A common wood tick or dog tick attached to a host body.

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 Its Just in your Head

Since 1991 the number of cases of Lyme Disease have doubled and each year the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports around 325,000 new cases, making this disease an epidemic. Hundreds of thousands of people go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Patients are "often told that their symptoms are all in their head".

So why hasn't it been in the news? This is because insurance companies and doctors dismiss it as being a Hypochondriacal illness, just like people who suffer from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. A lot of doctors go by a standard two-tier diagnostic protocol in which requires both a positive ELISA and Western Blot test. The only thing is that these test fails to detect 90% of cases and doesn't differentiate between chronic and acute Lyme Disease. This makes it difficult to treat.  There is no set procedure on how to treat it and there is no set cure. In some cases it can be easy to treat but in others it may be a never ending war.

Lyme Disease may also be very expensive when treating it. Health insurance companies are denying medical claims because one Lyme disease organization is "pitting doctors against doctors". This makes the patient in a pickle. Since Lyme can be chronic and may cause lasting effects insurance companies may also decline disability coverage.

This can change. If we educate the proper people and do the right studies, we can bet this disease. It will probably take a lot of time and money but this may decrease the chances of people contracting it and save peoples lives.

http://www.anh-usa.org/lymedisease/

 Under Our Skin

This is a Trailer to a movie called, "Under Our Skin". The documentary includes stories of people who have Lyme Disease and how it has impacted their lives. I highly recommend watching this, its really an eye opener.

Hey! For my topic I chose Lyme Disease: An Emerging Epidemic from the Project Censored website. I chose this topic because it is something that I can relate to and it is something that spikes my interest. Lyme's Disease is bacteria that originates from deer ticks. When a deer tick bites the bacteria is transmitted to the human. The symptoms can be very similar to other diseases like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other neurological disorders. I have experienced Lyme's Disease when I was little and like others I was too misdiagnosed. Every year during the warm months we hear that a large amount of people have contracted the West Nile Virus, Lyme's Disease believe it or not it is ten times higher than the West Nile Virus. Each summer the Press covers the West Nile Virus and the amount of people who contracted it, but we never see the emerging epidemic of Lyme Disease. I believe that Lyme Disease needs to be brought to the audience and this is why I want to research more about the emerging epidemic of Lyme Disease.

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/21-lyme-disease-an-emerging-epidemic/