Identifying the red target symbol over light skin tone is easy for light-skinned people, but not so with dark skin tones. Another 10 to 20 percent of patients develop more severe cases whose symptoms include debilitating pain, fatigue, brain fog, irritability and sleep disorders.ĭark-skinned patients face particular difficulties in getting a Lyme diagnosis. Most patients report their symptoms cleared after a short course of antibiotics if the infection is recognized and treated early. And in extreme situations, such doctors risk disciplinary action.įor most people, Lyme disease is treatable and curable. Some practitioners offer alternative tests and treatments, but insurance does not cover the cost of their care. The standard antibody testing for Lyme disease, cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and endorsed by insurance companies, has been criticized by patients and practitioners as inadequate to detect all cases of the disease. Treatment is by short courses of oral antibiotics. Clinical diagnosis is based on a " bull's-eye" rash, other specific symptoms and two-tiered antibody tests. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - is that Lyme disease is an acute infectious disease. The orthodox position held by most scientific experts and some professional associations - and endorsed by U.S. Self-described "Lyme-literate" practitioners argue patients like Freitas suffer from a long-haul version of the disease, often called chronic Lyme disease. The medical establishment calls Lyme a short-term disease that usually quickly resolves with antibiotics. But medical entomologists say Lyme cases in the state could be 10 times higher than reported. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports the state had 3,076 estimated cases of Lyme disease in 2020 - a doubling in the past 15 years. Nationally, Lyme disease infects an estimated 476,000 people a year. The infection comes from tiny ticks primarily found in the northeastern United States, including in Wisconsin - which is a hot spot for Lyme, ranking No. Most of her doctors say she is mistaken, and that her symptoms, which began in 2015, are due to rheumatoid arthritis, or RA.įreitas is among thousands of Wisconsinites who say they are suffering from a chronic or long-term version of the disease. She has three times deferred her entrance into medical school while struggling with myriad symptoms that she attributes to Lyme. But instead of changing careers, the 49-year-old therapist retired from University of Wisconsin-Madison.įreitas says her undiagnosed Lyme disease has sapped her energy, fogged her thinking and caused pain in her neck, shoulders, hands and right knee. If life had gone as planned, Maria Alice Lima Freitas would be in medical school, inspired by the career of her father, a surgeon who practiced in Brazil.
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