Lymes Disease

Lymes Disease Symptoms

Lymes disease is a life threatening disease, spread by parasitic ticks, that is equally dangerous to humans as it is to dogs and cats. The disease is technically an infection, spread through tick bites that affect the skin, the heart, the joints, and the nervous system of its victims. Also known as Borrelia, Lymes disease can be fatal if not treated.

In humans, it is not uncommon for Lymes disease to affect the victim’s emotional or mental state. While it can be crucially difficult to detect it in humans, this critical factor can help physicians look for the right infection when combined with other obvious symptoms. The microorganism itself, which most often comes specifically from deer ticks, infects its hosts within a month of the original tick bite. In some cases, symptoms of Lymes disease may begin to appear as early as four days after the infection assaults the body. However, in animals and humans alike, the early symptoms are not necessarily indicative of Lymes disease.

Dogs and cats often show painful symptoms of the joints above any other symptom. A dog or cat, or any other furry pet, that suddenly loses interest in food, walking, and seems to wince with every bodily motion has most likely developed Lymes disease. As little as ten years ago dogs and cats and other furry pets used to be euthanized when it struck. Now, it is a treatable disease that can restore the animal to high quality health. It can be costly to treat, and prevention is much less expensive. However, prevention does not necessarily mean that the animal is not susceptible to contracting the disease.

Topical treatments that prevent flea and tick infestations have lured pet owners into a false sense of security when it comes to Lymes disease. While the majority of ticks are turned away by a dog with the proper balance of chemicals in their bloodstream that topicals provide, it will not prevent all ticks from biting. The tick is likely to die right after biting, but the bite can still occur.

Animals and humans that have contracted Lymes disease will initially feel very much like they have come down with a mid-summer flu. Fevers, chills, headaches, drowsiness, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle and joint aches are the first signs and symptoms of Lymes disease to hit. Over time, the condition will worsen, sometimes almost overnight and sometimes not for another month. The tick bite will likely develop something known as erythema migrans, which is a continuously growing red spot around the site of the tick bite with a pale or even white center. The victim will continue to have tremendous joint pain and the erythema migrans may continue to grow over time.

Once the condition has been treated, Lymes disease usually does not reappear as a symptomatic problem. However some patients have experienced flare ups after treatment. The heart muscle finds itself under duress when afflicted with Lymes disease. In the most severe cases of Lymes disease, serious heart complications may occur. Treatment is available, but prevention is more sound.