How to Spot Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is generally transferred to humans through contact with an infected dear tick. Unfortunately dear ticks are much smaller than other varieties and often go unnoticed. Since lyme disease can cause severe and even permanent damage in advanced stages, it is important to be able to recognize lyme disease early and get treatment.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Check your body thoroughly after outside activity.
   
   During tick season it is important to look for ticks and remove them since lyme disease becomes more likely the longer a tick is attached. Have a family member help check your back and head hair for small ticks that may be carrying lyme disease. If you have one attached, watch more carefully for the symptoms.

2. Look for a bulls eye rash.
   
   It is called a bull's eye since often the lyme disease rash begins as a red ring around a normal center where the bite occurred. This lyme disease rash can appear nearly immediately or be delayed weeks in appearance.

3. Watch for headaches, fatigue, depression, or join pain.
   
   Any of these symptoms can be present in lyme disease. Lyme disease will cause pain to happen throughout the body and will eventually cause organ damage if not treated. Fortunately most cases of lyme disease when caught early are fully treatable.

4. 

   See your physician for a blood test.
   
   The only way to diagnose lyme disease to be sure is through a blood test. If you notice these symptoms, with or without the rash, and suspect lyme disease have your doctor run blood work to be sure.
   
   * See more tips on lyme disease below.

Tips & Warnings

• Since lyme disease is usually transmitted through ticks, knowing the tick season for your area is important.
• Use bug repellant when outdoors during tick season.
• Ticks reside in tall grasses where they can leap to the body of a host. They then migrate toward hairy areas of the body before attaching generally speaking.
• See related articles on this page for more information about lyme disease.

[nancycarol]

on 11/16/2009 Thanks for How to Spot Lyme Disease. Good tips, and you made an important point to remember about tick season in each area being different. *5