Lyme Disease Symptoms: Key Facts About This Mysterious Illness

From Huffington Post 

Posted: 06/18/11 12:32 AM ET

Summer is peak season for transmission of Lyme disease.

The only known transporter of Lyme bacteria -- the deer tick -- goes through the most infectious stage of its life cycle in the summer.

But you don't need to be in contact with a deer to get a deer tick bite. Deer ticks can hitch a ride on small animals and land right in your backyard.

Here is a case study that highlights why Lyme disease is a mystery illness:

Anne had been diagnosed with three different autoimmune diseases, each by a top specialist:

1. Crohn's disease, an inflammatory disorder of the intestinal tract that causes abdominal pain and diarrhea.
2. Iritis, an inflammatory disorder of the eyes that causes eye pain and blurred vision.
3. Spondyloarthritis, an inflammatory disease that attacks the spine and other joints.
4. 
   
5. Two of the specialists wanted to treat her with immune suppressive drugs, a decision that would have been counterproductive, given the fact that her real diagnosis was Lyme disease -- an infection spread by a tick bite...

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