More than 1 million people are bitten by a tick every year. The bug can cause Lyme disease in humans if it carries the bacteria Borrelia burgdoferi. A course of antibiotics usually helps to get back to health, but per year 1000 to 2500 people suffer from long-term complaints.
Brick
Similarly, the Almelose Lisa. When she was bitten by a tick in 2003, a large red circle formed on her skin. She went to the doctor for antibiotics, but didn’t get it. She had to come back if she got complaints.
It is not a popular disease among doctors.
And they came a few weeks later. “I couldn’t see well anymore, it seemed like I had a very high fever, like I was lifting bricks. It was very difficult for me to keep walking at the time,” says Lisa on a bench at the foot of the Salland Hill Ridge.
Lisa ended up in the medical mill. “It is very difficult to get the right treatment, because it is not a popular disease among doctors. Little is known about it. What helps for one does not help for the other,” says Lisa.
Forester Kees Jan Westra explains in this video how to deal with ticks (text continues below the video).
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“Didn’t get the key in the door”
Meanwhile, Lisa walks with crutches or a walker. She also has a modified bicycle. “But even cycling is still difficult. You also get neurological complaints from Lyme, because the control of your muscles is no longer good. Recently I suddenly didn’t get the key in the door to open it,” says Lisa.
Lisa is often tired and in great pain. As a medicine, she is occasionally given a long course of antibiotics, so that the symptoms do not develop for a while. But Lisa does not give up. With her platform ‘Lyme sticks’ she demands attention in political The Hague. At the same time, she wants to raise awareness about the disease and the serious consequences it can have.
Attention
Although Lisa has had to give up most of her dreams because of the illness, she still has hope. “I have always said; I will run the marathon again. My environment then sounds crazy to me, but that is my guidance. I believe that if you cannot do this psychologically, you can go under it,” says Lisa.
“You are, as they put it nicely, offside in society. That is why more attention should be paid to it. For prevention, but also among doctors,” Lisa concludes.
What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi that can carry a tick. You can contract the disease through the bite of an infected tick. About 1 in 5 ticks carry the bacteria.
The syndrome of Lyme disease is variable. Not everyone gets the same complaints. These complaints are most common:
– A discoloration of the skin at the site of the tick bite, which becomes larger. It can appear up to three months after a tick bite.
– Fever and possibly muscle and joint pain, in the first weeks after a tick bite.
– Sometimes joint complaints, skin complaints, nerve complaints or heart complaints can develop.
The latter can happen if the early symptoms of the disease are not treated with antibiotics, but these complaints are sometimes also a first expression of the disease. Both the early and the later stages can be treated with antibiotics, but damage may have been caused by the inflammation at a later stage. That is why it is important to contact the doctor with these complaints.
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More information can be found on the website of the RIVM and Lymevereniging
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