Do-It-Yourself diagnosis is usually a pretty bad idea; that is, unless you just so happen to have the letters M.D. that appear at the end of your signature. But for those of us without years of medical school under our belt, assuming that a particular pain, dysfunction, or even blotchy patch of skin is nothing to be concerned about can sometimes be a highly problematic for our health.

The British edition of Men's Health addresses the self-diagnosis problem in the article "7 Deadly Signs," describing how minor symptoms may actually signal major health hazards. Over the next seven days, we will provide a daily summary of one of the various aches and pains that may be indicative of a greater problem, illustrating the importance of maintaining open lines of communication with your physician and why DIY diagnosis can sometimes be dangerous.

Health Sign #6: Neck/Shoulder Pain

Could Possibly Be: Lyme Disease

If you've recently spent some time in the woods, there's a chance a small stowaway may have hitched a ride on your body. And, because ticks can oftentimes be very difficult to spot, many cases of Lyme disease are only reported once symptoms -- such as those mentioned above -- manifest. Men's Health reports that headaches, muscle aches, and red lesions are also signs of Lyme Disease. Treatment comes in the form of antibiotics. But left untreated, severe cases of Lyme Disease can sometimes result in meningitis, facial palsy, and severe arthritis.

Links to:
Health Sign #1: Pain in Your Foot
Health Sign #2: Back Pain
Health Sign #3: Leg Pain
Health Sign #4: Diarrhea
Health Sign #5: Erectile Dysfunction

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After reading this story about a girl could become paralyzed because of Lyme Disease, I started to feel a little bit of panic coming on. After all, I live in one of the most stunning places in the world and spend a fair bit of time outdoors, camping and biking and hiking and such. I've never really been aware of Lyme disease, and started to wonder if I should be more worried about it.

Luckily, our friends over at Fitsugar recently explored this topic. Turns out there's not any need to panic ... well, sort of.

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In Connecticut, a physician was fined $10,000 and reprimanded recently for using his own process for treating Lyme Disease. Although patients raved about it, the state medical establishment did not.

Dr. Charles Ray Jones prescribed antibiotics for two young children after just a phone consultation and months before he actually examined the children.

In addition, Dr. Jones failed medical standards by rejecting test results that found both children to not have Lyme Disease. Jones insisted that long-term antibiotic courses are the best remedy for Lyme Disease infections. He's reportedly treated 10,000 patients with the condition.

Do you think Dr. Jones breached ethics be prescribing medicine without performing an actual exam?

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It's something I rarely hear in the news during the summertime -- lyme disease. This disease, most often associated with the common tick, can be fatal in a small number of cases but is usually treatable. In fact, did you know that President Bush recently admitted to having Lyme Disease treatment?

As such, the media discussion has flared up again on ticks and lyme disease. If you've ever worked outside in the spring or summer, you've probably seen ticks, and they seem to like pets (dogs) as well. Ticks are nor harmless, though. Just like mosquitoes, they can transmit disease.

Yet, tests for lyme disease is not detectable when inside the human body using standard test batteries. Current tests only are good for finding the antibodies inside your body that are fighting the lyme bacteria -- but not the disease itself. Why aren't better techniques available? Your guess is as good as mine.

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Do you plan to spend some time this summer camping, hiking or outdoors in some fashion? Many of us do, and all those pesky critters should not be part of the fun. I am, of course, talking about mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers and other annoyances.

Ticks, in particular, are rather dangerous in many cases since they can transmit Lyme Disease to humans. just like mosquitoes can transmit disease, ticks are not as mobile and agile as mosquitoes but can be as dangerous. In fact, the number of Lyme Disease cases has doubled in the United States since 1991.

The CDC even says that estimate is low, and those figures (if accurate) mean that tick-transmitted diseases are the most popular of all diseases transmitted by bug or animal. Watch that skin when you're outside if you can -- and keep those ticks away!

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Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria transferred to humans by a deer tick. Symptoms include a rash, fever, fatigue, and headache. Left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in the states where Lyme Disease is most common (northeastern and northern mid-west states) there is an average of 31.6 diagnosed cases for every 100,000 people.

Despite its prevalence, Lyme Disease can be difficult to diagnose. The symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Once diagnosed, most cases of Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics.

If you're going to be in an area where exposure to deer ticks is likely, the American College of Physicians offers the following tips for prevention:

• Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts to minimize skin exposure to ticks.
• Tuck your pants into your socks to form a barrier to tick attachment.
• Wear light-colored clothing to help see ticks on your clothing.
• Check for ticks, looking particularly for what may look like nothing more than a new freckle or speck of dirt.

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