Viruses, bacteria, parasites – over 50 different diseases or pathogens are transmitted by infected ticks. Fortunately, the very dangerous meningitis, the so-called early summer meningoencephalitis (FSME), can be avoided by vaccination. However, there is still no vaccine protection against infection by borrelia, bacteria that the bloodsucker can leave behind as a gift for its host. The tricky thing is that you can’t feel ticks, so it’s important to look for them after gardening, for example. Indeed, it is important to remove them as soon as possible, the longer they can suck in, the more the risk of infection, Lyme disease, increases.
Lyme disease can be dangerous for the eye
And what hardly anyone knows is that the disease can also seriously affect the eye: “In a later stage of the infection, a so-called neuroborreliosis develops in five percent of infected people,” says ophthalmologist Dr. Thomas Neß, senior physician at the University Eye Hospital in Freiburg.
“Typical of this advanced Lyme disease are failures of individual cranial nerves, for example, with paralysis of the facial nerve, which, among other things, enables us to close our eyelids.” In addition to double vision, which occurs when other cranial nerves are affected, threatening inflammation can also develop inside the eye. Dr. Neß: “In the context of neuroborreliosis, the optic nerve is often involved. This can be pure inflammation of the optic nerve, or the nerve fibers of the retina can be affected. Inflammation of the site of sharpest vision, called the macula, is also possible.”
Other possible consequences of Lyme disease on the eye include inflammation of the conjunctiva, cornea, sclera and retinal vessels. Only if treatment with antibiotics begins in time can permanent damage be contained in most cases. Because eye diseases caused by Lyme disease do not show up until weeks to months after infection, it is important that the patient not waste any time.
Professional association of ophthalmologists advises: note “deadline” in the calendar
At the first sign, he should visit the ophthalmologist and tell him when the infection occurred. That’s why Dr. Georg Eckert, press spokesman for the Berufsverband der Augenärzte e.V., advises. (BVA): “In case of a tick bite, write down the date and always remember that the eyes may be affected. That’s why careful observation and always going to the ophthalmologist is the order of the day.”
