The Children of Lyme Disease
Charles Ray Jones, MD
Pediatrician, Private Practice, New Haven, CT
Current
research indicates that the Lyme disease bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, can be
transmitted within hours after an infected tick attachment. Failure of parents
and teachers to recognize Lyme disease early in its course can result in a child
developing a chronic difficult to treat infection in the brain, eyes, joints,
heart and elsewhere in the body.
In
my experience treating 7,000+ children birth to 18 with Lyme disease, 50% have
no tick attachment history, 10% or less have an erythema migrans (bullseye rash)
history, but all have a history of living in or having visited a Lyme endemic
area and have a decline in the way they play and perform in school.
They
are tired, wilt easily, have dark circles under their eyes and are sick. Lyme
disease has a profound negative impact on a child's life, cognitive function and
ability to perform maximally in school. Severe fatigue unrelieved by rest
results in decreased stamina and a decreased ability to play and to do school
work. Insomnia, headaches, nausea, abdominal pain, impaired concentration, poor
short-term memory, an inability to sustain attention, confusion,
uncharacteristic behavior outbursts and mood swings, fevers/chills, joint pain,
dizziness, noise and light sensitivity, and difficulty thinking, expressing
thoughts, reading, writing, and making decisions as well as a feeling of being
overwhelmed by schoolwork plague a child with Lyme disease. Pain and impaired
cognitive function make it difficult to sustain attention and to learn and
recall new material.
Although
Lyme is usually transmitted by Ixodes scapularis (deer) and Amblyomma americanum
(lone star) ticks, it can also be transmitted in utero and through breast milk.
These children, frequently floppy with poor muscle tone, are irritable and ill
early in their lives with frequent fevers, increased incidence of ear and throat
infections, pneumonia, joint and body pain. They have gastroesophageal reflux,
small windpipes (tracheomalacia), cataracts and other eye problems,
developmental delay, learning disabilities, and psychiatric problems.
All
respond to months or years of continuous antibiotic therapy.
When
Lyme disease is a possible diagnosis, the children should be evaluated by a Lyme
knowledgeable physician who will continue antibiotic therapy until all Lyme
symptoms resolve. In most circumstances, Ixodes scapularis tick attachment
should be treated with one month of antibiotic therapy.
Just For Kids
by Faith Steelman