Lyme Science Blog

As part of their treatment for Lyme disease, many patients are prescribed multiple rounds or combinations of antibiotics. At some point, they ask: “Will these antibiotics hurt my gut? Should I be taking probiotics too?” It’s a common question—and a smart one. The short answer: yes. But understanding why and how to use probiotics during […]

Patients with Lyme disease rarely walk into a clinic with the classic bull’s-eye rash or a clear memory of a tick bite. Instead, they often present with vague, nonspecific symptoms that are easy to overlook — especially when laboratory tests are negative or equivocal. By the time Lyme is considered, many patients have already seen

When a 21-day-old infant developed a fever and rapid heartbeat just hours after receiving antibiotics for Lyme disease, doctors were faced with a critical question: Was it sepsis—or something else? Could it possibly be a Herxheimer reaction? This case highlights a rare but important phenomenon: a Herxheimer reaction can even occur in a newborn infant.

A “wait and see” approach in managing Lyme disease can have long-lasting consequences, sometimes resulting in months or even years of unnecessary suffering. In this case, a woman was diagnosed with Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS). Initially, diagnosed with Lyme disease, she followed every instruction: rest, wait, let the antibiotics work. But months later, her

It’s a fair concern. Mold toxicity has received growing attention, and some patients with chronic Lyme disease are told that mold is the real issue—or that detoxing from mold is the missing link. But in my experience, treating mold without addressing a persistent tick-borne infection seldom leads to sustained improvement. So let’s break it down—in

A Patient’s Story from the South My patient from Florida looked me straight in the eye and said, “But Lyme doesn’t exist down here, right?” That’s what she’d been told—by more than one doctor. She had a rash. Fatigue. Joint pain. Classic signs of Lyme disease. But instead of being tested or treated, she was

The Question I Hear Most Often 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 test was negative—why are we treating Babesia?” It’s a fair question. I’ll often explain that Babesia testing

It’s not uncommon for the mouthparts of a tick to break off and remain in the skin after removal. Fortunately, this rarely increases the risk of infection, including Lyme disease. Do Tick Mouthparts Increase Risk? No. If the tick’s body is removed, the risk of Lyme or other tick-borne infections does not increase. Most disease

After 37 years treating Lyme disease, one of the biggest concerns patients have when beginning treatment is whether they will have a Herxheimer reaction. In fact, it’s one of the most common questions I hear in my practice: “What if I Herx?” A Herxheimer reaction (or “Herx”) is a temporary flare of symptoms that can

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 system. The body’s immune system was believed to be reacting to leftover