For Lyme Awareness Month, Project Lyme, a national
501(c)(3) nonprofit, unveils a new multi-platform campaign
spotlighting patients' and families' experiences with misdiagnosis
and eventual treatment.
NEW
YORK, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The CDC now
estimates nearly half a million people will contract Lyme disease
in the United States each year.
However, most people do not realize how Lyme disease can cause
diverse, devastating symptoms in some patients. The range of
symptoms is expansive and often overwhelming, from flu-like
symptoms such as fatigue, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, headaches,
muscle aches, and joint pain in the early stages to more serious
issues such as cognitive impairment, sleep problems, mood changes,
shortness of breath or heart failure when a diagnosis is missed or
delayed. Lyme has been reported in all 50 states, with case counts
increasing throughout the country. As the risk of contracting a
tick-borne infection increases nationally, it is imperative to
educate a broader audience, especially parents of young
children.
Children are at the greatest risk of contracting Lyme disease
and delayed diagnosis can prevent them from living a normal life.
Given that children may have a harder time conveying how and what
they are feeling, it's important that parents learn the early signs
of Lyme disease, how to test for infections, and learn more about
treatment protocols in order to avoid long-term illness. Children
with Lyme may present with neurological symptoms such as headaches,
irritability, sensory sensitivity, depression, anxiety and
obsessive compulsive disorder.
In their new PSAs, Project Lyme tells the stories of Rylyn and
Pippa, two young children who are recovering from Lyme disease.
Both children experienced significant delays in diagnosis, leading
to a tremendous toll on their health. The spots highlight how the
parents fought tirelessly to find a proper diagnosis and how Rylyn
and Pippa are finally getting well.
Due to poor awareness and lack of accurate diagnostic testing,
children are being deprived of childhoods and people's lives are
collapsing under the pressure of chronic illness. Project Lyme's
PSAs provide advice that if you are unsure of the source of your
child's illness, it could be Lyme.
For inquiries about the campaign, contact press@projectlyme.org.
For more information about the organization, its mission, or
tick-borne disease, visit our website at
https://projectlyme.org/our-impact/.
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SOURCE Project Lyme