Later Symptoms of Lyme Disease

By the time the later symptoms of Lyme Disease show up, a significant bacterial infection has spread to several parts of the body. At this stage, it can be difficult to treat Lyme Disease in humans. Some people will develop Chronic Lyme Disease, which cannot be cured, although the symptoms can be managed.

Difficult to Detect
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection spread through the bites of infected ticks. The most common early symptom is a raised, red bump at the site of the bite that turns into a widening, bulls-eye-shaped rash. Not everyone who contracts Lyme Disease develops this characteristic rash.

Diagnosing Lyme Disease can be difficult, because as the bacteria multiply, they affect several parts of the body. Symptoms may appear at different times, and sometimes don't appear at all. Lyme Disease can easily be misdiagnosed as another condition. If you've spent time outdoors, especially in grassy or wooded areas, let your doctor know so that a blood test can be performed to look for these bacteria.

Later Lyme Symptoms
If left untreated, Lyme Disease can spread throughout the body. This can happen in as little as a few days. Later symptoms of Lyme Disease include the following:

• Loss of muscle tone on the face. This could be on one or both sides of the face. This condition is called Bell's palsy.
• Severe headaches and neck stiffness caused by meningitis.
• Shooting pains
• Heart palpitations and dizziness because of changes in heartbeat.
• Pain that moves from joint to joint.

Most of these symptoms eventually resolve themselves, even if the patient does not receive treatment. If left untreated, after several months, the US Centers for Disease Control estimate that 60% of patients will have "intermittent bouts of arthritis, with severe joint pain an swelling." The joints that are most commonly affected are the larger joints, such as the knees. Around 5% of untreated patients may develop "chronic neurological complaints months to years after infection"; these include numbness in the hands or feet, tingling in the hands or feet, shooting pains and short-term memory and concentration issues.

If you suspect Lyme disease, you should be checked by your physician. Lyme disease can be treated with oral antibiotics. If it's caught in the early stages, the bacteria can usually be killed off before they cause long-term problems.