2. Fever
3. Headache
4. Fatigue

If the disease goes untreated, the symptoms include

1. Facial paralysis
2. Joint pain
3. Severe headache with neck stiffness
4. Heart palpitations.

The disease is not communicable, and the diagnosis is based on the symptoms that are exhibited and history of tick exposure along with the presence of specific antibodies in the blood. It is hard to diagnose the disease quickly because tick bites often go unnoticed, and some of the symptoms are similar to those of flu and other diseases.

Treatment often includes antibiotics and the sooner it is diagnosed, the better it is. Avoiding tick bites and prompt removal of ticks is the best way to prevent it.

Image & video source: ABC News

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