Summer is on it’s way. As parents we are happy that our kids can spend more playtime outside, and most of us slather them in sun block, to protect them from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Depending on what part of the country we live in, and how woodsy or grassy the area is, determines the extent to which we check our kids for ticks that could potentially carry lyme disease.
Checking for tick bites as soon as your child has come in from outdoor play is critical. Ticks take some time to fully imbed in the skin, so that if you can remove it fully with a tweezer, this may happen in time to prevent the transmission of Borrelia Burgdorferi, should the tick carry it.
Lyme Disease is no laughing matter; it isn’t just something that runs it’s course, and life goes on. If not properly treated, often with several courses of antibiotics it can potentially leave both children and adults with long term, chronic debilitating effects on their health.
Luckily 70-80% of people who contract Lyme Disease have a visible erythema migrans (EM) rash, that appears like a red bull’s eye. It is often initially accompanied by extreme fatigue. Your child, or anyone seeing this rash should immediately be seen by their doctor, to be tested and begin antibiotic therapy quickly.
The video you are about to watch below, does a very comprehensive job of describing initial symptoms, and the problems often encountered with only one course of antibiotics. The faster and more comprehensive the treatment, the better the chance that the later, more grave symptoms can be prevented from occurring.
Later symptoms that become more chronic and debilitating, without or with only partial treatment of Lyme Disease, include: Headaches; Severe Joint Pain and Swelling; Facial or Bell’s Palsy; Heart Palpitations or an Irregular Heartbeat (Lyme Carditis); Dizziness; Difficulty Breathing; Inflammation of the Brain and Spinal Cord; Nerve and Shooting Pains; Numbness; Hand and Foot Tingling and Difficulty with Short-Term Memory.
For further discussion of these dangers, as well as other dangers to the Heart and Central Nervous System, watching the upcoming video is critical. The narrator will also advise you on the best modes of prevention, and why assuming that one course of antibiotic treatment is enough, can leave you vulnerable to the later, more serious symptoms.
Prevention and Proper Treatment can make a significant difference in the quality and longevity of people’s lives!
