Doctor warned: unexplained joint pain at night could be a prophet of a serious infectious disease

Vilija Petrulienė, an infectologist at the Kaunas Hospital of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, said that annoying and unexplained night pain in the joints (usually one of the largest, knee or shoulder) can be a sign of the disease. Lyme disease caused by ticks. Therefore, if you experience these symptoms, you should see your doctor and get tested.

The immediate appearance of a red spot is not yet Lyme disease.

It is common to hear about Lyme disease. For example, one of its first symptoms is erythema migrans, a red spot of more than 5 cm in diameter on the skin that occurs when a mite is absorbed. It is true that people often mistake this spot for the usual redness at the site of the mite infestation.

“People often come to us scared and too early,” said the doctor, who advised those who noticed the aspirated mite to remove it as soon as possible, preferably with tweezers. – Do not lubricate the area at first, but as soon as possible and as close to the skin as possible, grab the mite, turn it a little counterclockwise and remove it immediately. Then disinfect the small remaining wound and voila.

If a tick, mustache, head, or any other part of your body stays on the skin, there is no need to try to scratch it and injure it, because all infections are in the tick’s belly. We simply disinfect the wound and see what happens next.

If we talk about Lyme disease, the swelling and redness usually last 2-3 days after the tick is removed. It’s just skin irritation, not Lyme disease yet.

If a week or more passes and a pink spot appears around the previous site of the tick bite, which does not hurt, does not itch, but grows, becomes larger than 5 cm, you should consult a doctor, because it may be Lyme disease. “

The doctor reassured him: “If a person applies within the first three months after the tick has been absorbed, even after the spot has appeared, the treatment is generally successful and there are no problems. As long as we have a spot on the skin, it means that there is still a local form of the disease and the treatment can be successful. “

The stain doesn’t always appear

Dr. V. Petrulienė said that the incubation period for Lyme disease is long enough. Sometimes it can take up to a month and a half from the moment the mite is sucked in until a red spreading spot appears. By the way, around 20 percent of people may not have that spot when an infected mite infects. Lyme disease can be witnessed by the aforementioned joint pains that occur at night.

“Another thing is the so-called neuroborellosis. We rarely find it when a mite is sucked in.

Usually there are no spots on the same day, but tick-infested Borrelia travels through nerve canals to the brain and causes what is called neuroborellosis, which is characterized by dizziness. It is a serious disease, but it can be cured if a person sees a doctor in time ”, explained the doctor.

Lyme disease can also cause facial nerve paresis, when a person feels fine for a long time, but wakes up one morning with a distorted face, when one eye does not close, cannot smile, saliva flows from the mouth, the tears from the eyes.

“70 percent. Cases of such things can be to blame for Lyme disease. Therefore, you should consult your family doctor about unclear symptoms that occurred a month after ingestion of the tick,” he urged. V. Petrulienė.

Vaccines are not yet available

The consequences of Lyme disease can be really threatening; Unfortunately, vaccines against this disease, unlike tick-borne encephalitis, are not yet available.

“There have been many attempts to develop them, but until now there is no effective vaccine. A solution is still being sought today. Immunity is not maintained immediately after vaccination. Another thing is that there are four subspecies of Borrelia that cause Lyme disease. .

Protecting ourselves against Lyme disease is one thing: if we go to the forest or some kind of meadow, we must wear clothes with long sleeves so that the mite cannot enter the body or use repellants to protect ourselves from ticks. There are many of them. Sprays are effective. They should be sprayed on your cuffs, and when you return from the forest you should take a good look to see if the mite has been sucked in, because the shorter the mite is sucked in, the less likely it is to transmit infection. sometimes you can even just catch it with your clothes and drop it. Then it will not transmit the infection ”, warned the interviewee.

Proposes not to mix the vaccine

Although Lyme disease vaccines are still being developed, they have been implemented for tick-borne encephalitis for some time. The doctor notes that some people are happy to get vaccinated against the latter disease even during a pandemic.

It is true that now that COVID-19 can be vaccinated, people often wonder if tick-borne encephalitis can be vaccinated at the same time.

“In theory, both the coronavirus vaccine and the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine are killed viruses. All killed vaccines can be given together, but it is suggested to wait because covid vaccines are new, especially mRNA vaccines, Reactions to them are mixed and we do not want them to be mixed with reactions to the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine.

It is recommended to wait at least 3-4 weeks after vaccination against the coronavirus before vaccinating against tick-borne encephalitis or vice versa, ”said the doctor.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis is only symptomatic

The doctor recommended vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis because there is no treatment that works against the cause of the disease, but vaccines are effective in protecting against the disease itself.

“All treatment for tick-borne encephalitis is only symptomatic: temperature reduction, brain swelling. However, we urge people to get vaccinated, because we cannot fully control this disease,” explained Dr. V. Petrulienė.

When asked what the signs of tick-borne encephalitis are, the doctor replied: “If a person has not been vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis, they should be monitored after sucking to see if they will develop a fever later on.

With tick-borne encephalitis, the fever rises to 38-39 degrees, as with the flu. That high temperature lasts for a few days. It may fall later and then rise again.

In case a fever appears one month after the tick bite, it is important to consult a doctor. “