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Complications after Lyme disease, both neurological, articular and cardiac, can be very dangerous. Complications are mainly exposed to people who did not start treatment in the early stage of the disease development and therefore it has passed into the chronic phase. Check what are the complications after Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease that can have various complications, butthe most dangerous are the neurological ones ,articularandcardiac .

They may appear in people who did not notice the symptoms of Lyme disease at an early stage of its development, and thus - did not start treatment on time.

As a consequence, the disease turned into a chronic phase.If treatment is started on time, 90 percent cases, the infection is eliminatedand the disease does not leave behind any complications.

Read:Chronic Lyme disease (chronic, late phase) - symptoms and treatment

Lyme disease - neurological complications

  • meningitis- Lyme meningitisinitially manifested by a fever reaching 39-40 degrees C. There are also symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection (sore throat, cough, hoarseness ), headache, and nausea and vomiting. Later, hypersensitivity to sound and light, drowsiness, confusion, slight bruising on the skin join in.
  • encephalitis -Lyme encephalitismanifested by fever, headaches accompanied by nausea and vomiting, impaired consciousness, weakness or disability of a single limb / several limbs, disturbance / loss of sensation within one or more limbs, speech disorders, etc.
  • palsy of the facial nerve (Bell) - appear, inter alia, in drooping corner of the mouth, inability to whistle or frown. Hypersensitivity to sounds and salivation disorders may also occur
  • eyelid fissure regurgitation - is a complication after paralysis of the facial nerve. When the eyelids do not close properly, the cornea and conjunctiva dry out easily, which can lead to, for example, corneal ulceration
  • inflammation of the optic nerve - visual disturbances (described as blurred vision) appear

Lyme disease - joint complications

Lyme arthritis is manifested by joint pains -usually large ones (knees, elbows, hip joints, shoulders), although the disease can also affect the smaller ones (wrists, fingers, hands).

These pains are described as strong and short-lived. The stiffness of the neck is also characteristic. In addition, there is paresthesia, i.e. tingling, burning or numbness, mainly in the limbs.

Lyme disease - heart complications

Cardiovascular symptoms as a complication after Lyme disease are observed relatively rarely and occur in 0.3-4% of patients. untreated patients in Europe and 4-10 percent. untreated patients in North America.

  • Lyme myocarditis- chest pain, irregular or fast heartbeat, shortness of breath at rest or light exercise, fatigue, swelling of the ankles and lower legs. Very rarely, Lyme carditis may resemble acute coronary syndrome (these are dangerous manifestations of coronary artery disease, which include unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death)

In some cases, the heart muscle is permanently damaged and failed

  • endocarditis- symptoms of pneumonia (shortness of breath, cough and chest pain, fever), petechiae on the skin, linear ecchymosis under the nails, painful swellings on the fingers and toes (depending on which part of the heart was taken)
  • pericarditis- pain in the retrosternal area, dry cough, shortness of breath, ankle swelling, fatigue
  • dilated cardiomyopathy - may be a late consequence ofLyme cardiomyopathy . There are chest pains, shortness of breath, poor endurance, acceleration of the number of breaths and heart rate, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath
  • pneumonia-like symptoms, i.e. chills, fever, night sweats, weakness

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