** May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month **
Lyme disease is a devastating illness that has directly impacted on of our Share Six team; Katherine will be sharing her experiences as part of this circle so please be sure to follow all the way around (see the link below). Thankfully my family hasn’t directly experienced the disease, but during our time living in MA it was a constant threat that gave me terrible anxiety. The Lyme Disease Awareness ribbon and our theme for this month is {green}.
Lyme disease is a spirochete bacterium that is transmitted by ticks. It is the fastest growing infectious disease, and is 1-1/2 times more common than breast cancer and 6 times more common than HIV. If treated with antibiotic therapy soon after transmission, the probability of successful treatment is much higher. If it goes untreated, it can infiltrate a person’s body and wreak great havoc.
Untreated Lyme disease is known to attack the heart and central nervous symptom. The numerous symptoms mimic other chronic illnesses such as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), MS (Multiple Sclerosis), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), Rheumatoid Arthritis Parkinson’s Disease, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as well as many others. Because of this, many patients with Lyme get misdiagnosed and go years not being properly treated, therefore furthering the progression of Lyme disease.
Awareness of this disease is imperative, as there are over 300,000 estimated new cases of Lyme disease each year in the United States alone (according to Johns Hopkins Medicine).
It was once believed that you always got a bullseye rash if you contracted the disease from a tick bite, but we now know that is not the case. Not everyone presents with a bullseye rash. Without a bullseye rash (and even with one), many people don’t connect their symptoms to the tick bite.
The more awareness we can bring, the better people can understand and know what to look for when searching for answers to their health problems that were unknowingly caused by a fateful tick bite. Please join us this month in spreading awareness.
Thank you for joining me for another month at Share Six.
Post your {Green} images on our Facebook page SHARE SIX or to our Instagram gallery by using #sharesix_green. A new theme will be posted on 6th June.
Up next is the incredibly talented Janet Douglas. Please Click Here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!
