Don’t let a hype around Lyme illness lead to nonessential treatment, warns U of A researcher

An spreading illness dilettante during a University of Alberta Hospital says a risk of constrictive Lyme illness from a parasite punch is overblown. 

• Experts contend Alberta Lyme illness risk is unequivocally low

“I cruise fear and misinformation can indeed expostulate people into doing things that could be potentially dangerous,” said Lynora Saxinger. 

“If they do not have Lyme disease, though they have symptoms and they are seeking diagnosis with antibiotics for those symptoms, they’re both during risk of side effects from antibiotics,” she said. “And they’re also during risk of whatever they indeed unequivocally have apropos some-more of a problem while they’re dreaming by this doubt of Lyme treatment.”

Lynora Saxinger says misconceptions about Lyme illness are sparking nonessential open concern. (Martin Weaver/CBC)

Lyme disease is an infection widespread by a punch of putrescent ticks that can means symptoms such as: headache, fever, skin rash, swollen lymph nodes, tired and weakness. It can also means repairs to the heart, nerves and other organs. 

In new years, it has turn some-more prevalent in Canada. In 2016 a country’s arch open health officer pronounced he was dumbfounded by an increasing series of diagnosed cases, though Saxinger points to information from Alberta indicating that even if we are bitten by a parasite in this province, there is a low odds that we will agreement the disease. 

Of a 2,781 ticks submitted to a Alberta parasite notice module for testing in 2016, 181 were of a black-legged accumulation that lift a disease — and usually 34 were positive. 

‘There is a risk to doing it wrong’

Amid concerns that a customary tests for Lyme illness in Canada are outdated and don’t exam for several strains, Saxinger warns opposite profitable out-of-pocket for a U.S. alternative. 

“There’s a unequivocally high false-positive rate. So people could be incorrectly told that they do have Lyme disease and afterwards they would be on inapt diagnosis for whatever their symptoms are indeed due to,” she said. 

Saxinger pronounced a University of Alberta Hospital does not cruise a formula of a U.S. exam as current when assessing either to provide someone for Lyme disease.

“There is a risk to doing it wrong. we cruise a misdiagnosis is as bad, if not not worse, than indeed no diagnosis sometimes,” she said. 

If we think we have Lyme disease, though Canadian contrast isn’t identifying it, Saxinger pronounced repeat the routine two-to-four weeks later. 

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/low-risk-lyme-disease-alberta-misdiagnosis-problematic-1.4231288?cmp=rss