Arthritis can affect anyone at any age. Arthritis can attack the joints, cartilage or tissue areas or lining in between joints. There are many arthritis types. Each type deals with specific organs and parts of the body, resulting in completely different symptoms and thus arthritis treatment. There are primary kinds of arthritis. Secondary types of arthritis are usually caused by other diseases, infections or illnesses. Each has its own indication, causes, symptoms, prognosis, treatments, therapy, etc., but they ultimately trigger arthritis attacks or certain joint disorders.
Arthritis which is secondary to other diseases actually are reactions of certain diseases that a person has. Lyme disease is an example of such a kind of disease.
The arthritis secondary to other diseases are end conditions of some other diseases and when a person consults a doctor and gets laboratory exams done and removes diseases similar to it, can he said to be afflicted with that secondary disease. With early diagnosis of arthritis, a more effective arthritis treatment can be taken.
Continuing on Lyme disease, nymphal and adult deer ticks can be carriers of Lyme disease.
Borreliosis or Lyme disease is an infectious disease caused by bacteria from the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi is the major cause of Lyme disease in US and Borrelia garinii and Borrelia afzelii in Europe.
In Lyme disease, there may be a flu-like and rash symptoms followed by arthritic, cardiac, musculoskeletal, neurologic and psychiatric manifestations. In most cases, symptoms can be eliminated with antibiotics, more so if treatment begins early. Late or inadequate treatment leads Lyme disease that is difficult to treat and disabling. Controversy over diagnosis, testing and treatment has led to two different standards of care.
A hallmark reddish bulls eye rash, with malaise, fever and musculoskeletal pain is there in up to 80% of early stage Lyme disease patients which appears from one day to month after tick bite. The rash is not an allergy but a skin infection with the Lyme bacteria.
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The incubation period from infection to the onset of symptoms is usually 12 weeks, but can be much shorter (days), or much longer (months to years). Symptoms most often occur from May through September as nymphal stage of tick is mostly responsible.
Persistent or untreated cases may lead to symptoms of conditions of cardiac inflammation (myocarditis), meningoencephalitis and also frank arthritis. Chronic Lyme disease can have many symptoms affecting numerous physiological systems. Late symptoms of Lyme disease can appear months or years after initial infection and often progress in cumulative fashion over time. Neuropsychiatric symptoms often develop much later in the disease progression, much like tertiary neurosyphilis.
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