Lyme Disease: Signs & Symptoms, Stages, Treatment

Do you love to stroll in the woods or take a walk on the grassy area of your neighborhood? Then chances are likely that you may come across the black-legged tick called the Deer Tick. This tick is commonly found in the Mid-Atlantic states, Northeastern states, Midwest states, some parts of Europe, and Southeastern and South Central Canada.

So, what’s the big deal about this black-legged tick, you may ask.

Well, this tick is the carrier of Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which can cause Lyme disease in humans.

Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease

According to doctors at walk in clinic in VA, many people don’t realize they are bitten by a tick until they get other symptoms related to Lyme disease such as fever, headache, joint stiffness, fatigue, muscle pain, and swollen lymph nodes.

The first sign is a harmless looking bump, which can be itchy and tiny. It resembles a bump that arises when a mosquito bites you. Perhaps that’s why people generally ignore it. Later on, you may get a rash which spreads like a single circle and may look like a bull’s eye. This rash is generally warm to touch, not itchy or painful.

What happens when you don’t treat Lyme disease?

Untreated Lyme disease worsens over time. The rash may spread to other areas of the body. You may also experience:

• Stiffness or pain in the neck
• Pain radiating from the back to the hips and legs
• Irregular heartbeats due to immune-system activity in the heart
• Weakness in muscles of the face, on both sides or one side
• Swelling of the eyelids
• Pain in eyes or loss of vision due to immune-system activity in the eyes
• Pain/weakness/numbness in hands and/or feet

You must not delay in visiting Arlington doctors office. Doctors here are apt in treating Lyme disease. Please do not procrastinate in getting treatment lest it may lead to further health complications.

Later stage of Lyme disease

As per medical observation in the United States, the commonest condition of the later stage of Lyme disease is arthritis in the body’s large joints, especially the knees.

Stiffness, swelling, and pain may continue for a lifetime, if you do not treat Lyme disease on time. In some patients, the later stage symptoms come and go. This stage usually starts within a year of getting a tick bite. In some patients, however, the stage may come as early as two months after the bite.

When did a tick bite me?

People usually don’t remember when they were bitten by a tick. Besides, a rash generally does not make people go rushing to a doctor. It is such a common and harmless looking thing that most people ignore it. Yet, if you are fond of spending time in the woods, grassy areas, and other such terrain, and you get a rash or a tiny bump like thing on your skin, you must visit Arlington doctors office for a consultation.

Do you know rash is also one of the first signs of HIV?

Well, now it seems that rash does make a person rush to the nearest clinic!

Doctors at the clinic are experienced enough to tell you whether it is a tick bite or HIV rash. Certain characteristics of the rash tell them apart.

The point here is to be alert about the signs and consult a doctor on time. This can save you from medical trouble later. Lyme disease is completely curable. Patients are found to recover fully after completing a course of antibiotics. The treatment may last around 2-4 weeks.

Doctors at walk in clinic in VA can treat Lyme disease. Consult them today and get timely treatment. The clinic is open 7 days a week.