🕷️ Lyme Disease
PH
PureHealthness Editorial Team · Health writers & reviewers
📝 Last reviewed: August 2026
✔ Transparent sourcing · Some articles are AI-drafted, then reviewed & fact-checked by our team
📝 Last reviewed: August 2026
| In brief | A characteristic "bullseye" skin rash around a tick bite, fever, fatigue, headaches, and joint stiffness. |
|---|---|
| Category | Infectious |
🔍 What causes it
Borrelia bacteria spread by infected tick bites (blacklegged/deer ticks). Not spread person-to-person. Common in wooded/grassy areas.
⚠️ Key symptoms
- Bullseye rash (erythema migrans) at the bite — expands days later
- Fever, chills, fatigue, headache
- Muscle and joint aches
- Untreated: later joint pain, facial palsy, heart rhythm issues
💊 Treatment
Antibiotics (doxycycline) — very effective when started early. Remove ticks promptly (within 24h) with tweezers. See a doctor for any bullseye rash or tick bite with symptoms.
🛡️ Prevention
Tick repellent, long sleeves in woodland, check for ticks after outdoors, shower within 2 hours.
🚨 See a doctor / red flags: See a doctor promptly if symptoms are severe, do not improve, or get worse — especially for children, older adults, pregnant women, or anyone with a chronic condition.
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