{"id":550,"date":"2015-02-23T13:39:35","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T18:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/?p=550"},"modified":"2015-02-25T10:47:16","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T15:47:16","slug":"calvin-robbins-lymes-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/2015\/02\/23\/calvin-robbins-lymes-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Calvin Robbins: Lyme’s Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"30257\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the last decade, occurrences of Lyme Disease in Maine have been increasing at shocking rates. Colby is a school with a very outdoor-oriented student body, so information regarding Lyme Disease and its effects on the human body is something that everybody should take the time to look at.<\/p>\n

\"Cal2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Maine.gov reference<\/a><\/p>\n

Lyme Disease is a bacteria based disease which affects several body systems. The bacteria is transferred via the bite from an infected tick, usually (although not always) resulting in a rash in the surrounding area. The classic sign of Lyme disease is this \u201cbull\u2019s eye\u201d shaped rash, although recently many cases have gone undiagnosed as people with a solid rash do not suspect Lyme Disease.<\/p>\n

The first stage of the disease is called the Early localize stage, which begins with the rash which can take up to 30 days to appear after being bitten. Early symptoms tend to present similarly to the flu, with fatigue and joint pain being key identifiers.<\/p>\n

The next stage, Early Dissemination begins around a week to a few months after the bite. During this stage, the disease spreads from the muscles, joints and skin into the nervous and cardiac systems. Heart problems due to Lyme disease can include blockages and weak heart muscles, thus creating symptoms such as easily induced fatigue that you would expect from poor heart function. Nervous system effects, while relatively rare, are generally serious. Common issues include meningitis and numbness or pain in certain affected nerves. If treated in or before Early Dissemination, the disease generally has no lasting effects. If the disease progresses past Early Dissemination, the patient is likely to experience lasting effects.<\/p>\n

The Late Disease is generally many months or years after the bite. The most common symptom at this stage is arthritis of the joints, usually one or both knees.<\/p>\n

When Lyme disease is suspected, a simple blood test can confirm Lyme Disease, although they are rarely effective within the first six weeks of the disease, and even after that can often read as a false positive. If the patient is experiencing Late Disease symptoms, they are tested for septic arthritis which presents similarly, but generally with a higher fever. A final decision on this can be achieved with an analysis of the synovial fluid, which, as we learned in BI 265, is produced by the synovial membranes, which line joints. The synovial fluid is used as a lubricant for the joint.<\/p>\n

Treatment is relatively simple and consists of a regiment of antibiotics, which are administered via IV in more severe cases. Most patients experience lasting symptoms even after antibiotics have killed the bacteria, these patients often experience joint pain and nervous system problems for months after treatment. For patients with severe joint swelling, a synovectomy (removal of a portion of the synovium from the damaged joint) is recommended to ease some of the pain.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, this is a very easily preventable disease. When you go outside, make sure you cover your lower extremities by wearing pants. On top of this you can also use tick repellants to deter ticks from even getting on you to begin with. At the end of any outdoor activity, make sure to check all areas of the body (especially inside joints and other warm moist places). If you ever find a tick attached to you, carefully remove it with tweezers and continue to monitor the area of the bite over the course of the next few weeks. There is no vaccine for Lyme Disease so the best way to prevent it is to be aware of the signs and symptoms and to avoid tick exposure in the first place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last decade, occurrences of Lyme Disease in Maine have been increasing at shocking rates. Colby is a school with a very outdoor-oriented student body, so information regarding Lyme Disease and its effects on the human body is something that everybody should take the time to look at. Maine.gov reference Lyme Disease is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5245,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145220],"tags":[145240,145276,145262],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":552,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/550\/revisions\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/bi265-humananatomyatcolby\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}