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Lyme Disease Awareness Day is a day to stop and recognize all the “Lymies” out there who battle on with this chronic illness, and a day to educate people on what Lyme Disease is and how it’s spread. Here are some fast facts to share with people today!

• Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection mostly spread by infected tick bites. These ticks are very small and very rarely leave a visible bite mark.
• Lyme Disease was first recognized in 1975.
• Each year, approximately 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported in the U.S. to the CDC by state health departments and the District of Columbia.
• Lyme Disease has been found on every continent on earth except Antarctica.
• Fewer than 50% of people infected get the bull’s eye rash. Some develop flu-like symptoms a week or so after becoming infected, however, many people are asymptomatic but can develop Lyme symptoms months, years or decades later.
• Lyme Disease has many symptoms in common with other illnesses such as Lupus, The Flu, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. This allows it to “hide in plain sight” and without a diagnosis for sometimes years!
• You cannot get Lyme Disease from person to person contact, so give a Lymie you know a hug today for being a warrior! (with permission, of course.)
• There is a blood test for Lyme Disease but if it is done too early it will come out with a false negative.
• Some cases of Lyme Disease can be treated or cured with antibiotics such as doxycycline and amoxicillin. However, for some people, the illness never goes away and becomes a chronic illness they manage every day.
• Lyme Disease can affect anyone. Some celebrities who have publicly stated they’ve had the disease are Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Debbie Gibson, and Alec Baldwin.

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