Your Childrens Health

Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.  The bacteria is spread by black-legged, weatern black-legged, or deer ticks.

Ticks acquire the bacteria from mice before passing it to humans by biting.  The bacteria enters the human bloodstream and causes the infection.  These ticks can be hard to detect; immature ticks are about the size of a poppy seed, while adults may be as large as a sesame seed.

Children who spend a lot of time outdoors or in wooded areas are most susceptible to developing Lyme disease.  Ticks hide in shrubs, long grass, and forested areas. 

Lyme disease is curable when caught early.  Most infected people will develop what is known as “the bullseye rash”; a distinct, circular rash that allows doctors to diagnose Lyme disease on sight.  Occasionally, a person will not develop the rash; in that case, bloodwork will be used to diagnose the illness.

Lyme disease occurs in three stages.  Ideally, diagnosis and treatment should occur in the first stage for it to be most effective.  It may take a week to a month for your child to develop some or all of these symptoms after being bitten by an infected tick:

• swelling of the lymph glands near the bite
• fatigue
• headache
• joint pain
• an overall achy feeling
• chills

Once Lyme disease progresses to the second stage, it can cause some alarming symptoms, such as:

• two or more areas of rash not at the site of the bite
• severe headache
• tingling or numbness in the extremities
• enlarged lymph nodes (glands)
• joint stiffness, especially in the neck
• severe fatigue
• sensitivity to light
• facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy)
• irregular heart rhythm
• fever of 100 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit (37.78 to 38.89 degrees Celsius)
• meningitis

At this point, the illness is quite severe.  If your child is experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above, they need to be seen by a doctor right away.

Lyme disease that goes undiagnosed can lead to arthritis and cognitive deterioration.

If you suspect that your child has been bitten by a tick, take them to the doctor for bloodwork.  Not everyone shows symptoms.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 18th, 2006 at 1:19 am and is filed under Meningitis, High Fever, Infections, Medical Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.