Lyme disease

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Lyme disease, erythema chronicum migrans

Lyme disease organism, Borrelia burgdorferi

Tick, deer engorged on the skin

Lyme disease - Borrelia burgdorferi organism

Tick, deer - adult female

Lyme disease

Alternative Names:

Borreliosis
Symptoms:

Deer ticks can be so small that they are almost impossible to see. Therefore, many people with Lyme disease never even saw a tick. These people are more likely to develop symptoms because the tick remained on their body longer.

text continues below

The symptoms of Lyme disease include:

A flat or slightly raised red lesion at the site of the tick bite (can be larger than 1 to 3 inches in diameter, often with a clear area in the center)
Fever
Headache
Lethargy
Muscle pains
Stiff neck
Joint inflammation in the knees and other large joints

Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:

Itching, overall
unusual or strange behavior

Signs and tests:

Physical examination in advanced Lyme disease may show evidence of joint, heart, or brain abnormalities
Antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi by immunofluorescence (IFA) or ELISA. ELISA tests are confirmed with a Western blot test.