Dr. Daniel Cameron

The Question I Hear Most Often For a complete overview of Babesia symptoms, testing, and treatment, visit our Babesia and Lyme disease guide. Babesia negative tests are one of the most common reasons patients go untreated. When a patient asks why I treat Babesia even if the tests are negative, they often say: “But my […]

What Happens if a Tick’s Mouthparts Stay in Your Skin? Quick Answer: If a tick’s mouthparts stay in your skin, it usually does not increase the risk of Lyme disease. In most cases, the body will naturally push the material out over time without complications. It’s not uncommon for the mouthparts of a tick to

Fear of a Herxheimer Reaction: What Patients Need to Know Fear of a Herxheimer reaction is common among patients beginning Lyme disease treatment. Many worry that worsening symptoms mean the treatment is harmful rather than part of the healing process. Understanding what a Herxheimer reaction is—and what it is not—can help reduce anxiety and support

Lyme Disease and Joint Pain: Is It Debris—or a Missed Persistent Infection? New research into Lyme arthritis is challenging long-standing assumptions about what causes persistent symptoms after treatment. For years, many clinicians believed that when patients continued to experience swollen joints, even after treatment with antibiotics, the inflammation was simply due to an overactive immune

Babesia Lyme Treatment Failure: Why Healthy Patients Stay Sick Babesia lyme treatment failure is more common than most patients realize. She wasn’t immunocompromised. So why was she still sick months after Lyme treatment? That was the question we kept coming back to. She’d been told Babesia wouldn’t be a problem—unless she had a weakened immune

Can one doxycycline dose really stop Lyme disease? When a patient walks into my office after a tick bite, they often ask: “Isn’t one dose of doxycycline enough to prevent Lyme disease?” That belief traces back to a 2001 study that has, unfortunately, shaped Lyme disease treatment guidelines. But what most people don’t realize is

My Lyme Disease Patient Got Worse on Antibiotics—Until We Adjusted the Dose Can one doxycycline dose really stop Lyme disease? He was ready to quit treatment. The antibiotics were making him feel worse, not better—nausea, fatigue, and a sense that his body was shutting down. He told me, “Doc, I don’t think I can keep

Can you have neurologic Lyme disease even if your spinal tap is normal? When Normal Test Results Hide Active Disease Neurologic Lyme disease spinal tap results are often normal even when patients have active nervous system infection. A landmark 1990 study of 27 chronic neurologic Lyme patients found only 2 had cerebrospinal fluid findings suggestive

My doctor wants to give me steroids—will that make Lyme disease worse? Can you have neurologic Lyme disease even if your spinal tap is normal? It’s a fair concern. Steroids are widely used to reduce inflammation, but they come with significant risks when used during an active infection—especially Lyme disease. The conversation is often oversimplified

Why I Treated Him for Lyme—Even When His Test Was Negative Patients Deserve an Explanation This article is part of an ongoing series addressing persistent myths about Lyme disease. One of the most common—and most important—questions I hear from patients is: “If my Lyme test is negative, why are you still treating me?” It’s a