Detailed Signs And Symptoms Of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease can affect different body systems, such as the nervous system, joints, skin, and heart. Symptoms are often described as happening in three stages (although not everyone experiences all three):

1. A circular rash, typically within 1-2 weeks of infection, often is the first sign of infection. Although it's considered typical of Lyme, many people never develop one.

The rash usually has a characteristic "bull's-eye" appearance, with a central red spot surrounded by clear skin that is ringed by an expanding red rash. It also can appear as an expanding ring of solid redness. It may be warm to the touch and usually is not painful or itchy. The rash might be more difficult to see on people with darker skin tones, where it can look like a bruise. The rash usually resolves in about a month.

2. Along with the rash, a person may have flu-like symptoms such as swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headache and muscle aches. Left untreated, symptoms of the initial illness may go away on their own. But in some cases, the infection can spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms of this stage of Lyme disease usually appear within several weeks after the tick bite, even in someone who has not developed the initial rash. A person might feel very tired and unwell or have more areas of rash that aren't at the site of the bite.

Lyme disease can affect the heart, leading to an irregular heart rhythm or chest pain. It can spread to the nervous system, causing facial paralysis (Bell's palsy), or tingling and numbness in the arms and legs. It can start to cause headaches and neck stiffness, which may be signs of meningitis.

3. The last stage of Lyme disease can occur if the early stages were not detected or appropriately treated. Symptoms of late Lyme disease can appear anytime from weeks to years (average of 6 months) after an infectious tick bite, and in children is almost always in the form of arthritis, particularly in the knee or other large joints.

Having such a wide range of symptoms can make Lyme disease difficult for doctors to diagnose, although certain blood tests can be done to look for evidence of the body's reaction to Lyme disease.