Lyme disease
Subtitle: the cause, the cure, the controversy
By: Alan G. Barbour.
Series: A Johns Hopkins Press health book; Johns Hopkins health book.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Baltimore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 258
Subjects: Lyme disease -- Popular works.
Description: Lyme disease is one of the least understood of the new diseases - and one of the most dreaded. In this book, noted Lyme disease researcher and clinician Alan Barbour presents a comprehensive and even-handed discussion of what we know about the disease and offers medical science's current thinking about its more controversial aspects. Including illustrations of ticks and the rashes caused by their bites, as well as maps showing the worldwide distribution of Lyme disease and the relative risk of the disease across the United States, the book explains how Lyme disease is spread, and who is at risk; describes the symptoms and consequences of Lyme disease, from the rash following a tick bite to the most serious complications, such as infection of the nervous system, joints, and heart; describes all the diagnostic tests for Lyme disease and explains what the test results mean; compares Lyme disease with other conditions, such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and explains why they are often mistaken for Lyme disease; presents a compassionate and convincing discussion of depression, which is often the correct diagnosis for a patient who clings to a diagnosis of Lyme disease despite repeated negative diagnostic tests; carefully explains proven and unproven treatments, and summarizes the debates about antibiotics and other treatments; and outlines what individuals can do to avoid getting Lyme disease as well as what the community can do to reduce the number of Lyme-disease-carrying ticks.
Notes: Includes index.