In the Lyme Enlightenment

 According to Channel 10 FB, a  fatal case of Powassan is reported in Saratoga County.  I commented, with kudos to those who discovered it, unfortunate as it is, because most doctors seem reluctant to even test for Lyme disease.
   A reply came back, from a Registered Nurse at Albany Hospital.  Does it seem logical to you?
         "The reason we don't like to jump the gun and test ---It takes a long time for there to be a detectable level.  If we test everyone, the majority would have  a false negative which may cause them to brush off the vague symptoms.  A lot of times, a Western Blot won't come back positive until there is irreversible damage."
     Seems like a case of circular reasoning here.  A person has some symptoms, goes to a doctor (or medical professional.) A Lyme test is ordered and comes back negative. So there is a negative finding, but the patient should be observed anyway, if told it may be a false negative.  The "vague symptoms" then are not being treated anyway--until they escalate into something more serious.  The same as if the test were not given.
     And if  the Western Blot test doesn't show positive until there is irreversible damage, how does not having the test be of help in the first place?
   Flawed as her reasoning may be, it nevertheless seems to be the protocol in place.  The patient's symptoms are not considered worthy of treatment (antibiotic therapy) until there is a positive test result.  The testing is discouraged because the patient may be positive but the test shows negative. If the symptoms don't justify either antibiotics or testing, how sick will the patient have to get in order to receive medical help?
  So what to do?  What to do?