Symptoms of Lyme disease years after the bite. They silently exhaust the body

Symptoms of Lyme disease are not only the characteristic erythema migrans, weakness, fever and muscle and joint pain. These ailments often appear in the early stages of the disease, but this is not always the case. Some symptoms may also be overlooked. If we do not notice the symptoms of Lyme disease and we do not start treatment early enough, symptoms of late Lyme disease may appear years after a tick bite. How to recognize them?

1. Lyme disease is not always diagnosed in the first days and weeks after a tick bite
2. In the late stage of Lyme disease, arthritis and nervous system symptoms appear
3. Untreated Lyme disease can lead to serious health complications
4. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

The course of Lyme disease – subsequent stages of the disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial disease that is transmitted by ticks. The course of this disease can be divided into several stages that follow one another if Lyme disease is not detected early and treated. Sometimes diagnostic problems are caused by the fact that the disease is asymptomatic in some people or the patient ignores its symptoms or confuses them with other diseases. The next stages of Lyme disease are:

1. Early limited Lyme disease – occurs within a few days or weeks of being bitten by the tick, most often with erythema migrans, fever and tiredness;
2. early disseminated Lyme disease – if Lyme disease is not diagnosed and treated early enough, Lyme spirochetes will spread throughout the body, which can happen within weeks or months of infection; the patient may feel fatigue and muscle pain at this stage of the disease;
3. late borreliosis – in the absence of treatment of Lyme disease in the earlier stages, typical symptoms such as fatigue are joined by symptoms from various body systems, including the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.

If you find a tick stuck in the skin, we should remove it as soon as possible. For this purpose, it is worth using a tick remover with a pump or a preparation for freezing and removing ticks with tweezers. We can also buy a ready-made set for removing ticks with tweezers, plasters and a cotton pad soaked in alcohol.

How does late Lyme disease manifest itself?

Symptoms of late Lyme disease usually appear 6 to 36 months after the onset of the infection. Among the potential symptoms of late Lyme disease after many years, it is worth paying attention to:

1. severe headaches and neck stiffness;
2. erythematous changes in various areas of the body;
3. one-sided facial paralysis (Bell’s palsy);
4. joint pain and inflammation, especially in the knee joints;
5. occasional pain in muscles, joints, tendons or bones, as well as nervous pains;
6. arrhythmia;
7. inflammation of the brain or spinal cord;
8. tingling, numbness, or excruciating pain in your hands or feet.

Due to the risk of Lyme disease, you should remember about prophylaxis and protect yourself against ticks. For this purpose, it is best to use effective agents for ticks, including DEET 50% tick spray or 25% icaridin tick spray.

Chronic Lyme disease and symptoms occurring years after the bite

People affected by late Lyme disease may develop:

1. chronic borreliosis – symptoms of the disease appear for months or years after a tick bite;
2. post-relapse syndrome (PTLDS) – a set of symptoms typical of Lyme disease occurring in people who have successfully undergone Lyme disease treatment, but the symptoms still persist for six months or more after the end of therapy.

In the case of chronic Lyme disease, some of the following symptoms may also appear in the patient years after a tick bite:

1. flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, sweating);
2. chronic inflammation;
3. pain and stiffness moving around the body;
4. dizziness and shallow breathing;
5. chills;
6. respiratory infections;
7. sore throat;
8. stomach pain;
9. heart palpitations and irregular heartbeat;
10. fears, paranoia;
11. hallucinations;
12. hypersensitivity to auditory stimuli;
13. voice alteration (dysphonia);
14. new food allergies;
15. epileptic seizures.

Sometimes there are also reports of symptoms of Lyme disease 10 or even 20 years after the initial infection. Lyme disease can become active as a result of severe stress, during pregnancy or during antibiotic treatment of other diseases. The disease then causes neurological and rheumatological ailments, and also manifests itself in the form of joint changes or skin changes.

See also: Lyme disease test – indications, course, price

What complications can untreated Lyme disease lead to?

Undetected and untreated Lyme disease can lead to serious health consequences due to spreading infection. Lyme disease spirochetes, in some cases, enter various systems of the body, causing complications in the form of:

1. Lyme arthritis – Lyme arthritis develops within two years of a tick bite, and is manifested by swelling, redness and soreness of the joints; most often it affects the knee joints; the ailment runs with periods of intensification and remission of symptoms;
2. Lyme carditis – Lyme myocarditis occurs when the spirochetes become lodged in the tissues of the heart, resulting in chest pain, exercise dyspnea or irregular heartbeat; it is a dangerous complication of Lyme disease, but is rarely fatal;
3. neuroborreliosis – the disease affects the nervous system, sometimes after a few months, but it happens that it happens after a few years; patients with Lyme disease may experience muscle tremors, depressive disorders, hyperesthesia, paraesthesia or hypersensitivity of the body to stimuli, and there is a risk of meningitis and encephalitis.

If you suspect Lyme disease, decide on a laboratory diagnosis of Lyme disease or order a Lyme Chromatography test (tick test) in which you will be tested for a caught tick.