Lyme disease is an infection spread by ticks. You can get Lyme disease by being bitten by an infected tick, but not all tick bites lead to Lyme disease. To prevent contracting the illness, remove ticks from your skin as soon as you see them because Lyme disease usually isn't spread until after they have been attached for 36 hours. The illness can be cured with antibiotics if taken in a timely manner, so seek treatment as soon as possible and visit a doctor to have ticks removed if you cannot do it yourself.
Rash at Bite Site
One of the earliest and most noticeable signs of Lyme disease is a rash where the tick bit you. The rash is in the shape of a circle around the bite and gets larger with time.
Flu-like Symptoms
Another early sign of Lyme disease can be flu-like symptoms, including fatigue, fever, headaches and swollen lymph nodes.
Joint Pain
Joint pain caused by inflammation, especially to the knees, is a symptom of Lyme disease. The joint pain can also move from joint to joint, affecting different areas on different days.
Secondary Symptoms
If not caught and treated early, the infection from Lyme disease can cause conjunctivitis, rapid heartbeats, frequent headaches, fainting, pain and weakness in the arms and legs, fatigue, additional skin rashes and paralysis of the facial nerves, called Bell's palsy.
Late Symptoms
If the illness progresses without proper treatment, brain, nerve and joint damage can occur, including severe fatigue, changes to mood and memory, difficulty sleeping, numbness and tingling in the back, hands and feet and chronic Lyme arthritis, which leads to recurring bouts of fluid buildup in the joints.
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