03/29/2002

Aware and Alert to the Season of Lyme Disease

Spring promises warm weather, perfect for hiking. Be sure to take precautions when you venture into the New England woods and countryside, however, warns Anita Lopker, M.D. We need to protect ourselves from deer ticks that can infect humans with Lyme Disease, a disease that can cause an unusual constellation of symptoms, sometimes leading to misdiagnosis.

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by Anita Lopker, M.D.

As spring approaches, we look forward to the longer days, the return of warmer weather, and the opportunity to spend time outside enjoying the beautiful Connecticut countryside. Particularly in Connecticut, we need to be mindful of the risk of Lyme disease. Lyme disease is an infectious illness, transmitted by a soft-bodied tick approximately as small as the size of the period at the end of this sentence. The tick can be easily brushed away and either unrecognized or forgotten. This tiny tick is a blood-sucking insect that can transmit an infection with one or more organisms resulting in Lyme disease, as well as several other illnesses beyond the scope of this discussion.

Lyme disease is particularly bothersome because it can be very difficult to diagnose, and because it can cause mental and behavioral symptoms in addition to physical symptoms affecting multiple areas of the body. The mental and behavioral symptoms of Lyme disease can interfere with the ability of the patient to communicate adequately with health professionals, making the diagnosis even more difficult. Women who have been abused by domestic violence or by physical or sexual assault already tend to have difficulty communicating, and often have multiple physical symptoms related to the stress of these traumatic experiences. Connecticut women who are victims of abuse are just as likely to develop Lyme disease as anyone else, but are less likely to be correctly diagnosed due to the complexity of both conditions and the obstacles each can create in communicating adequately with health professionals.

Lyme disease can be treated and cured with proper antibiotics, especially when diagnosed and adequately treated early in the course of the illness. Some warning signs of Lyme disease are as follows:

• a flu-like syndrome in spring, summer or early fall (true flu is a winter illness)
• Profound and unusual fatigue
• joint pains and arthritis (inflammation - swelling, redness, and heat of the joints)
• heart palpitations
• numbness, tingling spells or palsies (weaknesses) of limbs, face or eye muscles
• slowed mental processing speed
• difficulty finding specific words
• difficulty completing thoughts and sentences
• reversals of words, numbers, letters, or behaviors (new in onset; e.g., without a history of dyslexia)
• mental "fogginess"
• sleep disturbances
• night sweats
• anxiety, depression, or personality changes

Unless one is aware of the potential symptoms of Lyme disease and remembers this possibility, the patient herself may attribute her difficulties to chronic "stress," and find herself at a loss to navigate her way adequately through the health care system. Women who have been abused tend to lose their sense of self and with it their ability to voice their concerns for fear of another abusive backlash.

Patients with Lyme disease involving the brain also tend to lose their ability to voice their concerns due to the effects of the infectious organism on their ability to think and express themselves. Women in Connecticut who have been abused and develop Lyme disease are at tremendous risk of a missed diagnosis. Awareness of these issues can allow those who work with the abused to help prevent unwitting re-victimization of these women in the health care system.

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For further information, contact the author, Anita M. Lopker, M.D., 18 Burr Road, Westport, CT 06880, Tel 203-454-7686, or The American Lyme Disease Foundation, Inc. in Somers, NY, Tel 914-277-6970.

Copyright: Anita Lopker, M.D., March 23, 2002

Lyme Disease: http://health.yahoo.com/health/dc/001319/0.html.

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.