Lyme Science Blog

Lyme Disease and IBS: When It’s Not Really IBS Quick Answer: IBS-like symptoms in Lyme disease are often caused by autonomic nervous system dysfunction—not a primary gastrointestinal disorder—even when tests are normal. Clinical Insight: IBS-like symptoms in Lyme disease often reflect autonomic nervous system dysfunction rather than a primary gastrointestinal disorder. The connection between Lyme […]

Teenage Lyme Disease: When Symptoms Don’t Match Teenage Lyme disease often looks nothing like the classic case doctors are trained to recognize. A 15-year-old student came to my office after months of headaches, fatigue, and joint pain. Her pediatrician had told her family, confidently, “Your symptoms don’t match Lyme.” But her symptoms began weeks after

The Chronic Lyme Disease Debate Explained For decades, patients with persistent symptoms after Lyme disease treatment have found themselves caught in the middle of the chronic Lyme disease debate. At the center of this debate is a single unresolved question: what explains ongoing illness after standard Lyme disease therapy? In clinical practice, I routinely see

Do All Ticks Carry Lyme Disease? Patients often ask me, “Do all ticks carry Lyme disease?” The short answer is no—but the full answer is more nuanced. In simple terms, only certain ticks can spread Lyme disease, and most tick bites do not lead to Lyme. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.

The Chronic Lyme Disease Crisis: Why We Can’t Wait Chronic Lyme disease has quietly shifted from an isolated medical concern into a public health crisis, affecting individuals, families, and healthcare systems alike. We are not just seeing more Lyme disease cases—we are seeing more people who do not recover after standard treatment. Patients are getting

“It’s Too Cold for Ticks” — Why This Lyme Myth Is Dangerous When one of my patients developed Lyme disease symptoms in January, she was told, “It’s too cold for ticks — it can’t be Lyme.” That statement is one of the most common and dangerous Lyme disease misconceptions in tick-borne illness. The phrase “too

When Driving Becomes Difficult At first, the change was subtle. The road felt unfamiliar, even though nothing had changed. He found himself needing to concentrate in ways he never had before. Traffic felt overwhelming. He became anxious just thinking about getting behind the wheel. What once had been muscle memory became mentally exhausting. Over time,

Cold Hands in Lyme Disease: What’s Behind the Color Changes Cold hands in Lyme disease are a common but frequently missed symptom. A man with Lyme disease described episodes where his hands would become cold and turn pale or bluish, even while sitting indoors. Some days his fingers looked mottled and felt numb; other days

Lyme Disease Underfunded: Why Research Is Still Too Slow Lyme disease is underfunded—and patients are paying the price. Every day, I work with people living with this illness. I see the pain, the confusion, the fatigue, the brain fog—the profound disruption Lyme disease causes in a person’s life. As a physician who has treated thousands

Lyme Disease and Decision Making: When Cognition Gets in the Way Not every challenge in Lyme disease is physical. One of the most overlooked problems involves Lyme disease and decision making—when patients struggle to make choices not from lack of motivation, but because the illness has impaired memory, clarity, and cognitive function. This raises important