Prevent lyme disease in children to avoid dangerous complications

Your child often plays in a dense area. After that, your child has flu-like symptoms and a rash? If you have these symptoms, your child could have lyme disease in them.

Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria in the genus Borrelia . This bacterium is commonly found in animals. Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of the Ixodes parasitic tick . When these ticks suck the blood of animals, the bacteria are passed on to them. When the tick bites the baby, the bacteria of lyme disease are also passed on.

Lyme is a common disease in Europe and North America. Children living in rural areas or children traveling to wooded areas are susceptible to lyme disease.

The cause of lyme disease in children

The most common cause of lyme disease is a tick bite. These ticks are brown in color, small in size like a needle tip. Therefore, it is often difficult for children to detect it.

First, the tick carrying the bacteria will bite the child. Then, the bacteria will begin to enter the child's skin through the bite. The bacteria will access the baby's blood. Usually, the tick has to bite for 36 - 48 hours before the bacteria can spread.

If the bite is swollen, the baby is likely to have been bitten for quite some time. If you see a tick on your clothes, brush it off right before it has a chance to bite your baby. If you are unsure how long your baby has been bitten, take your baby to the doctor right away.

Symptoms of lyme disease

Each child has different symptoms. Lyme disease causes inflammation in many vital organs of the body if left untreated. It affects primarily the joints, heart and nervous system. Here are the symptoms your child will experience:

Resident phase

Some signs of lyme disease will appear within a month of exposure.

1. Red rash

The localized stage shows a red rash at the site of the tick bite. However, a rash is only a natural manifestation of a bite. It is not always a symptom of lyme disease. If the rash goes away within a few days, it's definitely not lyme disease.

To be safe, talk to your doctor about the symptoms your baby is experiencing. If your baby has lyme disease, the rash will grow larger. The rash may be round, concentric, red with a white middle dot or completely red. Your baby may have a red rash in many areas of the body.

2. Symptoms of the flu

In addition to a rash, your child will also experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, and fatigue. In most cases, this symptom will appear with the rash.

Stage spread

Widespread phase appears days or months after a bite. Your child may not remember a rash or bite.

1. Joint pain

If you have lyme disease, your baby can suddenly have severe joint pain. This is one of the most common widespread symptoms of lyme disease. Your child will begin to complain that he or she has joint pain and that you will also see some swelling. A child's knee is most often affected, and pain can transfer from one joint to another.

2. Nerve Problems

Symptoms of lyme disease can appear weeks and months, but can also appear years after the bite. If the following is the case, the child may have meningitis. About 10% of babies have Bell's paralysis, temporarily paralyzed one side of the face. In addition to the above symptoms, your baby may also have numb legs or difficulty moving muscles.

3. Other symptoms

In addition to the above symptoms, there are some other uncommon symptoms that may still appear in young children:

Conjunctivitis

Hepatitis

Heart problems, irregular heartbeat, too fast or too slow. This rarely lasts more than a week

Excessive fatigue even when the baby is fully rested.

Factors that make children more susceptible to lyme disease

Accommodation and living are key factors that make children more susceptible to lyme disease. In addition, activities that your baby enjoys can also increase the chance of getting sick. Here are some of the most common:

1. Play in a place with lots of grass

Children who often play in tree-lined areas increase the risk of contact with infected ticks. Initially, these ticks only attach to animals such as mice and other rodents. However, if this animal comes into contact with the baby, the disease will spread.

2. Wear short clothes

Children who wear clothes that reveal a lot of skin are also at risk for lyme disease. This type of tick is easy to attach to baby's skin and infect. To protect your child, wear long-sleeved clothing.

Sometimes, these ticks will latch on to pets, so children are more susceptible to infection. So if you have pets, pay attention to them.

3. Late bite detection

Usually, the tick has to bite for 36 - 48 hours before the bacteria can spread. If you find it early and take measures, your baby will reduce the risk of lyme disease.

Complications of lyme disease

Sometimes, children with lyme disease can have other complications. If a child is not treated promptly, lyme disease can cause the following complications:

Chronic arthritis, caused by lyme disease often affects the joints

Neurological damage

Cognitive disabilities like absenteeism

If you damage the heart , the heart will beat slowly or faster than usual.

Before seeing a doctor

When you see your baby show symptoms of lyme disease or see a tick on his clothes, take him to the hospital for a checkup. Depending on your child's condition and degree of infection, your doctor may ask you to take your child to see a bone specialist, an infectious disease specialist or some other specialist. Before taking your child to the hospital, there are a few things you can do to make it easier for the doctor to diagnose:

Record all symptoms your child has experienced. Sometimes you will miss out on some important symptoms when talking to your doctor.

Write down changes that your child is facing lately. Talk to them to see if they are stressed or not. Also, keep in mind if any major changes have been affecting your baby lately.

List any medications your baby is taking or has recently taken, including supplements, vitamins, and prescription medications.

Of course, the doctor will tell you everything about your baby's condition and what you need to do. However, here are some things you can prepare to make sure you won't forget it while talking to your doctor. If you feel confused or unsure, you can look through the following questions and write your answers down. If you do not know any questions, please ask your doctor directly.

1. What have the children been through recently?
2. If not lyme disease, is there another disease that is causing these symptoms? How do I know for sure this is lyme disease?
3. What tests will your baby have? How will the tests help in determining the cause?
4. The best way to take care of the child?
5. If the child is not comfortable with the treatment plan suggested by the doctor, can I change to another option? Were the previous treatment options correct?
6. Your baby is having another disease and is taking medication. So what to do?
7. How should my baby eat? What to eat and what not to eat? If the child continues to eat the foods they should not eat, what will happen?
8. Does the baby have to be hospitalized?

Diagnosis and treatment of lyme disease

Symptoms of lyme disease are confusing. Hence, the diagnosis will be a bit difficult. After the doctor examines the baby and does some initial tests, the doctor will continue to do some of the following tests:

1. Immunological serum test (Elisa)

This is the most common test used to check for lyme disease. This technique is quite sensitive and simple and allows for the detection of antigens and antibodies at a very low concentration. However, sometimes this test result is inaccurate. Your doctor will get a diagnosis by combining results from multiple tests. However, in the early stages this result will not be helpful. Also, if your child has a rash that resembles symptoms of lyme disease or your family lives in an area susceptible to this disease, with the Elisa test results, your doctor can make a diagnosis.

2. Western blot method

After the Elisa test results are available, the doctor will ask you to give your baby a Western blot test. This test will help confirm the Elisa test results.

3. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

PCR is a popular technique to amplify a piece of DNA taken from a child's infected joint. This method is often used when your baby has osteoarthritis. If your child has nerve damage, this method also checks for infection in the brain fluid.

Treatment of lyme disease

In most cases, the doctor will give the baby antibiotics for treatment. Here are some ways your doctor may recommend to treat lyme disease in young children:

1. Antibiotics

Treatment with oral antibiotics is the most common form of treatment in the early stages of lyme disease. If you are younger than 8 years old, your doctor will give your baby an antibiotic doxycycline. If the baby is younger than 8 years old, the doctor may prescribe amoxicillin or cefuroxime. The course of treatment for lyme disease takes 14 - 21 days.

2. Intravenous antibiotics

If the baby has nerve damage, the doctor can treat it with an intravenous antibiotic. Your baby will need 14-28 days of treatment. Intravenous antibiotics help prevent and eliminate traces of infection. However, it may take a while for you to notice changes in your baby.

However, the use of an intravenous antibiotic can cause many side effects. Therefore, before starting your treatment, talk to your doctor clearly. Some of the most common side effects of intravenous antibiotics are a decrease in the number of white blood cells, an infection with another bacteria not related to lyme disease, diarrhea.

In some cases, after treatment, the child will still experience some symptoms of the disease. If that happens to your child, take them to the doctor right away.