Symptoms of Lyme disease

General information about symptoms of Lyme disease: The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible symptoms of Lyme disease. This symptom information has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of symptoms of Lyme disease. Furthermore, symptoms of Lyme disease may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of symptoms and whether they are indeed symptoms of Lyme disease.

List of symptoms of Lyme disease: The list of symptoms mentioned in various sources for Lyme disease includes:

• Early symptoms soon after exposure by tick bite:
  • Skin rash around tick bite - about 75% of cases have this rash; often hot to the touch but not painful; may have bullseye shape.
  • Erythema migrans (EM) - the official name for the tick bite skin rash
  • Mild illness
  • Flu-like symptoms
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Malaise
  • Swollen lymph nodes
  • Headaches
  • Stiff neck
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle aches
  • Body aches
  • Neck aches
  • Arthritis
  • Joint pain
  • Knee arthritis
• Neurological symptoms - often occurring some time after exposure, from weeks to years later.
  • Numbness
  • Limb pain
  • Limb weakness
  • Radiculitis (numbness, tingling, burning)
  • Bell's palsy
  • Visual disturbances
  • Poor motor coordination
  • Encephalopathy
  • Memory loss
  • Difficulty with concentration
  • Change in mood
  • Changed sleeping habits
  • Thinking difficulties
  • Nerve damage - in the arms and legs
• Encephalomyelitis - including its various symptoms Encephalomyelitis of such as:
  • Limb weakness
  • Motor coordination problems
  • Muscle weakness
• Meningitis symptoms
  • Fever
  • Stiff neck
  • Severe headache
• Heart abnormalities - less than 10% of Lyme patients get heart problems
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Dizziness
  • Shortness of breath
• Eye inflammation
• Conjunctivitis
• Hepatitis
• Severe fatigue
• Chronic skin disorders
• Joint problems
  • Arthritis
  • Chronic arthritis
  • Knee arthritis

Symptoms of Lyme disease: In its early stage, Lyme disease may be a mild illness with flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, and joint pain. Symptoms appear within 7 to 10 days following the infected tick's bite. Many people bitten by an infected tick develop a large, expanding skin rash around the area of the bite. The rash may feel hot to the touch, but is usually not painful. Rashes vary in size, shape, and color, but often have a "bull's eye" appearance (a red ring with a clear center). Nervous system abnormalities may include numbness, pain, weakness, Bell's palsy (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache. Other problems, which may not appear until weeks, months, or years after a tick bite, include memory or thinking difficulties or nerve damage in the arms and legs. ¹

In most people, the first symptom of Lyme disease is a red rash known as erythema migrans (EM). The telltale rash starts as a small red spot at the site of the tick bite. The spot expands over a period of days or weeks, forming a circular or ovalshaped rash. Sometimes the rash resembles a bull's eye, appearing as a red ring surrounding a clear area with a red center. The rash, which can range in size from that of a dime to the entire width of a person's back, appears within a few weeks of a tick bite and usually occurs at the site of a bite. As infection spreads, rashes can appear at different sites on the body.

Erythema migrans is often accompanied by symptoms such as fever, headache, stiff neck, body aches, and fatigue. Although these flu-like symptoms may resemble those of common viral infections, Lyme disease symptoms tend to persist or may occur intermittently.

Arthritis. After several months of being infected by B. burgdorferi, slightly more than half of those people not treated with antibiotics develop recurrent attacks of painful and swollen joints that last a few days to a few months. The arthritis can shift from one joint to another; the knee is most commonly affected. About 10 to 20 percent of untreated patients will go on to develop chronic arthritis.

Neurological Symptoms. Lyme disease can also affect the nervous system, causing symptoms such as stiff neck and severe headache (meningitis), temporary paralysis of facial muscles (Bell's palsy), numbness, pain or weakness in the limbs, or poor motor coordination. More subtle changes such as memory loss, difficulty with concentration, and a change in mood or sleeping habits have also been associated with Lyme disease.

Nervous system abnormalities usually develop several weeks, months, or even years following an untreated infection. These symptoms often last for weeks or months and may recur.

Heart Problems. Fewer than one out of ten Lyme disease patients develops heart problems, such as an irregular heartbeat, which can be signalled by dizziness or shortness of breath. These symptoms rarely last more than a few days or weeks. Such heart abnormalities generally surface several weeks after infection.

Other Symptoms. Less commonly, Lyme disease can result in eye inflammation, hepatitis, and severe fatigue, although none of these problems is likely to appear without other Lyme disease symptoms being present. ²

Early Infection

• EM Rash (erythema migrans)
• Muscle and joint aches
• Headache
• Fever
• Fatigue

Early Disseminated Infection

• Multiple EM lesions
• Facial paralysis (Bell's palsy)
• Meningitis
• Radiculitis (numbness, tingling, burning)
• Brief episodes of joint pain and swelling

Late Infection

• Arthritis, intermittent or chronic
• Encephalopathy (mild to moderate confusion)

Less Common Symptoms of Lyme Disease

• Heart abnormalities
• Eye problems such as conjunctivitis
• Chronic skin disorders
• Encephalomyelitis (limb weakness, motor coordination)

Lyme disease most often presents with a characteristic "bull's-eye" rash, erythema migrans, accompanied by nonspecific symptoms such as fever, malaise, fatigue, headache, muscle aches (myalgia), and joint aches (arthralgia).³

Some infected individuals have no recognized illness (asymptomatic infection determined by serological testing), or manifest only non-specific symptoms such as fever, headache, fatigue, and myalgia. Lyme disease spirochetes disseminate from the site of the tick bite by cutaneous, lymphatic and blood borne routes. The signs of early disseminated infection usually occur days to weeks after the appearance of a solitary erythema migrans lesion. In addition to multiple (secondary) erythema migrans lesions, early disseminated infection may be manifest as disease of the nervous system, the musculoskeletal system, or the heart. Early neurologic manifestations include lymphocytic meningitis, cranial neuropathy (especially facial nerve palsy), and radiculoneuritis. Musculoskeletal manifestations may include migratory joint and muscle pains with or without objective signs of joint swelling. Cardiac manifestations are rare but may include myocarditis and transient atrioventricular blocks of varying degree. B. burgdorferi infection in the untreated or inadequately treated patient may progress to late disseminated disease weeks to months after infection. The most common objective manifestation of late disseminated Lyme disease is intermittent swelling and pain of one or a few joints, usually large, weight-bearing joints such as the knee. Some patients develop chronic axonal polyneuropathy, or encephalopathy, the latter usually manifested by cognitive disorders, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and personality changes. Infrequently, Lyme disease morbidity may be severe, chronic, and disabling. An ill-defined post-Lyme disease syndrome occurs in some persons following treatment for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is rarely, if ever, fatal. ³

Within days to weeks following a tick bite, 80% of patients will have a red, slowly expanding "bull's-eye" rash (called erythema migrans), accompanied by general tiredness, fever, headache, stiff neck, muscle aches, and joint pain. If untreated, weeks to months later some patients may develop arthritis, including intermittent episodes of swelling and pain in the large joints; neurologic abnormalities, such as aseptic meningitis, facial palsy, motor and sensory nerve inflammation (radiculoneuritis) and inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); and, rarely, cardiac problems, such as atrioventricular block, acute inflammation of the tissues surrounding the heart (myopericarditis) or enlarged heart (cardiomegaly).⁴

Rash and flu-like symptoms in early, localized disease. Disseminated disease includes arthritis, carditis and neurologic disorders ⁵

More symptoms of Lyme disease: In addition to the above information, to get a full picture of the possible symptoms of this condition and its related conditions, it may be necessary to examine symptoms that may be caused by complications of Lyme disease, underlying causes of Lyme disease, associated conditions for Lyme disease, risk factors for Lyme disease, or other related conditions.

Medical articles on symptoms: These general reference articles may be of interest:

• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Symptoms and Medical Malpractice

Medical Tools & Articles:

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