Just thinking of ticks made a person itchy all over! Ticks can be really nasty, not to mention, icky. They are tiny suckers and they live by their host’s blood. They can be found in animals such as dogs, cats and wild animals; it can even find its way to humans!
That is exactly how children of Lyme, Connecticut contracted Lyme disease in 1975, although they had no idea back then when and where it came from; not until 1977 that the link was found between the Lyme disease, called as Lyme arthritis at that time, and ticks. Still, what baffled doctors and health practitioners was the fact that a tick’s bite should no more than rashes, minor swelling and other allergic reactions, while Lyme disease is certainly more than that. Apparently, a person infected with Lyme disease experiences symptoms similar to arthritis hence misdiagnoses. It was only in 1982 that it was found out that there’s an infection involved with a tick’s bite. An infected tick passes Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, to human upon biting. It took that long since there were many misdiagnoses before it was actually pinpointed.
Lyme disease can infect everybody—young and old but unfortunately, seniors tend to get affected more seriously than any other age brackets and they deteriorate at a faster rate as well. Lyme disease is tricky, it was even found out to mimic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and of course, the most common weakness for elderly people, arthritis. And because these are common seniors’ illnesses, there have been many misdiagnoses committed by unsuspecting healthcare providers.
There are three stages of Lyme disease wherein at earlier stages, it can even be cured by taking antibiotics while if left untreated it can lead to complications such as high blood pressure, memory loss and heart problems.
At first stage of Lyme disease, the infected person will experience common tick bite reactions such as rashes and redness, more of a bruise-like spot where the tick had bitten the victim. This rash will break out at about 1-2 weeks prior to the bite and will subside within a month. Within the second stage of infection, there will be flu-like symptoms, signaling the bacteria working overtime inside the body. Usually, seniors with Lyme disease are already experiencing difficulties by this time as it affects the person’s nervous system. Late stage of Lyme disease is the most detrimental to seniors’ health. Older adults with Lyme disease will now experience its complications such as stated above and it usually occurs within years prior to the bite.
Lyme disease can be very tricky but if you are aware of the possibility of you coming in contact with ticks or tick-infested places, you should inform your healthcare provider at once so the good doctor will be able to do a blood test and rule out Lyme disease if it is not.
You should know that an infected tick’s bite will not instantly transmit the bacteria to your body. As we all know, a tick attaches itself to its host then it will take a day or two before it can pass the bacteria to its host so if you want to prevent Lyme disease, your best bet is to know how to properly remove them—fast! And, of course, you should call your doctor at once.
