https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/well/live/lyme-disease-children-treatment-diagnosis.html
According to the news article, after Akash contracted Lyme disease, his parents received horror stories that the chronic illness is incurable. They were given examples of people who had suffered the disease for quite some time. The disease is caused by animal bites like ticks and insects that carry a bacterium called Borrelia ( Mandavilli, 2019 ). However, his parents were surprised to note that the disease could easily be treated with no long term consequences. The correct diagnosis was the hardest part. When they came to know that Akash had Lyme disease, he was put on four weeks medication of doxycycline and an antacid to neutralize antibiotic side effects.
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Cases of Lyme disease have increased over the years. Most patients receive treatment and heal. Parents become anxious when their children show such symptoms, but according to Dr. Shapiro, the disease is eminently curable. The disease causes joint pain and fatigue. Other signs include spreading of rash after two to three weeks of the tick bite. A person may also develop Lyme arthritis, like swollen knee or facial palsy. The infected patient is treated with antibiotics for four weeks, regardless of the stage of the disease.
Misdiagnosis can trigger chronic symptoms since detection of the bacteria requires correct interpretation of antibodies formed to fight the bacteria. The blood tests detect antibodies four to five weeks after the bite when symptoms are full blown. Instances of false-negative and false-positive results sometimes appear when the Lyme test is not specific and reacts with other antibodies. Blood tests and symptoms must be used together to rule out the infection of the bacteria ( Mandavilli, 2019 ). Therefore, Akash symptoms were evident from joint pains and swelling of the knee and ankle. Their regular visit to North Fork of Long Island further attributed the condition, which is infested by ticks. The story teaches me to take caution in dressing to ensure body or skin cover up when visiting open fields which have a high likelihood of insects and tick bites.
References
Mandavilli, A. (2019). My Son Got Lyme disease. He’s Totally Fine.
Horror stories about lingering Lyme disease proliferate, but the illness is easily treated, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/27/well/live/lyme-disease-children-treatment-diagnosis.html
