Medical researchers and experts are still unsure of exactly what treatment is best for patients with Lyme disease.  Many doctors say patients should only undergo 1 round of antibiotics, while others say patients should stay on antibiotics until symptoms disappear.

Lyme disease is transmitted by deer tick bites.  Symptoms of Lyme disease include a red rash, fever, fatigue, chills, muscle and joint pain, and headache.  If an individual with Lyme disease does not receive treatment for the infection, they cold develop heart palpitations, facial palsy, and spinal cord inflammation.

Typically, doctors only give patients who test positive for Lyme disease antibiotics for a few weeks.  Researchers at UTHealth’s infectious diseases department also say that using antibiotics long-term does not seem to help.

Most doctors recommend antibiotics for only up to 6 weeks.  However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that between 10 to 20 percent of patients with Lyme disease experience symptoms of the infection years later.

If you or a loved one has contract Lyme disease or another illness on the job, contact the Raleigh occupational diseases lawyers of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC at 919-851-3311 to learn more about how we can help you.

A data analysis company recently reviewed statistics from the Bureau of Labor and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine what are the most common occupational diseases and in what professions workers are the most likely to become ill.

The most common types of occupational illness were found to be lung disease, heart disease, and cancer.  In addition, researchers found that morticians, coal miners, welders, concrete mixers, pipefitters, firefighters, and pilots were the most likely to contract occupational diseases.

In July, officials declared formaldehyde a carcinogen.  Because morticians often work with formaldehyde, they are more likely to develop leukemia than workers in other professions.  Concrete mixers are at risk of developing silicosis — a lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust often found in concrete.

Coal miners are the most likely to suffer from pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, and pilots are at risk of developing melanoma from prolonged sun exposure.

If you or someone you love has developed an occupational disease as the result of unhealthy working conditions, contact the Raleigh occupational disease attorneys of Scudder & Hedrick, PLLC at 919-851-3311 to learn more about how we can help you file for workers’ compensation.