You will likely develop Lyme disease if bitten by a deer tick infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. The disease symptoms can interfere with how you function at work, home, and everywhere else. Lyme disease affects your physical and psychological health.
It is crucial to know how to manage Lyme disease symptoms best.
Lyme disease develops in three stages. With each stage, you can experience different symptoms, all of which need to be managed correctly.
Early Localized Lyme Disease
Early localized Lyme disease is between three and thirty days after contact with an infected tick. Many people will see a red, circular rash somewhere on their bodies. This is a sure sign that a tick has bitten you and that you must seek medical attention immediately.
Not everyone gets a rash, but symptoms will appear, however. For example, you may feel like you have the flu, have fever, chills, aches, and pains in your joints. You may also have swelling in your joints which is attributed to inflammation. In addition, headaches, shortness of breath, and memory problems may appear in the early stages of Lyme disease.
Early Disseminated Lyme Disease
After a month or two, symptoms of Lyme disease can progress into the early disseminated stage. This happens because the bacteria are multiplying inside your bloodstream and spreading to other parts of your body. Don’t stop looking out for a bullseye rash. It may still appear.
Other symptoms may include Bell’s palsy, paralysis, or muscle weakness on one or both sides of the face. In addition, you can experience meningitis, which is inflammation of the spinal cord, neck stiffness, severe headaches or fever, muscle pain or numbness in the arms or legs, pain or swelling in the knees, shoulders, elbows, and other large joints. Heart complications like palpitations and dizziness can also appear in this stage.
Late Disseminated Lyme Disease
In the late disseminated stages of Lyme disease, symptoms become chronic and affect neurological functioning through ailments like encephalitis, encephalopathy, and polyneuropathy. Swelling in pain in your joints becomes severe. Rheumatoid arthritis may appear. The knees seem to be the most affected by swelling and pain.
Months to years after being infected with Lyme disease and going untreated, you may have the following additional symptoms: Intermittent fevers, chills, and sweats, chronic inflammation, numbness and tingling in the limbs, dizziness, and shortness of breath, tremors, respiratory infections, irregular heartbeat, anxiety and paranoia, rage, hallucinations, hearing sensitivity, and increased pain in the joints.
Managing your symptoms can become difficult the more chronic the disease.
Managing Lyme Disease
The best way to manage Lyme disease is to get the correct diagnosis. Unfortunately, Lyme disease tests are inaccurate most of the time. If you have been given a negative Lyme diagnosis but still have symptoms, keep searching for the right doctor, a Lyme specialist who can diagnose you on newer tests and your symptoms.
Lyme disease can be managed through Lyme Disease Mexico treatments like IV antibiotics, therapeutic apheresis, hyperthermia, nutraceuticals, detox therapies, reduction in oxidative stress, biofilm eradication, and many more.
You may be wondering why your local doctor has not mentioned these therapies. It’s likely because Lyme-literate doctors are trained and equipped to deliver these services. They can help you get relief from the pain and swelling in your joints too.
Did you notice one of the main symptoms occurring in all three stages of Lyme disease is joint pain? There are specific things you can do for management.
Management of Joint Pain
There are natural ways to alleviate joint pain naturally and with the help of a Lyme literate doctor.
1. Weight Loss
Arthritis research has found that you are putting extra pressure on your joints, especially the knees if you are overweight. By losing weight, even in small amounts, can relieve that pressure.
2. Exercising
Even if you don’t need to lose weight, exercising is crucial in managing joint pain. This is because exercise keeps your joints flexible and strengthens the muscles around the joints.
3. Hot and Cold Therapy
Switching between hot and cold treatments directly to the area of pain is another way to manage joint pain. For example, taking a hot shower or applying a heating pad can reduce stiffness, while a cold pack can reduce inflammation.
4. Eat a Healthy Diet
The food you eat does matter. High fat, sugary, processed foods make inflammation in the body worse. Changing your diet to anti-inflammatory foods will reduce your physical and psychological symptoms associated with Lyme disease and joint pain.
Fish, ginger, garlic, broccoli, walnuts, berries, and other fruits and vegetables are anti-inflammatory diet examples. Also, drink a lot of water, which can flush toxins from your body.
5. Herbal Supplements
Your Lyme-literate doctor can formulate and prescribe an herbal supplement regime geared to eliminate joint pain. Not all over-the-counter supplements will work, however. Instead, your doctor can help you choose tested, pure, quality supplements from trusted brands.
Self-Care for Lyme Disease and Joint Pain
Self-care begins with a commitment to yourself. You agree to make yourself a priority. Too often, because life can be busy and overloaded with personal and professional responsibilities, it is easy to put your needs on the backburner.
Doing so allows your Lyme disease symptoms to worsen, including joint pain. However, simple self-care activities can make a huge difference in helping you feel better. When you feel better, you have more to offer to everyone else in your life.
Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep is when your brain restores the parts of your body that are hurting. Build a support system that includes someone else with Lyme disease. If there isn’t a support group in your area, start one. Talking to others who share your experiences is beneficial to your mental and physical health.
Finally, find the right Lyme specialist such as those at Lyme Disease Mexico. These doctors can accurately diagnose you and have the most advanced equipment to treat you. You will be surprised at how quickly you can see the positive results you deserve.