How Can The Pediatrician Tell If My Child Has Lymes Disease?

After I suffered from lymes Disease, I became conscious about the health of my family members as well. It is quite easy to educate grown up people about the symptoms and consequences of lymes disease. However, how can you avoid children from playing in parks, grounds or playing with pets? Moreover, young children are more prone to lymes disease.

For that purpose, I took all preventive measures to ensure the safety of my children. I have already explained about preventive measures under the topic, lymes disease prevention. After visiting a tick area,I have always examined the children skin and hair. I always Check our dog carefully as it might be a source of entry for ticks into the house. If you are a Deer hunter, you need to spend extra time checking their gear before bringing it into your car and home.

Fortunately and touchwood, my children did not acquire the disease which created havoc in my life.

If you doubt of your child being suffering from lymes disease, look out for those immediate symptoms. If your child shows symptoms such as red rashes, flu, joint pain, lack of concentration and tenderness in muscles, then rush your child to a good pediatrician.

Sometimes rashes never appear on child's body, but he/she may suffer from persistent flu or joint pain. In that case, parents get confused and worried. They think how the pediatrician can tell if a child has lymes disease or not.

See, many a times, pediatrician do confirm the presence of lymes disease in children by simply verifying the rashes. However, they still carry out blood tests and confirm the disease.

Likewise, if your child shows all or few lymes disease symptoms, then take your child to a doctor. A doctor will conduct these tests on your child, to determine their physical ability. It is because, when a person suffers from lymes disease their ability to execute different physical tasks reduces considerably.

Treatment:

Doctors may ask you few questions pertaining to your family history. Your doctor will order blood tests to look for antibodies to the causative bacteria, but such antibodies take time to develop, so they may not appear in the early stages of the illness. Therefore, the diagnosis is usually based on a careful history and examination of the child, the child's symptoms and the activity of ticks in your area.
Many times, rashes appear on body and vanish after few hours or days. If you find a tick on child's body, you need to get rid of it. This is especially for people, who reside in lymes disease prevalent areas.

Doctors then prescribe few antibiotics and medicines to child. Antibiotics prevent the further spread of infection. Pediatricians prescribe antibiotics such as Amoxicillin, Ceftin or Doxycycline. The period of dose varies from one week to two weeks. Many symptoms fade away after treatment. Thus, proper dose of medicines ensure effective and speedy recovery from lymes disease.

I know what lymes disease can do to a person. Hence, if you think your child has lymes disease symptoms, consult a pediatrician sooner.