Misdiagnosed as Sinusitis

The Star has a story about the difficulties faced by patients with Lyme disease in Canada's medical system. In particular, it's interesting to note the instance of a case of Lyme disease misdiagnosed as a sinus infection. While the article covers many stories of misdiagnosis or undiagnosed Lyme disease this case of a sinus infection diagnosis is interesting.These two conditions are very different so why should a case of Lyme disease get diagnosed as a sinus infection? Lyme disease isn't a particularly common complaint. Many doctors will never see a case. It must have seemed much more likely at the time that the patient in question had a sinus infection, a much more common condition. Misdiagnoses highlight the need for communication and the usefulness of specialists. Describing all symptoms, no matter how small, and any unusual incidents or activities that are connected to the onset of symptoms can help get the most accurate diagnoses possible. Still, even with the best descriptions, if a test comes back negative, as the initial test for this patient did, a doctor will go with the most likely culprit, in this case a sinus infection.For questions about sinus infections, allergies, and asthma and symptoms related to these conditions, contact our office to make an appointment.