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Is bullsey always a indication of Lyme
Hi, I wonder if bullseye rash is a 100% indicator of Lyme?
I had a tick bite 15 years ago, it was in Germany/Holland area and got a large bullseye after it was torn off me. Didnt go to a Doctor and got no treatment.
I do not recall getting sick at all but I have during the last years had ventecular arrithmya and colitis ulcerosa. I have resent month had part of my leg (a part above the knee, like under the skin on 10x10 sq cm area) a bit numb, almost like just before feeling of needle stings/tickles after you sit on your leg for a while and blood is starting circulating again). Bear in mind I am getting older too, 50 now.
So, again, is it certain that if one gets the rash, there is Lyme?
I had a tick bite 15 years ago, it was in Germany/Holland area and got a large bullseye after it was torn off me. Didnt go to a Doctor and got no treatment.
I do not recall getting sick at all but I have during the last years had ventecular arrithmya and colitis ulcerosa. I have resent month had part of my leg (a part above the knee, like under the skin on 10x10 sq cm area) a bit numb, almost like just before feeling of needle stings/tickles after you sit on your leg for a while and blood is starting circulating again). Bear in mind I am getting older too, 50 now.
So, again, is it certain that if one gets the rash, there is Lyme?
"One thing to know is that the immune system can keep a Lyme infection at a low level for a long time, but the bacteria can hide from the immune system in areas where blood flow is low (such as cartilage), so that the infection can be at a low level, but spring up later."
That's interesting Jackie. Are you able to provide reference as to where you got that information? It makes me wonder if I had the bacteria in my cartilage for many years, and that's why all my symptoms started a few months after knees surgery last spring....perhaps that "released" it in to my system. Thanks in advance for the reference link!
That's interesting Jackie. Are you able to provide reference as to where you got that information? It makes me wonder if I had the bacteria in my cartilage for many years, and that's why all my symptoms started a few months after knees surgery last spring....perhaps that "released" it in to my system. Thanks in advance for the reference link!
Ok, well yes Icelandi is a nice stop over on the N-Atlantic.
But, I am certain that the rash was caused by a tick, as I saw it clearly and it was pulled off me.
But, I am certain that the rash was caused by a tick, as I saw it clearly and it was pulled off me.
PS
to your specific question, "is it certain that if one gets the rash, there is Lyme?"
the answer is no, because the rash could have been caused by something else. But if you have any symptoms of Lyme -- and there are many, which manifest differently in different people -- then I would certainly be tested.
One thing to know is that the immune system can keep a Lyme infection at a low level for a long time, but the bacteria can hide from the immune system in areas where blood flow is low (such as cartilage), so that the infection can be at a low level, but spring up later.
If I had Lyme again, I would want to be fully diagnosed for Lyme and any co-infections and treated with the appropriate medications, which are different for Lyme than for its common co-infections.
to your specific question, "is it certain that if one gets the rash, there is Lyme?"
the answer is no, because the rash could have been caused by something else. But if you have any symptoms of Lyme -- and there are many, which manifest differently in different people -- then I would certainly be tested.
One thing to know is that the immune system can keep a Lyme infection at a low level for a long time, but the bacteria can hide from the immune system in areas where blood flow is low (such as cartilage), so that the infection can be at a low level, but spring up later.
If I had Lyme again, I would want to be fully diagnosed for Lyme and any co-infections and treated with the appropriate medications, which are different for Lyme than for its common co-infections.
Welcome to MedHelp Lyme! I think you may be our first visitor from Iceland -- I landed briefly in Reykjavik once, and next time hope to see more than the airport. :) Even that was beautiful, however.
Lyme is indeed present in Europe, but the strains of Lyme vary from continent to continent. However, given the rate of travel among continents, it is possible to find the different varieties in many places. It is important to let your Lyme physician know where you may have been infected, so that testing for possible different strains can be accurate.
If you search online for
-- ilads europe 2013 --
you will find links to the annual meeting held last month in Augsburg, Germany. ILADS is the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, which has member physicians from all over the world.
ILADS can give you a referral on their website to an ILADS member physician near you, if there are ILADS members in Iceland. It is not necessary to be an ILADS member to diagnose and treat Lyme disease and the other infections often carried by the same ticks, but it shows that a physician has an open mind to diagnosing and treating Lyme and its co-infections.
Europe is often more progressive than the US in some things, and it would not surprise me if that is true of Lyme diagnosis and treatment. The medical establishment here believes firmly that Lyme is rare, hard to get, and easy to cure -- while the evidence is that Lyme is spreading rapidly, is easy to get throughout the US, and takes more than a few of antibiotics to cure.
Please let us know if you need further assistance finding help, and we will look around for possible links for you to try. Take care, and best wishes to you --
Lyme is indeed present in Europe, but the strains of Lyme vary from continent to continent. However, given the rate of travel among continents, it is possible to find the different varieties in many places. It is important to let your Lyme physician know where you may have been infected, so that testing for possible different strains can be accurate.
If you search online for
-- ilads europe 2013 --
you will find links to the annual meeting held last month in Augsburg, Germany. ILADS is the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, which has member physicians from all over the world.
ILADS can give you a referral on their website to an ILADS member physician near you, if there are ILADS members in Iceland. It is not necessary to be an ILADS member to diagnose and treat Lyme disease and the other infections often carried by the same ticks, but it shows that a physician has an open mind to diagnosing and treating Lyme and its co-infections.
Europe is often more progressive than the US in some things, and it would not surprise me if that is true of Lyme diagnosis and treatment. The medical establishment here believes firmly that Lyme is rare, hard to get, and easy to cure -- while the evidence is that Lyme is spreading rapidly, is easy to get throughout the US, and takes more than a few of antibiotics to cure.
Please let us know if you need further assistance finding help, and we will look around for possible links for you to try. Take care, and best wishes to you --
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