A mother wants to raise parents’ awareness of the symptoms of Lyme disease, after she found “bullseye” spots on her one-year-old’s temples, legs and arms.

Karen McGregor explained that the rash appeared on her 1-year-old son’s temples, legs, and arms, with red spots that resembled a bullseye. She had never seen it before, and he is an otherwise healthy child. As she scrolling through Facebook one day, she noticed a post in her feed with photos of a little girl with the same strange rash.

The post was to bring awareness to Lyme disease by highlighting the lesser-known symptoms that are often overlooked. McGregor, who is Canadian, immediately had a nagging feeling that her son was experiencing this disease and took him to the hospital.

“I phoned our doctor as soon as they opened yesterday and got him in quickly,” McGregor said. “Within a few hours, more and more of these bullseye spots were showing up on his face, legs, and arms.”
The doctor confirmed her suspicion of Lyme Disease at his appointment, which was thankfully in the early stages, and therefore treatable with antibiotics, according to Huffington Post UK.

Lyme disease, which is brought to humans by the spread of a bacteria provided by pesky little ticks, is a form of arthritis. The medicine has helped McGregor’s little boy, who is in recovery now thanks to a well-placed post on social media. The mother took her gratitude back to where it began, Facebook, to share her story and hopefully help someone else in her situation.

“I am so grateful for the post similar to this one that I saw three days ago… a post that potentially has saved my son’s life,” McGregor wrote on on June 20. “We are now waiting and hoping and praying that nothing else comes of this,” the post read. “The list of things we are watching for is scary – not a list I ever expected to have to watch my kids for, but I am grateful for the fact that we likely caught this in time!”

Her post is meant as a warning of signs and symptoms for others to look out for, so it can be caught before it’s too late. So many of the side effects of Lyme Disease can be passed off as something innocuous, but an ounce of awareness could save a life.

“I encourage everyone to watch for these spots!” she continued in the post, which has be shared over 180,000 times. “They look just like a bullseye, and had it not been for the post I read, I never would have known it was something more than a simple rash caused by being the long grass!”

While social media has its many pitfalls, it can certainly be used for good — for effective sharing of important information. Although the Internet can be someone’s worst enemy when it comes to Googling symptoms of a condition you’re experiencing, turning a common cold into cancer with just a few clicks, this was a case where it was certainly helpful. Be aware and informed, and always seek professional medical advice if something doesn’t seem right.

Watch the video below and share awareness about Lyme Disease.

Article Sources: Mad World News

Photo Credit: Mad World News Video Credit: Seeker/Youtube