A 19-year-old college sophomore comes to the clinic for evaluation of joint pains. The student has been back from spring break f
or 2 weeks; during her holiday, she went camping. She notes that she had a red spot, shaped like a target, but then it started spreading, and then the joint pains started. She used insect repellant but was in an area known to have ticks. She has never been sick and takes no medications routinely; she has never been sexually active. What is the most likely cause of her joint pain?
Explanation: Lyme disease is a disease caused by a bacterium called borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium is transmitted to humans by infected deer ticks. People who often visit tick infested woods are likely to get infected. Symptoms of the disease varies as many who got bitten by ticks don't even know when it happens. Infected ticks often take a long time on the skin to be able to transmit the disease. Symptoms includes fatigue, muscle aches, headache as well as joint pain if not treated early enough.
The most likely cause of joint pain for the college student is a disease called Lyme.
