Not every tick bite causes Lyme disease

Experts clarify about errors in Lyme disease

04/25/2014

There are many rumors about Lyme disease and tick bites. Layers often have uncertainties about whether a visit to the doctor is necessary after each tick bite and how long an antibiotic treatment should last. The first signs of Lyme disease are unknown to many people. Two experts clarify the conversation „Mirror online“ the most important questions and discover errors.

Wanderröte after tick bite definitely indicates borreliosis
In many places, ticks have been active again since March. They lurk in bushes, shrubs, in the undergrowth and in the meadow, where they wait for their next host. Usually a tick bite is not dangerous. The animals only suck blood, but at the same time pathogens can be transmitted from animals to humans. In Germany, infections with so-called Borrelia usually occur through the common wood buck. These pathogens cause the so-called Lyme disease. The best known and most conspicuous symptom of this disease is the wandering red. „But it occurs only in about 70 to 90 percent of cases. If she is seen, antibiotics can be treated right away. Otherwise, if necessary, you can perform an antibody test and follow the course“, reports Volker Fingerle from the National Reference Center for Borrelia in Oberschleissheim opposite the magazine. The Wanderröte was „the only symptom that undoubtedly indicates a Borrelia infection“. But not every skin redness is responsible for a tick bite. Nevertheless, those affected should be particularly attentive to contact with a ticks.

Flu-like symptoms are not characteristic complaints of Lyme disease
Many people believe that flu-like symptoms indicate a tick bite on Lyme disease and urgently require treatment with antibiotics. Fingerle gives the all-clear. „Flu-like symptoms such as fatigue and fever are not characteristic complaints. If a bronchitis also occurs, then this speaks for a flu infection, "explains the Lyme disease expert.Also, the assumption that people who have ever been infected with Borrelia, immune to further infections with the pathogens, to the errors belong Lyme disease According to Finglere, it is possible to infect several times and even to go through several disease stages at the same time If symptoms persist after treatment, antibiotic treatment should not be continued. „Then the diagnosis should be questioned and one should also look for other explanations. If necessary, you can start a new therapy - after securing the diagnosis - and use another antibiotic, "advises Fingerle.

According to Hans-Walter Pfister of the Department of Neurology at the Klinikum Großhadern (LMU Munich), the guidelines did not include a routine preventive antibiotic treatment or a routine blood test after a tick bite. „It is important to give patients good advice and to tell them what symptoms they should be aware of in the following weeks. If symptoms such as wandering or nerve root pain occur, they must seek medical attention immediately, "the neurologist told the magazine.

Borrelia antibody test indicates borrelia infection - also from the past
Uncertainty among lay people often also in the so-called Borrelia antibody test. „Strictly speaking, a positive antibody test just says that at some point in the past, a Borrelia infection has expired. It is thus only the contact with Borrelia, but not the date determined. A positive antibody test does not confirm Borrelia disease, "said Pfister, adding that if the test is still positive after antibiotic therapy, that does not mean that the patient will need to take new drugs. „The antibiotic kills the borrelia and the constituents of the borrelia, which are now released, stimulate the antibody-producing cells and make the antibody test positive. The values ​​can then even increase. Patients whose immune response is very severe often have a positive antibody test decades later. However, this can also be a problem, because in acute symptoms is unclear whether the increased antibody levels is the result of a renewed Borrelia infection, "explains Fingerle.

Doctors differentiate between three chronic Lyme disease: Lyme arthritis, neuroborreliosis and acrodermatitis
Symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, muscle and joint pain, tiredness and headache associated with a positive Borrelia antibody test do not necessarily indicate chronic borreliosis. „It is not possible to derive any chronic borreliosis from these symptoms. There are three proven chronic Borrelia diseases: Lyme arthritis, neuroborreliosis and acrodermatitis. In addition, a few doctors have been diagnosing "chronic Lyme disease" for several years in patients who show the above-mentioned non-specific symptoms. However, this approach lacks a scientific basis. The sometimes recommended months or even years of antibiotic use can be dangerous for the patient due to the side effects, "said Pfister. It is also wrong that neuroborreliosis is difficult to differentiate from other diseases. „We examine the nerve water and can determine if there is an inflammation. The determination of the Borrelia antibodies and the comparison of the antibodies in blood and nerve water then allows a clear diagnosis, "explains Pfister.