Almost the same, this is the difference between the symptoms of Lyme disease and Covid

Not yet finished fighting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is reported that patients with lyme disease are on the rise again in the United States. Said to have almost the same symptoms, what is the difference between COVID-19 and Lyme disease?

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is transmitted through tick bites. Usually, the type of tick that carries this disease is the black foot louse or also known as deer tick.

There are four types of bacteria that cause Lyme disease, namely Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, and Borrelia mayonii. The most common types of bacteria affecting patients in Asian countries are Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii.

You will not catch the disease immediately just because the skin is in contact with the fleas for a few minutes. In most cases, fleas have to stick for 36 to 48 hours to transmit the disease.

After biting you, the bacteria will penetrate your skin and enter your bloodstream. The longer the lice stick, the more bacteria will enter the body. That's why to prevent it, you must immediately get rid of lice that stick to the skin.

Actually, in Indonesia, Lyme disease is a rare case. This disease is most common in the United States, with an average of 300,000 cases each year.

COVID-19 Outbreak updates Country: IndonesiaData

1,024,298

Confirmed

831,330

Recovered

28,855

DeathDistribution Map

The difference between the symptoms of COVID-19 and Lyme disease

Source: Lyme Disease Clinic

Considering that COVID-19 and lyme disease are attacking the body recently, many are confused about what symptoms they actually feel.

When compared, patients suffering from COVID-19 and Lyme disease do experience some of the same symptoms. The following are the similarities in the symptoms of the two.

Symptoms of Lyme disease:

• fever
• body aches
• body shivering
• headache
• stiff neck
• fatigue

Symptoms of COVID-19:

• fever
• body shivering
• dizzy
• body aches
• sore throat
• reduced ability to smell and taste

However, please note that the symptoms above are mostly non-specific symptoms, which means that they can be caused by a number of other illnesses such as the common cold.

The symptoms that appear in Lyme disease are also normal symptoms experienced by patients suffering from infections caused by insect bites.

How do you tell the difference between the two?

Apart from nonspecific symptoms, each disease also has specific symptoms that characterize its appearance. Of course there is a big difference between the symptoms of Lyme disease and the symptoms of COVID-19.

The most prominent sign of lyme disease is the appearance of a red rash three days after you became infected. The rash, called erythema migrans (EM), can spread over several days and can spread up to about 30 centimeters.

There are some people who experience a rash in more than one place on the body, but there are also those who experience no rash at all.

After a while, the symptoms can develop and give rise to such conditions facial palsy, where a muscle on one side of the face is paralyzed and makes the face appear drooping.

Whereas in COVID-19, considering that this disease attacks the lungs, the sign that the patient will feel is chest tightness or coughing that makes it difficult for the patient to breathe. This disease can also worsen the condition of people who have previously had conditions such as asthma and pneumonia.

Indeed, sometimes lyme disease is also characterized by shortness of breath. However, this is very rarely found in patients.

In addition to symptoms, the big difference between Lyme disease and COVID-19 is also in transmission, prevention and treatment.

If lyme disease is a disease caused by the borrelia bacteria from tick bites, COVID-19 occurs due to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is transmitted through droplets of saliva that come out while talking, coughing, or sneezing.

Prevention of COVID-19 infection can be by keeping a physical distance from other people as far as 1.8 meters, diligently washing hands, and wearing masks if necessary.

Another thing with lyme disease, you must wear closed clothes and use insect repellent ointments before spending time in dense areas with tall grass.

Regardless of whatever disease attacks you, keep on maintaining your health by taking all precautions and being more vigilant about yourself. If you start to feel symptoms that are already bothering you, it's better to immediately consult a doctor.