Early Symptoms of Lyme Disease

It is important to recognise what the early symptoms of lyme disease are in order to obtain a quick diagnosis and the required treatment. Without a quick diagnosis lyme disease can develop into serious problems for your nervous system and heart.

Generally the symptoms of lyme disease can be categorised into three different stages. The objective of this page is to identify what the early symptoms of lyme disease are.

As mentioned on our main page the first and foremost sign of lyme disease is the signature lyme disease rash. This rash will appear in 80% of people that contract lyme disease so is very common. The lyme disease rash can begin to show itself anywhere between a week to a month after you have been bitten by the tick. The rash is incredibly distinctive with a largely circular shape around a central red spot which is the site of the bite, it is referred to as a 'bull's eye' as it looks almost like a target. Usually around the red spot is a ring of normal skin with a larger ring around it of the red rash, looking like an archery target! However sometimes the rash can just be one big circle. It is incredibly obvious for people with fair skin, however if you have darker skin it can be harder to spot and can easily be mistaken for a large bruise.

This rash the main of the early symptoms of lyme disease the rash is also distinctive in that it can be rather warm to touch and will not necessarily be painful or irritating.

As we have already mentioned a hefty amount of people who contract lyme disease will shot the lyme disease rash, however as there are still those that may not display this symptom is important to recognise the other early symptoms of lyme disease.

In addition or as opposed to the lyme disease rash it is possible for the victim to display flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, head and muscular pains.

If these early symptoms are displayed and you know that you have been to an area where you may have been exposed to ticks or you have been near animals that may have been carrying ticks then it is vital to visit your doctor for diagnosis from your early symptoms of lyme disease or a blood test to either confirm or discover that this is the case.

The lyme disease rash can disappear in a month or so but without the appropriate treatment the later signs of lyme disease which can be much more serious will follow.

Without the rash it may not even occur to people that lyme disease is what is actually causing what are the other early symptoms of lyme disease to be displayed as they are vague and common in so many other illnesses. This can mean that even if a trip to the doctor is made that it will be hard to diagnose lyme disease because the doctor will rarely think of this condition ahead of others that the symptoms apply to.