Lyme disease is not easy to diagnose, and sometimes, treatment is delayed. However, instead of prompting patients to take up treatment on their own, it is important to give them adequate information about the symptoms so that they can help physicians begin early treatment. A patient with Erythma migrans followed by arthritis and recalls being bitten by a tick around the affected areas is probably suffering from Lyme disease. This information is reliable enough to warrant immediate treatment rather than waiting for conclusive laboratory evidence. Beginning the treatment early will help the patient recover fully and stop the symptoms from recurring.
Treatment is reliable in the early course of Lyme disease. However, if the diagnosis is done when the disease has already developed, then the disease may become chronic. The symptoms will take longer to treat and the patient may experience persistent symptoms. Such conditions call for the treatment to continue until the patient has totally recovered. When doctors refuse to give care after 30 days regardless of the conditions, they are not only putting the patient at risk of long-term illness, but they are also failing to keep their philosophy as caregivers. Insurance companies should also recognize Lyme as a chronic disease and provide coverage.
Medical boards are independent bodies. Therefore, it is not easy to impose laws on them. However, it is required that they provide ethical services. Denying patient’s treatment simply because long-term treatment is expensive and the symptoms are always likely to disappear after about a month of treatment is quite unethical. This stand has seen many people being subjected to both long-term illnesses and financial trains because it is difficult to find a doctor who is willing to treat Lyme disease and even if one finds a willing doctor, most insurance companies are always reluctant to pay for expensive, continuing courses of antibiotics prescribed for the disease. Regular tests should be done during the course of treatment to ensure that the bacterium has been eliminated before stopping treatment.