What is Lyme disease?
The risk of disease varies by region and after a tick bite, this risk is rather minimal. Only those ticks that remain in the body for more than 12 hours are able to transmit the disease. The risk is greater than 48 to 72 hours after contact with the tick. Often, ticks remain in the body without the person realizing and many are infected but have noticed some bite.
Since bacteria multiply very slowly, perniciously Lyme disease develops in several phases. The clinical course is benign.
A typical symptom that occurs soon after infection is a red spot in the area of the bite, darker at the edges and about the size of the palm of the hand, it is known as erythema chronicum migrans (ECM).In the course of weeks, months or years may be involved other organs (joints, nerves, meninges, heart, eyes, skin): multi-inflammatory disease, ie, affects the skin and spreads to the joints and nervous system can affect to other organs in more advanced stage.
If this is diagnosed and treated in its early stages with antibiotics, Lyme disease is almost always curable; otherwise the progress of cure will depend on how each body reacts to treatment. This varies from one individual to another. For example, some patients may have symptoms that last for months or even years after starting treatment, while in others, symptoms may disappear before the end of treatment. In some cases, Lyme disease can leave permanent damage.