Lyme disease

Lyme disease (Borreliosis) progresses slowly and in different stages. A typical sign, shortly after an infection, is reddening, usually about the size of the palm of your hand, in the area of the sting, although the size can vary greatly.

This is followed by (mostly acute) manifestations in various organ and tissue systems with a variety of symptoms.

• The nervous system falls ill (neuroborreliosis): The second stage can be recognized by meningitis and nerve root inflammation. Inflammation of the heart and myocardium: Trigger cardiac arrhythmia. Inflammation of the eyes: This mainly affects the middle of the eye.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, up to 30 percent of ticks are infected with the borreliosis pathogen, the so-called Borrelia, depending on the region. These screw-like bacteria burrow deep into the tissue and can sometimes escape the body's own immune system. If this infection is detected in time, it is highly treatable. According to studies from Germany and Switzerland, a Borrelia infection was detected after a tick bite in 2.6 to 5.6% of those affected, characterized by the so-called seroconversion, i.e. the appearance of antibodies in the blood. Only a small proportion of those infected become ill. Overall, 0.3 to 1.4% of tick bites are associated with symptoms (Nahimana et al 2004; Heininger et al 1993; Maiwald et al 1998; Paul et al 1987).

Reddening of the bite site that appears and disappears shortly after removing the tick is harmless. Skin reactions that only show up a few days later, on the other hand, are typical of a Borrelia infection. The first symptoms appear within a few weeks to a few months after infection with the Lyme disease pathogen (via a tick bite). Typically, a painful, nonpurulent inflammation of the meninges and nerve roots of the spinal cord develops.

• fleeting Migratory Arthritis, Arthralgia and Myalgia Bursitis, Enthesitis (Bursitis)
• Cephalgia (headache)
• radicular pain syndromes (so-called Bannwarth syndrome)
• cranial nerve symptoms (especially facial paralysis)
• sensory disturbances Cardiac Arrhythmias, excitation formation and conduction disorders
• Eye symptoms (eg. double vision)

Characteristic of the late manifestations are chronic exhaustion and rapid fatigue, an episodic course of the disease with a strong feeling of illness, and symptoms that jump from place to place. In addition, many different symptoms of the respective organ manifestations can occur.

• inflammation of the nervous system (meningitis and Bannwarth syndrome)
• Arthritis
• inflammation of the skin over the joints (Acrodermatitis)
• numbness in the feet
• stiffness in the neck area

In the period from 3 to 30 days after infection with Lyme disease. Without treatment, the redness will disappear after about 10 weeks.

In half of the cases of incipient Lyme disease, a blush sets in. The technical term is erythema migrans. Redness appears around the sting site over a period of seven days to three weeks. In some cases, this migrates in a locally limited area.

The temporal differentiation between early and late stages is arbitrary. Manifestations of Lyme borreliosis that occur more than 6 months after the onset of infection are referred to here as late manifestations or as chronic.

Lyme disease can cause numerous symptoms. Particularly common are:

• Fatigue (exhaustion, chronic illness)
• Encephalopathy (brain disorders)
• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Neurological symptoms (including polyneuropathy)
• Gastrointestinal complaints
• Urogenital Symptoms
• eye symptoms
• skin symptoms
• heart diseases
• Acrodermatitis chronica is a late-stage disease-proving skin manifestation
• atrophicans (ACA)
• Chronic polyneuropathy, which is often associated with ACA, is also considered a typical late-stage disease manifestation

The symptoms are diverse, diagnoses are often incorrect and misdiagnoses are often made. Chronic joint inflammation develops that feels like rheumatism. The severe pain comes in spurts. Other symptoms: encephalitis, muscle or facial paralysis - and the heart can also be damaged The disease can be acute or chronic and damage various organs. The most common symptom is erythema migrans, a spreading reddening of the skin that usually develops a few days after a tick bite and is the surest clinical sign of Lyme disease. Another common sign is lymphadenosis benigna cutis, a reddish to bluish, circumscribed swelling of a soft consistency that manifests itself a few weeks to months after a tick bite, usually on the earlobe, scrotum, or in the nipple area. A so-called acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) develops many months to years after the acute infection, usually asymmetrically and often unilaterally, preferably on the extensor sides of the legs (knees and lower legs) or arms (elbows and forearms). In the early stages, the skin is bluish-red and thickened with oedema, after months it becomes pale, thinned, and inelastic (wrinkled like cigarette paper).