The European Parliament wants to add Lyme disease to the list of diseases controlled and tracked at EU level. It is estimated that around 1 million people in Europe are infected, and 21.5 thousand people are affected in Poland.

The resolution on Lyme disease was unanimously adopted by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. This resolution assumes increased cooperation between EU countries in the field of early diagnosis and in actions preventing the occurrence of this terrible disease. Emphasis is also placed on the dissemination of information on Lyme disease - increasing public awareness. EU plans also include further work on the Lyme disease vaccine.

The number of Lyme disease cases is growing rapidly

At present, the problem may already affect one million Europeans. According to the National Institute of Public Health and the National Institute of Hygiene in Poland, Lyme disease has already been diagnosed in at least 21,500 patients. However, it is difficult to accurately estimate the scale of the disease because Lyme disease in Poland is too rarely diagnosed and reported to the sanitary and epidemiological services. Not everyone who has been bitten by a tick reports for examination. Diagnosis is also hampered by the fact that not every tick bitten by erythema appears. This often gives the mistaken impression that you do not need to go to the examination and the doctors make it difficult to diagnose correctly. Studies of the Department of Parasitology in Sosnowiec show that every fifth Polish tick is a carrier of Lyme spirochetes (causing Lyme disease). The collected data also inform us that from 2004 to 2017 the number of cases in Poland increased fivefold.

The scale of the problem finally caught the attention of the European Union, which wants to unite in the fight against the disease. Not without significance is the fact that it was estimated that halting the incidence of advanced Lyme disease would have resulted in savings of EUR 330 million for the first 5 years.

How does infection occur?

The blood-sucking tick lets Lyme spirochetes into our body. Pathogens found in its digestive tract enter our body along with saliva. Usually this takes place about 24-48 hours after sticking into the skin, so you should get rid of the ticks as soon as possible after locating them on the body. The disease often begins after about 3 weeks. At the bite site, erythema often (but not always) occurs. Flu-like symptoms are common - joint and muscle pain, temperature, malaise, and swollen lymph nodes.
You can read more about Lyme disease here.

How to check if we have Lyme disease?

Unfortunately, none of the available medical tests can 100% detect or exclude Lyme disease. A negative result does not mean that a disease can be ruled out.

Antibodies appear in the serum only after a few weeks from the time of infection. By this time the disease is already well developed. There is a high probability that bacteria will spread and that the concentration of antibodies in your blood will drop. The effect of this is a false negative result in patients with viable Borrelia spirochetes in the body.

The most popular in Poland is the ELISA test - it often goes false negative. His credibility is 30%.

Western Blot test - gives 70% reliability. It can be done after min. 3 weeks from the bite.

PCR test - is the most accurate. Detects bacterial DNA in blood, urine or cerebrospinal fluid. Available only in a few places in Poland. It can be done a few days after the bite.

What can help us eliminate the possibility of having Borrelia spirochetes?

At Revitum, we perform a Body Weight Test - which gives us information if there are Borella toxins in our body. People who will not have toxins in their body can be calm that they also do not have spirochetes.
This information is available immediately - at the time of the test. He is fast and painless. The test is carried out at the earliest 3 weeks after a tick bite.

Remember that Lyme disease can be asymptomatic for a long time. If the body is strong and healthy, we may not observe any symptoms. They can occur with a long delay when, for some reason, our immune system is weakened. That is why it is so important to check whether we do not carry Borrel spirochetes even if we do not have any disturbing symptoms.

It is possible that if MEPs were convinced of the great possibilities of early diagnostics offered by the Body Stress Test it would be a basic preventive measure in the fight against Lyme disease. We hope that it will happen sometime.

We recommend that you read the following video:

Lyme disease is the most common infectious disease in the world transmitted by ticks. It is caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA31F0qT_Z0[/embedyt]

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease, or TB, is one of the most well-known tick-borne diseases. Lyme disease is a relatively new disease because the first diagnoses date back to the second half of the 1980s.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria classified as spirochetes and this is the only cause. There are different types of Lyme disease, some cause typical joint complaints, others cause neurological disorders. There are also bacteria that contribute to the appearance of skin lesions.

Lyme disease - Symptoms

Lyme disease manifests itself in a variety of ways, including through:

• pain,
• sweats,
• skin changes
• skeletal muscle disorders
• neurological symptoms
• damage to the lymphatic system,
• cardiac disorders
• inflammation of the liver
• lungs and kidneys
• systemic symptoms.

Phases and symptoms of Lyme disease

We can distinguish three clinical phases: early local (limited), early disseminated and late.

No matter what the type or level of advancement, Lyme disease attacks muscle, nervous and connective tissue. The first symptoms of the disease, i.e. the early local (limited) phase, occur within 1 to 3 weeks after the tick bite. The most common skin symptoms are erythema migrans. Migrating erythema is characterized by redness that spreads up to several centimeters on the body at the bite site. It can be very painful and convex.
If no antibiotics are given in this phase, the disease transforms into the next phase - the disseminated phase. Here, within 2 months, secondary symptoms may appear, i.e. arthritis or neurological or cardiological disorders.
After about a year after infection, Lyme disease goes into a late phase, i.e. it takes a chronic form, here there are such symptoms as: neurological symptoms, dizziness, muscle paralysis or vision problems.
The most common symptoms of Lyme disease include: chills, headache, sore throat, joint pain and stiffness, fatigue, hypersensitivity to alcohol, neck pain, hair loss, vision or hearing impairment.

The patient may undergo only one stage of the disease or all. The disease can also develop asymptomatically up to the second or third phase. The similarity of the symptoms of Lyme disease with those of other diseases is a major diagnostic challenge.

Lyme disease tests

The very sad information for us is the fact that none of the available tests can 100% detect or exclude Lyme disease.
A negative result of one of the tests cannot rule out Lyme disease.

Antibodies appear in the serum too late, only after a few weeks after infection, when the disease is already developing. There is also a high probability that the bacteria are moving and then the concentration of antibodies in the blood drops. The effect is that in patients with live spirochetes in the body, the test result will be unfortunately negative.
In our country, the most popular and most widely used is the ELISA test - very often it comes out that it goes false negative. His credibility is 30%.
Another, better test is the Western Blot test. It gives up to 70% credibility, but it can be done only after min. 3 weeks from a tick bite.
The most accurate diagnosis can be obtained by performing a PCR test, i.e. a test involving the search for bacterial DNA in the blood or urine or cerebrospinal fluid. This test is available in several places in Poland and can be carried out a few days after the bite.

Lyme disease treatment

Lyme disease is most often treated with antibiotics. To the question of how to treat Lyme disease and how long does the treatment take for this disease, or half a year or a few weeks, the answer is: how long did this disease last until the correct diagnosis was made? A low carbohydrate diet is recommended for Lyme disease. You should also eat high-quality protein products, eat lots of vegetables and drink vegetable juices, and eat whole grains. You should also consider the use of supplements, probiotics that will increase our immunity. Herbs (oregano oil, cat's claw, ginseng, yarrow, horsetail and birch leaves) are also very effective in the fight against Lyme disease. However, it is best not to be blindfolded and take advantage of a professional diet consultation, on which the appropriate diet and supplementation will be selected. At Revitum, we offer dietary consultations with high-quality specialists.

It is very important to strengthen immunity after biting. The tick is quite a dirty insect and transmits not only Lyme disease, but also chlamydia, mycoplasma, anaplasma, protozoa causing babesiosis and many other germs. The antibiotic and immunity of your body are important.

Let us remember!

Let's take care of ourselves especially in summer, when we can meet a lot of insects outside that can hurt us. Let's protect ourselves with various preparations and be vigilant, because the first moments after a bite can be crucial in the fight for our health.