Lyme Disease, Other Tick-Borne Diseases / Co-Infections - The Facts

How many of you knew (without being told by me personally) that not only do we have to educate ourselves about Lyme Disease but there are also other tick-borne diseases that are even less known but very prevalent!

Research has shown from the very beginning that ticks which carry the pathogen of Lyme disease also harbor an array of other organisms, some known to cause serious human disease, others not traced to human infection or still undiscovered or unexplored.

 Below is a limited list of other known tick-borne disease:

Babesiosis

Disease Process: Protozoa that invade, infect, and kill the red blood cells Symptoms: Fatigue, night sweats, fever, chills, weakness, weight loss, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, shortness of breath, headache, neck and back stiffness, dark urine or blood in urine

Bartonella

Disease Process: Bartonella bacterium Symptoms: Fever, chills, headache and severe pain in the tibia, weight loss, sore throat, papular or angiomatous rash

Ehrlichiosis (HGE and HME)

Disease Process: Rickettsiae that infect the white blood cells Symptoms: Anemia, fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, rigors, gastrointestinal symptoms, anorexia, fatigue

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Disease Process: Rickettsia rickettsii parasite that invades the cells lining the heart and blood vessels Symptoms: High fever, severe headache (especially behind the eyes), maculopapular skin rash

Colorado Tick Fever

Explanation: Reovirus that lodges inside the cells Symptoms: High fever, chills, severe muscle aches, back pain, headache (especially behind the eyes), light sensitivities, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

Relapsing Fever

Disease Process: Borrelia hermsii spirochete Symptoms: High fever, sudden chills, eye inflammation, coughing, jaundice, petechial rash

Tularemia

 Disease Process: Francisella tularensis bacterium  Symptoms: Painful and swollen lymph nodes, fever, chills, fatigue

Tick Paralysis

Disease Process: A toxic reaction to saliva from female ticks Symptoms: Paralysis begins in legs and spreads throughout the body within hours * Recovery is rapid following the removal of the tick

Mycoplasma

Disease Process: A genus of small bacteria which lack cell walls. M. fermentans, M. pneumoniae, M. penetrans, M. hominis and M. genetalium Symptoms: Fatigue, headaches, muscle pain and soreness, nausea, gastrointestinal problems, joint pain and soreness, lymph node pain, cognitive problems, depression, breathing problems and other signs and symptoms 

Powassan Encephalitis

Disease Process:: Flavivirus that invades and infects the brain Symptoms: Fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, light sensitivity, muscle weakness, seizures, paralysis, brain inflammation

Ticks know no borders and respect no boundaries. A patient's county of residence does not accurately reflect his or her Lyme disease risk. In this day in age with worldly travel, pet travel, wild animals and farm animals being transported across the world and ticks traveling across the world......It's a perfect storm -  life is a dynamic situation with many opportunities for exposure.  

If you learn nothing else from this post, learn that co-infections are often never diagnosed; even in patients who have been diagnosed with Lyme. They are generally only tested when a person advocates to be tested or under the guidance of a Lyme Specialist. Knowing whether a co-infection is present is essential for treatment.

Know anyone with Lyme (or misdiagnosed) who has been undergoing treatment and not getting better? I can almost guarantee a co-infection is the cause. Co-infections need to be treated first or treatment is likely to fail! 
Any Questions? Email or Post a Comment...............Educate Yourself!

Works sited: 

http://www.lymeinfo.net/coinfectionarticle.html