Symptoms

Lyme disease has three distinct stages: early Lyme disease, early disseminated Lyme disease and late (or chronic) Lyme disease. Early symptoms can be overlooked and appear in the first days or weeks after exposure. They include:

• Fever and chills.
• Fatigue.
• Headache.
• Body aches.
• Joint pain.
• Bull's eye rash.

Most people infected with Lyme disease notice a rash called erythema migrans three to 30 days after exposure. The rash is a red spot, usually - but not always - at the site of the tick bite, which expands, often leaving an area of central clearing that resembles a bull's eye. The rash is anywhere from a few centimeters wide to the width of the entire back, and does not always look like a bull's eye.

Early disseminated Lyme disease means the infection is spreading. This stage occurs weeks to months after the bite by an infected tick. Symptoms can include:

• Numbness and pain in arms or legs.
• Paralysis of facial muscles, usually on one side.
• Meningitis - fever, stiff neck and severe headaches.
• Abnormal heartbeat.
• Multiple rashes, bull's eye lesions.

Late (or chronic) Lyme disease can occur weeks, months or years after infection in patients who either never received antibiotics or whose treatment didn't kill all the bacteria. Symptoms include:

• Chronic Lyme arthritis - bouts of pain and swelling, usually occurring in one or more of the large joints, especially the knees.
• Nervous system problems, including memory loss and difficulty concentrating.
• Chronic pain in muscles.
• Restless sleep.

More on Lyme

In the Encyclopedia:

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.