Lyme Disease

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• QWhat is a lyme disease test?

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  A RealAge answered

  There are two main blood tests used to diagnose Lyme disease: a test called an EIA (enzyme immunoassay) or IFA (immunofluorescence assay), and another called a Western blot. The EIA may be called an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) or an ELFA (enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay) test. These tests look for certain antibodies in a person's blood. Antibodies are proteins that are made by the immune system to fight a specific disease. So finding them in a person's blood can help doctors determine if a person has been infected. Unfortunately, Lyme disease antibody tests aren't 100% reliable. People who were very recently infected and people who have already been treated can sometimes get false results. The ELISA blood test is usually done first. If it shows the person may have Lyme disease, the Western blot test is then used as a way to double-check the results. Sometimes, a spinal fluid test or a joint fluid test is used to confirm Lyme disease in people who have nervous system symptoms or joint pain.
• QWhere are ticks that transmit Lyme disease found?

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  A Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children at P/SL answered

  Ticks that transmit Lyme disease are found in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and there's a few in Wisconsin. They are very rarely found in the northern part of California.

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• QWhat transmits Lyme disease?

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  A Dr. Leopold D. Galland, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  Summer is peak season for transmission of Lyme disease. The only known transporter of Lyme disease bacteria, the deer tick, goes through the most infectious stage of its life cycle in the summer. But you don't need to be in contact with a deer to get a deer tick bite and Lyme disease. Deer ticks can hitch a ride on small animals and land right in your backyard.

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• QShould I seek medical care for Lyme disease?

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  A Dr. Kathleen Handal, MD , Emergency Medicine, answered

  Lyme disease is spread by ticks, which are extremely tiny. Most victims aren't aware they have been bitten. If you think you have been infected only a blood test can determine if you have Lyme disease. If the results are positive, treatment with antibiotics is required. When Lyme disease is left untreated, the victim runs the risk of being stricken with crippling arthritis, neurological and heart irregularities.
  
  Get medical help for:

  • tick bite
  • rash typically a bulls-eye pattern
  • fever
  • stiff joints
  • chronic fatigue
  • flu-like symptoms

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• QWhat are the neurological complications of lyme disease?

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  A Dr. Darshan N. Shah, MD , Neurology, answered on behalf of NorthShore University HealthSystem

  Lyme disease is caused by a bacterial infection trasmitted by a tick bite.  It primarily occurs in the northeastern (Maine, Vermont, Connecticut) and midwestern (Wisconsin and Minnesota) parts of the United States; cases have also been reported in California. 
  It typically causes a painless rash followed by flu like symptoms.  It can progress to effect the skin, joints, heart and in 10-15 % of cases, the nervous system.  The neurological comlpications of Lyme disease include:

  1.  meningitis:  headache, fever and neck pain

  2.  cranial neuritis:  pain and weakness in the one or several of the nerves which supply the muscles of the face, eyes, and tongue
  
  3.  painful radiculitis:  mimicks the symptoms of a "pinched nerve" in the neck or low back and so causes painful shooting pains in an arm or leg
  
  4.  neuropathy:  pain and numbness in the feet and hands
  
  5.  encephalitis (inflammation or infection of the brain):  headache, fever, confusion and seizures
  
  6.  myelitis (inflammation or infection of the spinal cord):  numbness and weakness in the legs and loss of bowel or bladder control   

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