How to Treat Lyme Disease with Antibiotics

Lyme disease is a multisystem inflammatory disease caused by organism Borrelia, which is spread by the bite of infected tick called Ixodes scapularis. Lyme disease is mostly seen in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and along the Pacific coast. Prompt diagnosis should be followed by treatment with various antibiotics that can be used to take care of this disease. The treatment of Lyme disease is dependent on the clinical manifestations of the disease.

Instructions

1. Treat early localized Lyme disease with one of the following antibiotics for 10 to 21 days: doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil.

2. Treat early disseminated and late Lyme disease (especially late Lyme neurological disease) with Intravenous antibiotic therapy with third generation cephalosporins such as ceftriaxone or cefotaxime or penicillin G in for two to four weeks.

3. Give doxycycline to adults and children who are intolerant of above antibiotics

4. Prescribe oral therapy with doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime axetil for 28 day in late Lyme disease with arthritis.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no proven role for a number of other intravenous antibiotics, such as imipenem-cilastatin, ceftazidime, cefuroxime, vancomycin and ampicillin. The use of any of these antibiotics should be avoided for the risk of community-based resistance to these agents.

• Doxycycline is not recommended for children under the age of 8 years or for pregnant or lactating women.

• Do not treat for more than four weeks as it is not beneficial.