Definition
Lyme disease, known to most as borreliosis, is a multisystemic disease involving the skin, joints, organs and, in the most serious cases, even the nervous system. Lyme disease is one of the most widespread anthropozoonoses ever.
Causes
Lyme disease is caused by an infection sustained by Borrelia burgdorferi, a gram negative spiral-shaped bacterium. However, contagion cannot occur through direct contact between the bacterium and humans; the disease is transmitted by ticks (genus Ixodes) which, after being infected, can transmit the infection to humans and other animals with their bite, which is however painless.
Symptoms
Lyme disease begins with a chronic migrant erythema, in which a huge circular spot forms on the skin; subsequently, the infected patient complains of fever, joint / muscle / neurological pain, inflammation of the eyes, headache, and stiffness in the neck. Long-term damage, possible when the disease is neglected, can be particularly serious: mood alteration, skin damage, concentration difficulties, CNS injury, memory loss.
Information on Lyme Disease - Drugs for the treatment of Lyme disease is not intended to replace the direct relationship between health professional and patient. Always consult your doctor and / or specialist before taking Lyme disease - Lyme disease treatment drugs.
drugs
The tick bite is painless, therefore it tends not to be recognized immediately; prevention, even in this case, is very important, since avoiding contact with ticks reduces the risk of contracting Lyme disease. According to this, it is understandable that during mountain excursions particular attention should be paid, since ticks tend to reproduce in these places.
The detection of a tick on the skin must alert the subject: in these cases, it is recommended to gently remove the tick with tweezers, without crushing it or tearing it, and disinfecting the area. To ensure that the tick has not created damage and transmitted Lyme disease, immediate medical supervision is recommended.
It is noted that for patients in whom Lyme disease is recognized from the first symptoms and readily treated, the prognosis is good.
The excellent therapy consists of antibiotics, whose treatment should generally be continued for three weeks; corticosteroids may complete antibiotic therapy in the case of particularly aggressive Lyme disease.
penicillin:
- Amoxicillin: antibiotic treatment with amoxicillin (belonging to the beta-lactam class, of the penicillin group) is generally indicated to treat mild or moderate Lyme disease. Many patients are allergic to this drug, so treatment is done with other antibiotics, such as penicillin or erythromycin. For the treatment of Lyme disease associated with arthritis (a very common condition among patients infected with Borrelia) it is recommended to take an oral dose of 500 mg, three times a day, for 14-30 days. The same dose can be maintained for the treatment of Lyme disease in adults with carditis (heart inflammation) and chronic migrant erythema. Amoxicillin is the most commonly used oral drug for the treatment of Lyme disease. In some cases, probenecid can be taken at the same time (eg Probenec).
- Penicillin G or benzylpenicillin (eg Benzil B, Benzil P): for the treatment of Lyme disease associated with arthritis, take 3-4 million units of drug intravenously, every 4 hours. Do not exceed 18-24 million units per day. The duration of therapy should extend for 14-28 days. Reduce the duration of therapy for patients with Lyme disease and carditis to 2-3 weeks. Subjects who, besides being infected by Borrelia, are also affected by chronic migrant erythema, should take the drug orally, at a dose of 250-500 mg, every 6 hours, for 2-3 weeks.
Macrolides:
- Erythromycin (eg Erythrocin, Erythro L, Lauromycin). The drug is an antibiotic belonging to the class of macrolides, indicated for the treatment of Lyme disease of medium or slight entity: take 250-500 mg of active every 6 hours. Erythromycin ethyl succinate should be taken at higher doses (400-800 mg). It is also possible to take the drug for the treatment of severe Lyme disease: in this case, the dosage involves taking 1-4 grams of active per day, intravenously, divided into 4 doses (every 6 hours).
Tetracycline:
- Doxycycline (eg Doxicicl, Periostat, Miraclin, Bassado): it belongs to the class of tetracyclines and is used to treat Lyme disease in the context of arthritis, carditis, chronic migrant erythema and neurological complications. The dose is the same for every complication just described (100 mg of drug, to be taken orally every 12 hours), but the duration of the therapy changes according to the problem. Consult your doctor.
Cephalosporins:
- Ceftriaxone (eg Ceftriaxone, Pantoxon, Ragex, Deixim): the drug is a cephalosporin, the most widely used for parenteral treatment of Lyme disease. Indicatively, take 2 grams of drug intravenously or intramuscularly over 24 hours, for 14 days (in case of arthritis), for 21 days (in cases of carditis) or for 30 days (for neurological complications of the disease Lyme).
- Cefuroxime (Ex. Cefoprim, Tilexim, Zoref, Zinnat): the drug is a second-generation cephalosporin, sometimes used in therapy to treat symptoms related to Lyme syndrome: take 500 mg of drug orally, twice a day for 20 days. To be used as an alternative to amoxicillin or doxycycline, when oral therapy is recommended.
- Cefotaxima (eg Cefotaxima, Aximad, Lirgosin): third generation cephalosporin. For the treatment of Lyme disease associated with arthritis and / or neurological disorders, take 2 grams of the drug intravenously every 8 hours, for 14-28 days, depending on the severity of the disease. If the patient continues to complain of swelling and pain in the joints, oral antibiotic therapy can be extended for another 4 weeks. In the case of Lyme disease associated with carditis, it is recommended to respect the posology just described (2g, ev, every 8 hours), prolonging the therapy for a shorter period of time (14-21 days).
In recent years, the research is carrying out in-depth studies to devise a vaccine for prophylaxis against Lyme disease; this innovative drug will have to succeed in stimulating the human immune system to produce antibodies against the bacterium Borrelia, implicated in the manifestation of Lyme disease.
