Lyme Disease

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• Images
• Health Check Tools

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection you get from the bite of an infected tick. The first symptom is usually a red rash, which may look like a bull's eye. But not all people with Lyme disease have a rash. As the infection spreads to other parts of the body, you may have

• A fever
• A headache
• Body aches
• A stiff neck
• Fatigue

Lyme disease can be hard to diagnose because many of its symptoms are like those of the flu and other diseases. And you may not have noticed a tick bite. Your health care provider will look at your symptoms and medical history to figure out whether you have Lyme disease. Lab tests may not always give a clear answer until you have been infected for at least a few weeks.

Antibiotics can cure most cases of Lyme disease. The sooner treatment begins, the quicker and more complete the recovery.

After treatment, some patients may still have muscle or joint aches and nervous system symptoms. This is called post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). Long-term antibiotics have not been shown to help with PTLDS. However, there are ways to help with the symptoms of PTLDS, and most patients do get better with time.

NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Start Here

• Lyme Disease (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Lyme Disease (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• Lyme Disease Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Tick Talk: Block Tick Bites and Lyme Disease (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
• Ticks and Lyme Disease: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Signs and Symptoms of Untreated Lyme Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Lyme Disease Tests (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Stop Ticks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Tick Removal: A Step-by-Step Guide (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Travelers' Health: Protection against Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Other Arthropods (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Treatments and Therapies

• Lyme Disease Treatment (Beyond the Basics) (UpToDate)

Related Issues

• Lyme Disease Transmission (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Neurological Complications of Lyme Disease (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Specifics

• Chronic Lyme Disease (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
• Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: Lyme disease (National Library of Medicine)

Images

• Lyme Disease (Logical Images)

Health Check Tools

• Lyme Disease: Fact or Fiction? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Statistics and Research

• Lyme Disease Data (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Lyme Disease (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Tick borne illness-Lyme disease.
• Article: Accuracy of Clinician Suspicion of Lyme Disease in the Emergency...
• Article: Xenodiagnosis Using Ixodes scapularis Larval Ticks in Humans.
• Lyme Disease -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Lyme Disease Foundation
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Lyme Disease (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Lyme Disease (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Lyme Disease (Nemours Foundation)
• Lyme Disease (Logical Images)

Patient Handouts

• Lyme disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Lyme disease antibody (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ticks and Lyme Disease: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF Also in Spanish