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There is an article in the USA TODAY, With Lyme Disease lurking, here's what to do. There is so much wrong information in this. I am going to email them. Here is the link.
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Backpacker Magazine also has an article on Lyme Disease. It seems good at first glance, but is filled with bad information. June issue (Pacific Northwest edition).
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Your recent article on Lyme disease contained outdated and inaccurate information. It stated that 70% of people get a bullseye rash. Actually only about 40% get the rash.
It says patients also have chills, fever, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches and swollen lymph nodes. Prompt treatment with antibiotics resolves most cases. The correct info is that patients MAY have those symptoms or may not have any of them. Lyme symptoms mimic many other diseases and are different in each victim.
Your article stated that a tick must be attached for 36-48 hours in order to transmit Lyme. It is now known that transmission can be much faster.
I also believe it is incorrect to not worry if the tick head remains embedded. I have read elsewhere to seek medical treatment to remove it.
I was bit by a tick in July 04. I watched for the symptoms you mentioned. I did not get a bullseye rash or the other symptoms you listed (my Doctor mentioned the same ones)so I thought I was OK.
3 1/2 weeks after the bite one side of my face became paralyzed (Bell's Palsy). I also had severe ear & jaw pain, confusion, numbness and tingling. These are all common symptoms of Lyme.
I am now on my 22nd month of antibiotics and am slowly getting better. I do not know if I will ever be fully cured.
Many people do not get better with a short course of antibiotics. Many people will feel better only to have the Lyme resurface months or years later. It often is mistaken for arthritis, menopause, allergies, MS, lupus, Chronic fatigue etc. when in fact Lyme is the underlying cause.
I do hope you will print a correction or better yet another article with correct information. Ticks are especially bad this year and Lyme is a devastating illness that is difficult to treat.
Posts: 956 | From MA | Registered: Nov 2004
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