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Is There A PCR Test For Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease can lead to a host of different health issues, and many people may contract the bacterial infection without even knowing it. The first initial symptoms of Lyme disease are non-specific, so people may often brush them off as a minor flu or other illness. But for people who have been out in wooded areas, ignoring the symptoms of Lyme could be a big mistake – untreated Lyme disease wreaks havoc on the body and can cause permanent damage to joints, nerves, and organs.

Because of this, getting tested for a Lyme disease infection is crucial if you suspect that you may have been bitten by an infected tick. This is especially true if you believe that the tick has been attached to you for a long period of time. Typically, it takes around 36–48 hours for the transmission of the borrelia bacteria to occur, so if you find a tick attached to you and it has been several days since you were in a potentially affected area, contact your doctor to get tested.

One Lyme disease test that may be available to you is a PCR test. But what is Lyme disease PCR testing, and what does a Lyme PCR test tell you?

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What Is The Most Accurate Test For Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease occurs when a tick infected with the borrelia bacteria latches on to a host and passes the bacteria into the bloodstream. While not all ticks have Lyme disease, numbers of those that are infected with borrelia continue to rise in popular areas throughout the United States, which leads to an increased risk of contracting the disease. When someone is bitten by an infected tick, it takes roughly 36–48 hours for the tick to pass the bacteria onto its host.

Ticks are small and can be missed if you don’t do proper checks after time spent outdoors. In the even that you are bitten and do contract Lyme disease, you may experience flu-like symptoms, fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes. A bulls-eye rash may also appear at the site – but what if there is no rash and you are unaware a tick bite occurred at all? If you’re experiencing these symptoms and are worried that you have Lyme disease, you will have to get tested. So what is the most reliable Lyme disease test?

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