Lyme Disease Children

Lyme disease is a bacterial illness which affects both human beings and animals. It is a disease transmitted through the bite of infected ticks. Most types of ticks, including the dog tick, which is common in dogs (and subsequently prone to contact with human beings) may also transmit Lyme disease in children, especially because children would quite often be found playing with dogs and other domestic pets.

Lyme disease has several symptoms, but the most common ones are exhibited on the skin. The most common symptom is the bull's eye rush, which refers to a ring of infected skin, usually at the very place where there was the tick bite. Other symptoms of lyme disease are fever and fatigue. Victims may also report headache, muscle and joint pains among other symptoms. These symptoms usually appear in one or two weeks, but they can sometimes manifest in up to one month. Late symptoms can appear months, or even years after infection, and this is very dangerous.

Lyme disease in children and adults alike can cause tremor, meningitis, severe pain, hallucinations and even memory loss, if untreated early. It is possible for the victim to only show a few, or no symptoms at all. This makes detection of Lyme disease very difficult, especially when talking about Lyme disease in children.

The known remedy for Lyme disease is treatment by way of antibiotics, usually taken for between three to four weeks. More complicated cases of Lyme disease in children and even adults can take a longer time and combination of drugs to treat. The antibiotics can be administered either by injection or orally. A person can get re-infected with lyme disease if exposed to infected tick bites, even after treatment.

To help prevent Lyme disease in children, there is very little that can be practically done. The best precaution would be to avoid tick infested areas. Places with a lot of grass or wood are likely to harbor ticks and such overgrown areas with weeds and grass should be avoided if possible, since ticks may hide in these places. If not, one is advised to wear protective clothing, or bright colored clothes. Bright clothes make it easier to spot the ticks. It is also important to observe proper hygiene for those people who have pets like cats and dogs, to eliminate the possibility of living with ticks that may be infested.

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amanda said:

Please don't be fooled by any of the above rhetoric. Lyme cannot be healed with a 3-4 week antibiotic. Only 20-30% (TOPS) of suffers have a bulls eye, or any type, of rash. A majority of MD's today will not recognize Chronic Lyme. Research is now showing it is also being carried through mosquitos. It is also transferable from parent to child as well as spouse to spouse in rare, but proven cases. Find a Lyme Literate MD (lymenet.org) and a sensible Nutritionist and attack with both traditional and alternative methods.