Joseph will be diagnosed with Lyme Disease (Picture: ITV)
Gemma Winter and Chesney Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell and Sam Aston) are set to finally get to the bottom of son Joseph’s (William Flanagan) mysterious illness in upcoming Coronation Street scenes when he is diagnosed with Lyme Disease.
Joseph hasn’t been in the best health recently, often complaining of stomach aches and fatigue.
Gemma’s attempts to help ended in disaster when she accidentally poisoned him, and has since been unable to live with her children after social services intervened.
In upcoming scenes, Chesney puts Joseph’s complaints down to an upset tummy, but the family will fear the worst when Joseph collapses, and he is soon rushed to the hospital.
Joseph is rushed to hospital by worried Chesney (Picture: ITV)
There, he is diagnosed with Lyme Disease, which doctors suspect he contracted from a tick bite on a recent camping holiday.
Joseph’s concerned relatives are relieved to learn that Lyme Disease is treatable, and Joseph is expected to make a full recovery.
Coronation Street has been working closely with Lyme Disease UK who have been consulted on scripts regarding symptoms and treatment.
What is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is caused by the bite of an infected tick and is treated with antibiotics. Ticks are usually found in woodland, heathlands and grassy areas but have also been found in urban parks and gardens.
Lyme disease is endemic in many parts of the UK and infected ticks have been found in every region of the UK. It is important to remember that not all ticks carry infection and that a tick bite does not necessarily mean Lyme disease.
Lyme disease can be prevented with a small amount of knowledge and awareness. It is also important to know how to remove a tick safely and to be aware of signs and symptoms of Lyme disease if you or your child does sustain a tick bite.
Symptoms:
The most well-known symptom of Lyme disease is an Erythema Migrans rash, which is a circular expanding rash that can appear between 3 days – 3 months after a bite.
It sometimes has a bulls-eye type appearance but can be atypical. However, approximately 30% of people who contract Lyme disease do not produce a rash.
Other symptoms to look out for are flu-like symptoms that can include:
Fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headaches, fever and chills, neck stiffness, nausea, digestive issues, feeling generally unwell, and facial palsy (when one side of the face drops- especially with children).
It is important to seek medical advice if you think that you or your child may have contracted Lyme disease so that treatment can commence as soon as possible.
Please visit https://lymediseaseuk.com/ for further information.
Lyme Disease UK’s Press and Community Outreach Manager, Julia Knight, is a retired Specialist Practitioner Paediatric Nurse in Community Nursing, who has experienced Lyme disease herself.
Speaking about the upcoming storyline, she said:
‘It has been my great pleasure to work with the Coronation Street script writers to give them advice and pointers so that they could produce a storyline that is both realistic and engaging.
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‘Lyme disease can easily be overlooked if a person only shows viral-type symptoms initially, as in the storyline.
‘Raising awareness of the disease and giving people the information about how to prevent it is essential.
‘With knowledge, bites can be prevented, and awareness of possible symptoms means that people who do contract the disease can seek medical advice promptly.’
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The team at Coronation Street has worked with charity Lyme Disease UK.