Advanced Lyme Disease - Signs and Symptoms, Health Effects

Here, you will learn about advanced Lyme disease, including its signs and symptoms as well as its possible negative health effects.

One of the first symptoms of Lyme disease is Erythema Migrans (EM), a condition commonly known as a red rash. It appears between 3 to 30 days after an infected tick's bite.

It starts at the bite's site as a red spot and expands from there (forms a circle shape). The center of the rash may slowly fade, which creates the center of the bull's eye pattern the disease is characterized by.

If the disease goes untreated, it can spread. In doing so, separate rashes appear at various sites on the body and may itch, burn or hurt. It is often accompanied by such symptoms as fever, chills, fatigue, headache, stiff neck / joints and body aches.

What are some other symptoms of advanced Lyme disease?

After several months of going without treatment, over half of people infected share recurrent bouts of swollen and painful joints. Nearly 20% of untreated sufferers develop chronic arthritis. Arthritis due to Lyme disease often affects only one large joint at a time (such as the knee), although more can be affected.

Though most symptoms improve with antibiotic treatments, joints that have been damaged badly may not respond quickly or even be helped by the treatment at all. There are cases where surgery to remove the lining of the damaged joint is required.

Lyme disease can affect the nervous system too, although it does not happen often, causing such symptoms as numbness of limbs, stiff neck, and Bell's palsy. Even less common are problems with the heart, hepatitis, and severe fatigue, which take place more during late-stage or advanced Lyme disease. These include arthritis and nervous system problems.

The symptoms of the nervous system disorder during late-stage or advanced Lyme disease include symptoms such as trouble focusing or concentrating, changes or extremes in mood or sleep habits, loss of memory, muscle weakness - especially facial drooping as in Bell's palsy, or even swelling in the membranes that surround the brain, a condition known as meningitis.

If the bacterial infection does spread to the nerves or spinal cord, severe headaches, chronic fatigue, or conditions concerning vision or hearing can also develop due to inflammation of the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord. These problems do on occasion go away without treatment, but often do not without the use of antibiotics. However, these are rare cases.

The more serious skin problems caused as a result of Lyme disease are rare in the US, but they can involve the thinning of the skin on the hands and / or feet of an affected person; swelling in areas such as the earlobes and / or near the nipples; or they may mimic other illnesses such as fibromyalgia's skin / touch sensitivities or multiple sclerosis.

Again, on rare occasions, advanced Lyme disease can spread to the heart. If this happens, a person may experience arrhythmia (a slow or irregular heartbeat), which is generally the result of having a weakened heart or an existing heart condition already.

The most serious heart problems, such as inflammation of the structures surrounding the heart (pericarditis), can, as is characteristic of Lyme disease, resolve without any permanent damage once treatment is underway. The very good news is that most cases of Lyme disease - even severe ones or advanced Lyme disease - can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics.

For more information on early-stage or advanced Lyme disease, including natural and alternative treatments and remedies for the ailment, read the other related Lyme disease articles and pages which are on this website.

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