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Relapse in Lyme disease remains a critical issue, often due to the failure to completely eradicate the Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium with standard antibiotic treatment. This challenge has been recognized for decades, yet patients today still face persistent or recurring symptoms despite receiving what is considered adequate therapy. Chronic Lyme Disease and PTLDS For many patients, […]

During my medical school, graduate school, and residency, Lyme disease wasn’t even on my radar. That’s not surprising, given that I was in training before Lyme disease had really entered the medical lexicon. Back then, the condition was a little-known illness, limited to a few regions and far from being the major public health concern

Lyme disease, if left untreated, can infiltrate the nervous system, leading to a range of cognitive, neurological, and psychiatric complications. When Lyme bacteria invade the brain and spinal cord, the condition is known as neuroborreliosis—and its effects can be profound. Cognitive Dysfunction: A Mind in Fog One of the most common neurological effects of Lyme

In their article “Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis in a patient with sickle cell disease undergoing chronic red cell exchange,” Costa and colleagues describe a patient who contracted Babesia from a donor living in Ohio, a state that is not considered endemic for Babesia.¹ According to the authors, a 30-year-old man with sickle cell disease (SCD) required approximately

Can you get ticks from pets? Yes, and according to a study by Jones et al. owning indoor-outdoor pets increases your risk of being bitten by a tick and potentially exposing yourself to various tick-borne diseases. [1] Out of the 1,546 homes with pets, 88.1% used some form of tick control on their pets. Yet,

The woman was an avid gardener who had a history of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and high blood pressure. She was admitted to the hospital with dyspnea, fatigue, and a cough productive of yellowish mucoid sputum. The patient also had significant altered mental status, pallor, and peripheral edema. A lung examination revealed bibasilar crackles,

“Our case emphasizes that Lyme disease is capable of causing a mix of symptoms, which may be difficult to interpret, leading to a delay in diagnosis,” the authors write. And these symptoms may “develop consecutively further obscuring the clinical picture.” A 69-year-old male presented to the hospital with abdominal pain and hyponatremia, a condition that

The authors described eye problems in lyme disease presenting with the following ophthalmologic findings: Follicular conjunctivitis Periorbital edema and mild photophobia Bell’s palsy, cranial nerve palsies and Horner syndrome Argyll Robertson pupil Keratitis Optic neuritis, papilledema, papillitis and neuroretinitis Myositis of extraocular muscles and dacryoadenitis Episcleritis, anterior and posterior scleritis Anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis

When a Lyme disease flare occurs, patients will notice a return of the symptoms they have experienced before or a worsening of existing symptoms. Some patients may also develop new symptoms. A flare-up can come and go and vary in intensity.  What does a Lyme flare-up feel like? The symptoms of a flare-up can include: