Spring is just around the corner in New York City. If you’re looking forward to spending your days outdoors, you must remember to stay safe and cautious about immersing in nature, especially if various insects and bugs are lurking around.
If you come across ticks, know that despite their tiny appearance, some of them can carry life-threatening diseases. The virus they transmit can sometimes lead to Lyme disease, one of the most typically misdiagnosed illnesses in the US.
The misdiagnosis happens for several reasons, including patients appearing positive in tests yet coming out with a different sickness or testing negative despite having the disease. It’s also possible for individuals to become exposed to Lyme disease without even showing any symptoms of it.
Keep reading below to find out more about the dreaded infection to prevent experiencing a misdiagnosis.
How to Tell If You Have Lyme Disease
If you’re worried about catching Lyme disease, its symptoms are similar to having the common flu. A person infected by a tick’s virus will start to experience chills, body aches, fever, fatigue, and nausea. You may also develop a bull’s eye rash, which is an obvious indicator that you have Lyme disease. However, not all patients can acquire the rash to help rule out their diagnosis easily.
Experiencing Early Lyme Disease
During the early stages of Lyme disease, when a Lyme-carrying tick bites you, it will feel no different from a regular insect bite and involves an itching sensation in the affected region. However, during the next few days, you will start to experience headaches, fever, and some muscle and joint pains.
Many individuals that become infected with Lyme disease after getting bitten by a tick often forget that it happened, so when the symptoms occur, they usually treat it as regular flu. Not only do they fail to see a doctor and receive the necessary treatment, but they end up facing a chronic disease that could’ve been prevented if it was only diagnosed earlier!
Undergoing Chronic Lyme Disease
If a person has Lyme disease without their knowledge, and they don’t get the necessary treatment while it’s still early, the situation could eventually escalate and expand all over the body. The disease’s growth rate can take a few weeks to as long as a few years to become worse.
Having chronic Lyme disease can adversely impact the heart, brain, circulation, digestion, nervous system, and skin. Sometimes, your reproductive system will also be affected. When you become diagnosed with Lyme disease, your symptoms may tend to appear and disappear. Unfortunately, even if you get a diagnosis during the early stages and receive the necessary treatment, you can still develop the chronic disease.
How to Diagnose Lyme Disease
Due to the false test results related to a Lyme disease condition, it can be challenging for medical professionals to detect the chronic illness. The best way to check if you’re infected is by undergoing two-tiered testing.
Through the test, you will be screened to check for the disease, and if the results come out negative, but you continue to show symptoms of Lyme disease, you will get retested. However, even if the two-tiered testing is the most recommended test, it can still produce incorrect outcomes.
Conclusion
The best way to treat Lyme disease is to find a professional that can detect it correctly while it’s still early. If you have been incorrectly diagnosed by your doctor in the past, and recently discovered you have a chronic illness, such as Lyme disease, it’s your right to receive compensation. You should hire a Lyme disease malpractice attorney to represent you and get you the justice you deserve.
Are you looking for a Lyme disease malpractice attorney in New York that offers specialized legal assistance? Ronemus & Vilensky is a law firm that provides a wide array of legal assistance focusing on accident and malpractice cases. Get in touch with us today to receive a free consultation!