What are early signs of

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is an infection caused by tick bites, usually from the species Ixodes scapularis in North America & Ixodes ricinus (European ticks) in Europe.

What is Lyme Disease

The most common symptom of Lyme disease is a rash called erythema migrans (EM). EM occurs in 70 to 80%  of people who're infected with Borrelia burgdorferi.

Lyme Disease Early Signs

The rash begins as a red spot or blotch at the site of a tick bite that expands over days to form a large circular rash.

In addition to EM, there're a variety of other early symptoms of Lyme disease including fatigue, joint pain, headache, stiff neck, muscle aches, chills or fever.

The severity of these symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people experience just a few of these symptoms while others may have many more.

Some people who're infected with B. burgdorferi don’t develop any symptoms. When early signs of Lyme disease do occur, they usually appear within 3 to 30 days after a tick bite.

These early signs can last for several weeks or months depending on your body’s response to infection by B. burgdorferi bacteria.

If untreated, late manifestations of Lyme disease can occur weeks to months after infection.

In late stages of Lyme disease, nervous system problems such as meningitis or facial palsy may occur.

Late nervous system manifestations of Lyme disease tend to be more severe than early nervous system problems like Bell’s palsy or EM.

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