Post by SpamvireslayerPost by indigoYeah, if I had a date on my horizon I'd probably have a glass of
wine with dinner, screw the consequences.
Indeed. Do you know if Lyme is able to be transmitted sexually, by
the way? You should find out before your next encounter....I think it
is, actually.
No way! You're kidding, right? Remember that gal I dated back in 2000, the
one that knew my ex-wife and ran away from our relationship? She had been
suffering from similar fibromyalgia and rhuematoid arthritis symptoms for a
while, I gave her hand and foot massages almost every night to relieve the
pain. She was never diagnosed with anything, but she was always hurting (I
thought it was self-caused by her brain, to be honest, she suffered from an
anxiety disorder). After being with her for a while I started having very
mild similar symptoms......hang on <tappity-tap> it musta been something
else.....unless I got Lyme disease way back then and fought it off until I
had my neck surgeries.....
Lymes disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi.
Syphilis is caused by Treponema pallidum. Both have a
spiral bacterial body, hence their name spirochetes.
But whereas T. pallidum can only infect humans, and is
spread by sexual activity, B. burgdorferi needs a tick
as a vector to spread. There are more pathogens that
have developed a life cycle in which an insect is
required to complete the infection cycle, and in some
instances this system has been so much refined, that
without the vector the pathogen can not reinfect a
human host.
So, as far as the data go that I have available, B.
burgdorferi requires the tick as a vector for spread.
Lyme disease is NOT a sexually transmitted disease.
And Treponema is NOT identical to Borrelia.
**and
Tranmission Myths
Fear, ignorance and Internet rumors have also created an environment for
expanding the mythology of Lyme's protean properties far beyond scientific
fact or medical observation. For example, a recent spat of Internet postings
has suggested that Lyme can be acquired through sexual contact.
"I think that Lyme is also a STD [sexual-transmitted disease]," said one
newsgroup poster. Another wrote, "I've talked to many couples who claim they
transmitted to each other through sexual contact. I believe I gave it to my
wife."
At least one "Lyme specialist" appears to be telling patients that Lyme is
sexually transmitted and therefore their family members should be tested.
One person reported to Quackwatch that a family member had been tested and
told that the test was positive and that a 4-5 month course of antibiotics
was necessary.
There is no basis for such advice. The infection is acquired from the bite
of an infected tick. People are "dead end" hosts and do not spread Lyme
infections to others.
The topic of pregnancy and Lyme is also rife with rumor and unnecessary
fear. During a quarter of a century of research and surveillance, there have
been no documented cases of mother-child transmission and no cases of fetal
injury associated with a Lyme infection. Recent attempts to demonstrate
venereal, transplacental and contact transmission of Lyme spirochetes in
hamsters have also failed [25]. In contrast, a case of perinatal
transmission of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) was reported in the
New England Journal of Medicine [26]. Like B. burgdorferi, HGE is
transmitted by the Ixodes tick, and simultaneous infections with both have
been reported.