If you are here, it is because you suspect that you have Lyme disease. Per CDC, close to 40,000 individuals are diagnosed with Lyme disease yearly and is likely to be 10 times greater than what is reported. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium, Borrelia species.

Most symptoms begin 3 to 30 days after having a tick bite. Symptoms include fevers, chills, headaches, fatigue, joint pain, particularly migratory joint pain, rash, and neurological symptoms like numbness and tingling. A little over half of the afflicted with Lyme disease get what is known as a bullseye rash, meaning many may have contracted Lyme disease unknowingly with not treatment provided. The rash also appears differently based on demographic.

Later stages of Lyme disease not managed may include severe headaches, shortness of breath, cardiac irregularities, facial palsy (Bell’s palsy) and arthritis of the large joints.

Common treatments include antibiotic use; for some they may be on antibiotics than the normal 10-21 day course. Lyme literate doctors will be evaluate and recommend based on clinical and laboratory findings. Integrative medicine is also key in support of this diagnosis than antibiotics alone to support immune modulation, addressing the tick-borne infection and the gut microbiome.

The earlier the detection, the better prognosis. Here is a resource of Lyme literate doctors at www.ilads.org. The physicians at Fairfield Family Health, are also specialty trained in Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections like Bartonella, Babesia, Rock Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia.