5 questions to help you understand Lyme disease

If you've recently been in the outdoors and are feeling fatigued or achy, you could have Lyme disease. Here's the basics on what this disease is, how it occurs and how you could speed up your recovery.

• If you've got Lyme disease, you were recently host to a tick about the size of a poppy seed.
• While there, it infects you with spiral-shaped bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. Only one or two out of every 100 ticks carry the bacteria.
• In Canada, cases of Lyme disease are limited mainly to parts of British Columbia and southwestern Ontario, but the ticks have been found in other provinces.

• Symptoms change as the bacteria make themselves at home in your body’s tissues.
• A few days to a month after you've been bitten, you may get a red rash, or one that resembles a bull’s-eye. The rash burns rather than itches.
• You may also have no symptoms at all.
• With or without the rash, you might feel like you have the flu, with chills, fever, fatigue and a headache. But watch out: 20 percent to 50 percent of sufferers don't have these symptoms.
• If you don't have either of these early warning signs , then your first symptom will probably be arthritis: aching, swelling joints, often with muscle pain.

• In rare cases, you can develop serious and prolonged complications, including meningitis, memory problems, heart arrhythmia, Bell’s palsy and pain in the lower spine.
• If you're diagnosed and treated soon after getting Lyme disease, however, it’s very unlikely you'll have these later-stage problems.
• In a small number of cases, people continue to have symptoms even after treatment, a condition known as post-Lyme disease syndrome (PLDS).

The very first thing you should do if you think you have Lyme disease is visit a doctor, who may prescribe the following:

• Oral antibiotics taken for 14 to 28 days.
• Over-the-counter pain relievers to reduce flulike symptoms and joint stiffness.
• For nerve problems and severe joint pain, long-term treatment with oral or intravenous antibiotics.
• If heart arrhythmia develops, temporary use of a cardiac pacemaker.

Once your doctor has given you medication, try the following to help speed up your recovery:

• Take it easy until you feel better. Nearly everyone with Lyme disease experiences fatigue.
• Keep your doctor up to date on your symptoms. You may need additional treatments if your symptoms intensify, change or persist.
• Keep your garden tick-free. Use an approved insecticide recommended to treat tick infestation outdoors.

If a tick becomes your blood brother, it’s possible you could be infected with the Borrelia bacteria. But never fear — even if Lyme disease leaves its mark, a month-long course of potent antibiotics is likely to get you out of the woods.