Many doctors don't know what the Lyme rash looks like

How can doctors diagnose and treat LYME if they don't even recognize the initial RASH? Physicians MUST be educated and updated on Lyme disease starting with the RASH... All the literature states the sooner the treatment the better and the rash is indicative of a clinical diagnosis...

I live in the moutain and doctors around here and all over NEED to recognize the initial symptoms of LYME disease. As previously mentioned my Lyme started with an OVAL solid rash... My treatment was delayed 10 days because I had to basically diagnose myself... I think what upsets me most is the fact that many doctors don't even recognize the rash...

June 3, 2008 is a day I will never forget because that 's the day I noticed the OVAL rash on my chest.. I saw pictures of a rash very similar to mine on the CDC web site and other Lyme sites. I'll never forget when my family doc told me in his professional opinion he didn't think the rash was from Lyme and sent me home with a lotion.... At first I believed what he said and was relieved that I didn't have Lyme. By the next week I developed many other Lyme symptoms because the disease had progressed and the bacteria had spread. The initial OVAL rash had expanded across my chest and was now more irregular in shape. My husband's cousin ( she is a gastroenterologist) happened to be driving through town 6 days after the OVAL rash. I had her look at the rash and she had NO idea what it was but said it was "NASTY" looking. On the 7th day after the rash, 2 more rashes developed on my legs. Both were round more typical LYME type rashes. One was on the front of my left leg and the other was on the back of my right leg. After doing more research on the computer I began to feel that yes indeed this was LYME disease... Multiple lesions (rashes) are present less than 10% of the time but do represent DISSEMINATED disease.... I called a dermatology office and insisted they see me sooner than a month because I thought I had Lyme disease.... I did not see an MD, I saw a nurse practitioner in the dermatologist office and he confirmed MY diagnosis of LYME. This was already 10 days after the initial rash and I estimate ~ 1 month or more after the bite. I didn't realize I was bit at the time because the tick is SO small and releases a nerve toxin when it bites. I've learned ALL about LYME the hard way!!! This could have been avoided with knowledge, prevention and early diagnosis and treatment. I had to become my own doctor and researcher in order to help myself and I'll explain how I did that in further blogs.

One year after the oval lyme rash

My escapade with Lyme began at the beginning of June 2008.... Apparently I was bit in May while gardening and didn't know it! The rash takes 3 -30 days to appear and not eveybody gets a rash. I saw a strange looking solid oval rash on my chest June 3,2008... After doing some research I thought it might be Lyme . I saw a picture of a similar rash on the CDC web site. I went to my family doc and asked him if it was Lyme and he said in his professional opinion "NO" and sent me home with a lotion. The lotion didn't help the rash got bigger and the next week I developed 2 more rounded rashes on my legs. CONTRARY to popular belief the bulls eye rash is not the most common form of rash. Homogeniously red rashes are seen more frequently and can be round or oval and gradually expand. On June 10th I called a dermatologist office and they said they weren't seeing any new patients for a month. I said I thought I might have Lyme and the soonest they could fit me in was June 13th. I saw a nurse practitioner who confirmed my diagnosis of LYME ON FRIDAY JUNE 13th (10 days after the initial rash) and gave me an antibiotic for 3 weeks. I had the typical flu symptoms, headaches, insomnia and a few days later my legs started to bother me from the knees down.... My legs were literally on fire 24 hours/day for 6 months because of delayed and inadequate treatment. My legs felt like they were sunburned a condition known as paresthsia. All the literature says 3 weeks of antibiotics takes care of the Lyme if caught in time. I don't know if that is necessarily true. Symptoms flare every 4 weeks which is why treatment should be at least 4 weeks. Delayed or inadequate treatment can lead to a persistent or chronic infection. The corkscrew shape of the bacteria can disseminate throughout the body within weeks penetrating deeply into tissue, organs and cyst. Lyme seems to affect eveybody differently. I think it attacks the weakest part of a person's body and can trigger problem areas within each individual. Ticks can bite anyone but I've read they prefer kids under 14 and people over 40.

Anyway, I've turned into my own doctor and researcher. What I have found is a lot of confusion and misinformation and those with Lyme are suffering, many are misdiagnosed. When you google Lyme millions of items pop up but there is still many unanswered questions! More education and research needs to be done so a cure can be found. Lyme specialty is high risk, the best doctors have waiting list and many don't accept insurance. Lyme disease may be the number one bacterial infection and most cases may not be reported. It's been around for over a century. First documentated rashes were found in Europe 1883. Lyme is a zoonotic disease transferred from animals to humans. It is spread from deer ticks, mice, birds and other insects may spread the disease. It can spread from mother to child, possibly through sex and can be fatal.. It's called Lyme because of a high incidence in Lyme Connecticut in 1975. The bacteria that causes Lyme is Borrelia Burgdorferi discovered in 1982 by Burgdorfer. When ticks bite they can spread other germs and infections. The sooner the treatment the better. I have been educating neighbors and friends particularly about the rash... Believe me if I can get bit planting flowers any of my neighbors can too.... It's been a long year and my first Western blot was positive for all three bands of IGM 23, 39 and 41. I'm much better mainly because I had to become my own doctor and researcher. More to follow.