Symptoms of lyme disease you have to watch out for
Symptoms of lyme disease you have to watch out for nastya_gepp - Pixabay

Lyme-disease-bearing ticks can be found all over the UK. This makes a lot of people, particularly those who spend time in wooded areas, at risk of catching the disease. A bite made by Lyme-disease-bearing tick is not painful. This means you may be unaware that you have already been bitten and may already be infected.

Symptoms of Lyme Disease

Minor symptoms like circular rashes may start to occur during its early phase. This rash can become a lot more problematic in the months to come. There is, however, a particular symptom that should warn you have been infected.

Medical practitioners have observed that around 30% of those infected with the disease suffered stiffness in their necks. This is one of the earliest symptoms of the disease.

According to Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center, this could occur within days or a month after being bitten. The condition may also be accompanied by chills, sweating, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and sore throat. You may also feel soreness in the muscle, malaise, joint pain, and fatigue.

Another symptom to look out for is a huge red rash approximately two inches or over in diameter. This unique rash can develop anywhere between three and 30 days after being bitten by the tick. The rash may be evident within the next seven days and may look like a bulls-eye.

When to Seek Help

Schedule an appointment with the doctor when you start seeing this and feeling the other early symptoms. Bear in mind that any delay in treatment can cause complications and maybe a bit hard to cure.

It would also be helpful if you tell the doctor about any outdoor activities within the past 30 days so as to help him determine whether it is Lyme disease or not.

For those who have observed ticks settling on their skins, they must remove it immediately by getting it under the tick’s mouth and gently removing it from the skin. The reason for this is that part of the tick’s mouth may still be embedded in the skin and can still cause infection to set in.

Since ticks settle and bite both humans and animals, it would be prudent to check your pets too, particularly if they accompanied you while hiking through the woods. Doing this can be one way to prevent you from contracting the illness.